History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 5

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 5

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"' Children,-Your Father [meaning the French Governor] having, out of a tender regard for you, considered the great difficulties you labour under by carrying your Goods, Canoes, &c., over the great Car- rying Place of Niagara, has desired me to acquaint you that, in order to ease you all of so much trouble for the future, he is resolved to build a House at the other end of said carrying Place, which he will fur- nish with all necessaries requisite for your use. . . . ' Jean Cœur also told us that he was now on his way to Ohio River, where he intended to stay three years, and desired some of Us to accompany him thither, which we refused; whereupon he answered he was much surprised at our not consenting to go with him, inasmuch as it was for our interest and ease he was sent thither to build a House there; also at the carrying place between said River Ohio and Lake Erie,1 where all the Western Indians should be supplied with whatever Goods they may have occa-

sion for, and not be at the trouble and loss of time of going so far to Market as usual [meaning Oswego]. After this he desired to know our opinion of the Affair and begged our consent to build in said Places. He gave us a large Belt of Wampum thereon de- siring our answer, which we told him we would take some time to consider of."

To this speech Col. William Johnson replied, as- suring the Cayuga sachem and his associates that he was always glad to see the Indians at his house, but particularly so on that occasion, as it gave him an opportunity of convincing them that their friends, the English, were worthy of their fullest confidence, while the French were and had always been their worst enemies. "But their scheme," added he, "now laid against you and yours (at a time when they are feeding you up with fine Promises of serving you in several Shapes) is worse than all the rest, as will appear by their own writing on this Plate.2 This is an affair of the greatest Importance to you, as nothing less than all your Lands and best Hunt- ing places are aimed at, with a view of secluding you entirely from us and the rest of your brethren, viz., the Philadelphians, Virginians, etc., who can always supply you with the necessaries of life at a much lower rate than the French ever did or could, and under whose protection you are and ever will be safer and better served in every respect than under the French. These and a hundred other substantial reasons I could give you to convince you that the French are your implacable enemies, but, as I told you before, the very Instrument you now brought me of their own writing is sufficient of itself to convince the world of their villanous designs; therefore I need not be at the trouble, so shall only desire that you and all other Nations in Alliance with you seriously consider your own Interest, and by no means submit to the impending danger which now threatens you, the only way to prevent which is to turn Jean Cœur away immediately from Ohio, and tell him that the French shall neither build there or at the carrying Place of Niagara, nor have a foot of land more from you. Brethren, what I now say I expect and insist upon it being taken notice of and sent to the Indians of the Ohio, that they may immediately know the vile designs of the French."

A belt of wampum was then presented, and the Indian speaker replied,-

" Brother Corlaer and Warraghiyagee, I have with great attention and Surprise heard you repeat the substance of that Devilish writing which I brought you, and also with pleasure noticed your just Re- marks thereon, which really agree with my own sen-

1 The land carriage between Lake Erie and Chautauqua Lake, N. Y., and that between the lower end of that lake and the Conewango Creek, which flows into the Allegheny.

2 At this point in his speech to the Indians Col. Johnson translated to them the words upon the leaden plate. "I repeat here," he says, in his report of the conference, " the Substance of said writing, with some necessary additions, Giving a large Belt of Wampum to confirm what I said, which Belt, with the rest, are to be sent to all the nations as far as the Ohio River."

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

timents on it. I return you my most hearty thanks in the name of all the nations for your brotherly Love and cordial advice, which I promise you sincerely (by this belt of wampum) shall be communicated immediately and verbatim to the Five Nations by myself, and, moreover, shall see it forwarded from the Senecas' Castle with belts from each of our own Nations to the Indians at Ohio, to strengthen your desire, as I am thoroughly satisfied you have our in- terest at heart."

Information of the French expedition down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers under Celeron having been promptly forwarded to England, considerable anxiety was felt there as to the effect it might have upon the Indian tribes; and the proprietaries of Pennsylvania wrote at once from London to Governor Hamilton a letter, which was received in January, 1750 (during a session of the Assembly), and from which an extract, having reference to the subject in question, is here given, viz. :

" The Account you give of a Party of French hav- ing come to Allegheny and laid claim to that Country, and the Tribes of Indians with whom we have lately entered into Treaty, a good deal alarms me; and I hear that Party is returned to Canada, threatening to return with a greater Force next year. I have com- municated the French Commandant's Letter and Paper, with an account of the Affair, to the Duke of Bedford and Lord Halifax, and I think something should be done immediately, if it can by consent of the Indians, to take possession. This, I think, you should advise with the Council and Assembly about, as it is of great Import to the Trade of the Province to have a Settlement there, and an House a little more secure than an Indian Cabbin. I make no doubt the Indians would readily consent to such a Settlement ; and if there is Stone and Lime in the neighborhood, I think an House with thick walls of Stone, with small Bastions, might be built at no very great Ex- pence, as it is little matter how rough it is within- side; or a wall of that sort perhaps fifty feet square, with a small Log House in the middle of it, might perhaps do better. The command of this might be given to the principal Indian Trader, and he be obliged | to keep Four or Six Men at it, who might serve him in it, and the House be a magazine for Goods. If something of this sort can be done, we shall be will- ing to be at the expence of four hundred Pounds Currency for the building of it, and of one hundred Pounds a Year for keeping some men with a few Arms and some Powder; this, with what the Assembly might be induced to give, will in some measure pro- tect the Trade, and be a mark of Possession. How- ever few the Men are, they should wear an uniform Dress, that though very small it may look Fort like."

But the Assembly did not favor the project. "Dur- ing the course of this Session,1 the Governor had

several private Conferences with the Speaker and some of the principal Members of the House on the state of Indian Affairs, and was in hopes that the Proposal of the Proprietaries would have induced them to encourage him to order the Persons intrusted with the Delivery of the Present at Ohio [George Croghan and Andrew Montour] to make the Indians some overtures of this sort; but the Members ap- peared extremely averse to it, which obliged the Gov- ernor to desire Mr. Croghan to do no more than sound the Indians in a private manner, that he might know their Sentiments before he should do anything further in the matter, well knowing that unless the Assembly would go heartily into the Affair and make some Pro- vision along with the Proprietaries for the mainte- nance of the Fort or Block House, and the People to be appointed for this service, it would be to no purpose to stir in it." He therefore did no more than lay before the Assembly the preceding extract from the proprietaries' letter, on which no action was taken.

During the year following that of Celeron's expe- dition the Frenchman Joncaire was again among the Indians on the Allegheny endeavoring to remove the ill feeling which Celeron's overbearing conduct had occasioned, and to secure for his countrymen the friendship and confidence of the savages. George Croghan (who, with the half-breed, Andrew Montour, had been sent to the Ohio by Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, with presents to the Indians in that vicinity), in a letter dated "Logstown, on the Ohio, Dec. 16, 1750," said to the Governor,-

"Sir,-Yesterday Mr. Montour and I got to this town where we found thirty warriors of the Six Nations going to war against the Catawba Indians. They told us that they saw John Cœur [Joncaire] about one hundred and fifty miles up the river at an Indian town, where he intends to build a fort if he can get liberty from the Ohio Indians. He has five canoes loaded with goods, and is very generous in making presents to all the chiefs of the Indians he meets with. He has sent two messengers to this town, desiring the Indians here to go and meet him, and clear the road for him to come down the river, but they have so little respect for his message that they have not thought it worth while to send him an answer as yet."

Croghan was again among the Indians on the Ohio in the spring of 1751, and kept a journal of events which occurred during his stay. From that journal the following extracts are given as showing some- thing of the movements of the French at that time, viz. :

" May 20 .- Forty warriors of the Six Nations came to town [the Indian town of Chinique, other- wise called Logstown, located on the Ohio some miles below Pittsburgh] from the head of the Ohio with Mr. Joncœur and one Frenchman more in com- pany."

" May 21 .- Mr. Joncœur, the French interpreter,

1 Col. Rec., vol. v. p. 516.

THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH CLAIMS TO THE TRANS-ALLEGHENY REGION.

called a council with all the Indians then present in town, and made the following speech. [Here follows Joncaire's speech to the Indians, in which he told them he had come for an answer to the speech made to them by Celeron two years before, viz .: that Onontio, the Governor of Canada, desired them to turn away the English traders and deal wholly with the French. To this one of the Six Nation chiefs replied, saying that they would not turn the English away, but would continue to trade with them as long as they lived, and that if he, Joncaire, had anything to say, and was the man he pretended to be, he should ' say it to that man,' pointing to Croghan]."

" May 25 .- I had a conference with Monsieur Jon- cœur; he desired I would excuse him, and not think hard of him for the speeches he made to the Indians requesting them to turn the English traders away and not to suffer them to trade, for it was the Gov- ernors of Canada who ordered him, and he was obliged to obey them, though he was very sensible which way the Indians would receive them, for he was sure the French would not accomplish their de- sign with the Six Nations without it could be done by force, which he said he believed they would find to be as difficult as the method they had just tried, and would meet with the like success."

There was probably at that time no other French- man who was so popular among the Indians as was this same Joncaire, yet he found it impossible to accomplish the object for which he came, -- to draw the savages into alliance with the French, and procure the expulsion of the English-speaking traders,-and he was compelled to relinquish the design and retire up the Allegheny, after having recorded his pro- test, and re-notified Governor Hamilton, of Penn- sylvania, of the French claims to the country in a letter of which the following is a translation :

" DE CHINIQUE (LOGSTOWN), June 6, 1751.

" Sir,-Monsieur the Marquis de la Galissoniero, Governor of the whole of New France, having honored me with his orders to watch that the English should make no treaty in the country of the Ohio, I have di- rected the traders of your government to withdraw. You cannot be ignorant, sir, that all the lands of this region have always belonged to the King of France, and that the English have no right to come here to trade. My superior has commanded me to apprise you of what I have done, in order that you may not affect ignorance of the reasons of it; and he has given me this order with so much the greater reason because it is now two years since Monsieur Celeron, by order of the Marquis of Ga- lissoniere, then Commandant-General, warned many English who were trading with the Indians along the Ohio against so doing, and they promised him not to return to trade on the lands, as Monsieur Celeron wrote you.

(Signed) " JONCAIRE,

" Lieutenant of a Detachment of the Navy."

In the year 1750 the "Ohio Company" (acting under an English charter and royal grant, obtained in 1749, sent its agent, Christopher Gist, to the Ohio River, to explore the country along that stream, with a view to its occupation and settlement. Under these instructions he viewed the country along the west bank of the river, from the mouth of the Allegheny 3

southwestwardly to the Falls of the Ohio fopposite the present city of Louisville, Ky.), and in the fol- lowing year (1751) he explored the other side of the stream down to the mouth of the Great Kanawha. In 1752 he was present, as agent of the "Ohio Com- pany," at the Logstown treaty, already mentioned, and took part, with Col. Joshua Fry and the two other commissioners of Virginia, in the proceedings with the chiefs of the Six Nations.

These and other movements on the part of those acting under authority of the British king caused the French to bestir themselves and move more en- ergetically towards the occupation of the country west of the Alleghenies. Early in 1753 they began to move southward from Lake Ontario through the wilderness towards the Allegheny River, and on the 21st of May in that year intelligence was received that a party of one hundred and fifty French and Indians " had arrived at a carrying-place leading from the Niagara to the head of the Ohio." On the same day, in the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, "The Governor laid before the board several let- ters from Governor Clinton, inclosing accounts from Col. Johnson, and from the commanding officer at Oswego,1 that a large Armament of French and In- dians had passed by that Fort, destinated, as was sus- pected, for Ohio, in order to take Possession of that Country, and to build Forts on that River ; where- upon he had dispatched Messengers to the Governors of Maryland and Virginia, and likewise Mr. West was sent to Sasquehannah, there to procure and send away two Messengers, one by Patowmack, and the other by Juniata to Ohio, to give the Indians no- tice of this, and to put them on their guard." 2

Information was also received by Andrew Montour, who had, then just come in from the country of the Six Nations, to the effect " that he found the Indians not a little intimidated at the large armament of French and Indians which had gone by Oswego, on their way to Ohio, especially after hearing what was said by seven Indians who came into Council while he was present and declared they were sent by the Governor of Canada to inform their Council that the

1 The commanding officer referred to (Lieut. Holland) wrote as fol- lows:

"OSWEGO, May 15, 1753.

" Yesterday passed by here thirty odd French canoes, part of an Army going to Bell Riviere to make good their claim there ; aud by a French- man who passed this also yesterday, on his way to Cajocha, gave me the following account, which he said he learned from common Report in Canada, viz. . That the Army consisted of Six Thousand French, com- manded by Monsieur Martin, who is ordered to Ohio to settle the Limits between us and them ; that they lay claim on all the Lands on any of the Rivers or Creeks descending or terminating in the great Lake ; that if he meet with any opposition, he is to make good his cluim by Force of Arms, and to build Forts in such Places as he shall think most convenient to secure their Right ; that one Fort is to be built at Kasanosaiyogo (a car- rying Place), and another at Dioutarogo; they are also to oblige all the English they meet with, whether Traders or others, to evacuate the Place, as they look upon all we possess now as their undoubted Right, which they mean to support by Force of Arms .... "

2 Col. Rec., vol. v. pp. 607-8.

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

King of France, their Master, had raised a number of soldiers to chastise the Twightwees and drive away all the English traders from Ohio, and take those lands under their own care, because the Indians acted a foolish part, and had not Sense enough to take care of their own Lands. It is true, Mr. Montour said, they ordered those seven Indians to tell the Governor of Canada they would not suffer him to build Forts there, nor take possession of those Lands, nor drive away the English; that those Lands belonged to the Indians, and that neither French nor English should have anything to do with them; that the Indians were owners of the soil, and independent of both, and would keep the Lands in their own hands; but not- withstanding this answer, Mr. Montour said he saw plainly the Indians were frighted, and that there was a strong party for the French among the Indians, and the Senecas particularly were in their interest and countenanced the proceeding."

On the 25th of May further intelligence of the ad- vance of the French towards the Allegheny was brought to Philadelphia by Michael Taafe and Robert Callender, Indian traders, who had just returned from the head of the Ohio. Callender reported that on the 7th of that month, when he was at Pine Creek, about twenty miles from the Indian village of Logstown, on the Ohio, in company with Capt. William Trent, of Virginia, George Croghan, and several other traders, they received a letter addressed to all the traders by John Fraser, also a trader, living at Weningo (Ve- nango), about one hundred miles up the Allegheny, which letter informed them that he (Fraser) had re- ceived intelligence from the Mingo Indians "that there were then, and had been since March last, one hundred and fifty French and Indians at a carrying- place1 which leads from Niagara to the heads of the Ohio, building canoes and making other preparations for the reception of a large body of French and In- dians who were expected there every day with eight pieces of brass cannon and a large quantity of ammu- nition and provisions; that on the 8th of May they received full confirmation of the above account by two Indians who were sent by the Council at Onon- daga to give the Ohio Indians notice of the prepara- tions the French were making to attack them." When this intelligence came to the villages on the Ohio there was great excitement among the Indians, and one of the Mingoes at Logstown went to a French- man2 who had been there for some time, told him of

the news, and said that he (the Frenchman) had been amusing the Indians during the past winter with stories " as sweet as if his tongue was sweetened with sugar," but warned him that he should certainly be the first man to lose his scalp if his countrymen should make any attempt to attack the Indians or their friends, the English.

The French forces which had been seen passing through Lake Ontario and at the Chautauqua carry- ing-place moved by the same route which had been pursued by Celeron four years before to the Alle- gheny, and down that river to Weningo (Venango), where they at once proceeded to erect a stockade fort.

Another French force disembarked at a point far- ther west on Lake Erie, moved across the country to French Creek, then called La Rivière aux Bœufs, and built upon that stream the fort called by them Le Bœuf. Both these forts were finished before the end of September, that at Venango being completed as - · early as August, as is shown by the following extract from a letter written by John Fraser (the trader who had formerly been located at Venango, but was driven away from there by the French) to Mr. Young,8 dated "Forks [present site of Pittsburgh], Aug. 27, 1753," viz. :

". . . Capt. Trent was here the night before last, and viewed the ground the fort is to be built upon, which they will begin in less than a month's time.4 The money has been laid out for the building of it already, and the great guns are lying at Williamsburg, Va., ready to bring up.

"The French are daily deserting from the new Fort. One of them came here the other day with Capt. Trent ; he has him along with him to Virginia ; he has given the true Account of the Number of the French and all their Designs; there are exactly Twenty-Four Hundred of them in all; here is in- closed the Draught of the Fort the French built a little way the other side of Sugar Creek, not far from Weningo, where they have Eight Cannon. . .. The Captain of the French that took John Trotter from

1 At Chautauqua Lake, New York.

2 The person referred to, who was known among the Indians as " the White Freuchman," was Monsieur La Force, the same one who was with Jumonville when Col. Washington attacked and killed the latter near Fort Necessity, in May, 1754, and who in several accounts is mentioned as having been then in command of the French force. On this occasion he had come among the Indiaus at Logstown to secure their alliance with the French, and having failed to accomplish it had become abusive to them. In the Colonial Records, vol. vi. page 22, is given " A speech made by Monsieur La Force, the French Gentleman that was at Logs Town when Mr. Montour and I [George Croghan] left it, to the Six Na- tions there," viz. :

" Children,-I came here to know your minds, whether you intend to side with the English or not; and without asking you I am convinced that you have thrown away your fathers and taken to your brothers, the English. I tell you now that you have but a short time to see the Sun, for in twenty days you and your brothers the English shall all die !"

Whereupon the speaker of the Six Nations made him this reply,-

"Fathers,-You tell us in twenty days we and our Brethren the English must all die. I believe you speak true, that is, you intend to kill us if you cun ; but I tell you to be Strong and bring down your Soldiers, for We are ready to receive you in battle, but not in Peace. We are not afraid of you, and after an Engagement you will know who are the best Men, you or we."

3. Colonial Records, v. 659,

4 Referring to a fort which the Ohio Company were preparing to build at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny.

It was not, however, commenced "in less than a month's time" from that date as told in the letter, but was commenced in the following Feb- ruary by the same Capt. Trent, and surrendered to the French before completion, as will be noticed hereafter. It then became the historic Fort Du Quesne.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S VISIT TO THE FRENCH FORTS IN 1753.

Weningo was the White French Man that lived last Winter at Logs Town." This last named being the same one (La Force) before mentioned as having been threatened by the Indian with the loss of his scalp if his countrymen should make any attempt to attack the Indians or their English friends.

The alarm of the Indians at the head of the Ohio was very great when they heard of the building of the forts at Le Bœuf and Venango, and of the large French force which was gathered at the two posts. The old Half-King, Tanacharison (an Iroquois sachem living at Logstown, and representing the power of the Six Nations on the Ohio), immediately went up the Allegheny to remonstrate with the French com- mandant at Le Bœuf against the occupation of the country belonging to the Indians, but the French officer treated him very contemptuously, told him the country was owned by the king, his master, " and dis- charged him home, and told him he was an Old Woman, and that all his nation was in their [the French] Favour only him, and if he would not go home he would put him in Irons. He came home and told the English to go off the place, for fear they should be hurt, with Tears in his Eyes." And when other chiefs afterwards went up the river to warn the French to abandon their designs, the commandant treated them in much the same way in which he had treated the Half-King. "But this I will tell you," said he, " Iam commanded to build four strong houses, viz .: at Weningo, Monongalio Forks, Logs Town, and Beaver Creek, and this I will do."1

On learning of the great alarm of the Indians at the Forks of the Ohio, and knowing them to be stead- fast in their friendship for the English, Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, immediately sent them " One | hundred Small Arms, Powder, Shot, and some Cloath- ing," to be placed in charge of Capt. William Trent, Christopher Gist, and Andrew Montour, " who were empowered to distribute them to the Indians as their Occasion and Behaviour should require." The Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania too, on receiving the intelli- gence conveyed in John Fraser's letter of August 27th (before quoted), laid the matter before the As- i sembly, who thereupon voted £800, to be placed in the Governor's hands, and expended by him at his discretion for the safety of the Indians and traders at 1 the Forks of the Ohio, the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 5

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216