History of York County, Pennsylvania : from the earliest period to the present time, divided into general, special, township and borough histories, with a biographical department appended, Part 6

Author: Gibson, John, Editor
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Pennsylvania > York County > History of York County, Pennsylvania : from the earliest period to the present time, divided into general, special, township and borough histories, with a biographical department appended > 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).

Sir William Keith, whose name is associ- ated with the first surveys made in the terri- tory now comprising the county of York, arrived from England, on the 31st of May, 1717, with a commission from the Proprietor and the Royal Approbation, to be Lieutenant-

Governor of the province. On the 15th of July* he informed the Provincial Council that he intended to set out for Conestogoe the next morning, and good's to the value of £20 were provided as presents for the Indians. A number of the members of the Council accompanied him, and on the 8th of July the chiefs and others of the Conestogoe or Min- goe Indians, the Delawares, the Shawanese and the Ganawese, all inhabitants upon or near the banks of the Susquehanna, met them. The Governor told the Indians that he had lately been sent over by their great and good friend and brother, William Penn, to act in his place and stead in affairs of government, while he himself was absent near the great King and Emperor of the Eng- lish. (That the Governor and his Council had come to inquire what new matter had befallen them, and to give them all necessary assis- tance. The Mingoes, or Indians of Conesto- goe, answered that they wanted to know what Christians had settled back in the woods behind Virginia and Carolina. The Governor answered that the settlements of Maryland, Virginia and Carolina, to the southward, were subject to the same great King of England and had nations of Indians under their protection. It was then related that the son of a chief of the Delawares had been killed by a large company made up of Chris- tians and Indians, while hunting. (During the same conference complaint came from Virginia of the killing of some Catawba Indians by the Senecas. ) It was then said to them that to hurt or molest the Indians who were in friendship with any English govern- ment was a breach of the league of friendship. And thereupon a treaty was made.

First, for their strict observance of all form- er contracts of friendship made between them and the government of Pennsylvania. Sec ondly, That they must never molest or dis- turb any of the English governments, nor make war upon any Indians whatsoever, who are in friendship with and under the pro. tection of the English. Thirdly, That in all cases of suspicion or danger they must ad- vise and consult with this government, before they undertook or determined anything. Fourthly, That if through accident any mis- chief of any sort should happen to be done by the Indians to the English, or by the English to them, then both parties should meet with hearty intention of good will to obtain an ack- nowledgment of the mistake, as well as to give or receive reasonable satisfaction. Fifthly, That upon these terms and condi- tions the Governor did, in the name of their

*II Col. Rec. 553.

#11 Col. Rec. 19.

THE ABORIGINES.

great and good friend William Penn, take them and their people under the same pro- tection and in the same friendship with this Government, as William Penn himself had formerly done and would do now if he were present. To which the several chiefs and their great men assented, it being agreed that in testimony thereof they should rise up and take the Governor by the hand, which ac- cordingly they did with all possible marks of friendship on their countenance and behav- ior. *

In the war with the southern Indiane the Conestogoes had lost their king, and at the meeting of the Council, June 16, 1718, they presented a new ono, by the name of One- shanayan, "who had an English heart and great love for the Christians."f

At this conference, Tagotalessa or Civility chief or captain of the Conestogoe Indians, with other chiefs of the same nation, a chief of the Shawanese above Conestogoe, George,an Indian sent to represent the Gawanese, and a chief of the Delawares, formerly on Brandy- wine, all then inhabitants on the Susquehanna, came from their respective habitations to pay a visit to the government, and waited on the Gov. ernor and Council, and John Cartlidge and James Hendricks, being interpreters, both skilled in the Delaware tongue. After stating that they came only on a friendly visit, and to renew the old league of friendship and pre- senting a bundle of skins, Civility, among other things, said "that he with some of the young men had this last spring some incli- nation to go out to war. toward the south- ward, but being put in mind that it would not be agreeable to this government, and af- terward receiving the Governor's letter for- bidding them to proceed, they desisted; that they intend to go out this next winter a-hunting that way, and think it proper to acquaint thie government therewith, for that they bear such a respect to the government, and know that we have always been so ready to protect and assist them, that they are agreed not to do anything which will be dis- agreeable to us; that they look upon them- selves but like children, rather to be directed by this government, than fit to offer anything more on this head. But they must crave leave to add one thing further, viz .: that they have reason to think that the authority of this government is not duly observed, for that notwithstanding all our former agreements, that rum should not be brought among them, it is still carried in great quantities. They have been doubtful with themselves whether

they should mention thie, because if they were supplied with none from hence, they would be from Maryland, which would be a means of carrying off their peltry thither, but there have been such quantities of that liquor car- ried of late amongst them by loose persons who have no fixed settlements, that they are apprehensive mischief may arise from it; that though they are perfectly well inclined when sober, yet they cannot answer for their peo- ple when drunk, and lest any inconveniences may ensue from thence to this government, whom they so much respect, as well as their own people, they desire this may be taken into consideration in order to be prevented and redressed by all proper measures." The Delaware chief, who was present, added that "the young men about Paxtan had been lately so generally debauched with rum, carried amongst them by strangers, that they now want all manner of clothing and necessaries to go a hunting, wherefore they wish it would be so ordered that no rum should be brought amongst them, by any except the tradere who furnish them with all other nec- essaries, and who have been used to trust them, and encourage them in their hunting." The Governor on the next day replied, that "he could not take in good part their motions towards going to war last spring, consider- ing they had engaged themselves to the con- trary in their last treaty with him at Cones. togoe, that they might draw powerful enemies upon them and engage their friends into their quarrels." That they had "too just cause to complain of loose idle fellows bringing quan- tities of rum amongst them to their great in- jury, and that this had not for some time past been sufficiently looked after, but he would speedily take care to have it in a great meas- ure prevented. That they of their parts must endeavor to prevent their women and young people from coming to Philadelphia to purchase and carry up rum from hence, which too many were ready to deliver them private- ly for their skins, and that when they meet with any brought amongst them, they should stave it, as they had formerly been ordered and undertook to do."

/In reference to the surveys of land, he said, "they cannot but be sensible of the care that has been taken of them; they had ex- pressed a willingness to retire from Cones- togoe, yet the government here had persuaded them to continue near us; we had run a line around them that none might come near them, and had fenced their cornfields by John Cartlidge's care, who alone being placed within those lines may be more capable of looking after the tract, and the bounds of it. It

*II Col. Rec. 24. tIbid. 46.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY.

is also further thought fit that lines should be run around the other Indian towns, as soon as conveniently may be to secure them the more effectually from encroachments. But while such care is taken of them, it is expected they shall in all cases on their parts show a due regard to this government, that they be aiding to all its officers in what may lie in their power, that they suffer no idle persons to spread rumors amongst them, or if they hear any such that they give no credit to them, that if they can discover any evil minded persons to have ill designs against this gov- ernment, or any part of it, they must without delay disclose it to the Governor, or some per- son in authority under him." There were then provided for the Indians a few garments, with some powder and shot to kill venison, some tobacco and pipes, some bread, and a dram was provided for them when they went. *

After the death of William Penn, which occurred on the 30th July, 1718, Col. French, on behalf of the government, at Conestogoe in 1719, met the following rep- resentatives of tribes: Canatowba, Queen of the Mingoes; Sevana, King of the Shaw- anese; Wightomina, King of the Delawares; Wininchach, King of the Conowagoes. (This | is the first mention of the tribe of the Cone- wagoes.) Captain Civility of Conestogoe was also present, being interpreter of the several nations represented. This Captain Civility was for many years the spokesman on behalf of the Indians at Conestogoe, whose name will be frequently met with, acting as interpreter, and corresponding with the government, and figuring much in coun- cils. His influence was evidently very great with both sides. His Indian name has already been given as Tagotalessa, Tagodrancy, and others less pronouncable, and he is described as a "descendant of the ancient Susquehanna Indians, the old settlers of these parts, but also reputed of Iroquois descent."> *

Mutual complaints were made by the In- dians of the respective provinces of Virginia and Pennsylvania to the government. The Indian chiefs at Conestogoe complained that their Indian hunters had been attacked near the head of the Potomac River by a consid- erable body of Southern Indians, come out to war against the Five Nations, and the settle- ments on the Susquehanna, and ten Mingoes had been killed. But at the same time there came official complaints from the Governor of Virginia. The Shawanese said that two of their men had been killed. James Logan asked if they had been abroad hunting. He

was answered, No. They had gone out to war. He then demanded the reason why they should offer to go to war after their solemn promise to our Government to the contrary. The chief of the Shawanese replied that a dis- pute arising among some of their young men, who was the best man, to end it they resolved to make the trial by going out to war, that they could not be restrained, and went out with some of the Five Nations .*

A treaty made on the 6th of July, 1721,t by Gov. Keith, was published in the Philadelphia Gazette at the time, as "The Particulars of an Indian Treaty, at Cones- togoe, between his Excellency, Sir William Keith, Bart., Governor of Pennsylvania, aud the deputies of the Five Nations, and where- by appears the method of managing those people at that time." / There had occurred a disagreement between the Pennsylvania and Virginia Indians, the same against whom the war feeling had existed, which demanded the attention of the government. The Gov ernor visited Virginia that year. On the 5th of July he arrived at Conestogoe about noon, and in the evening went to Captain Civility's cabin, where four deputies of the Five Nations and a few more of their people came to see him. This was said to be the first time that the Five Nations had sent any of their chiefs to visit the Governor of Penn- sylvania. The first branch of the treaty was with the Conestogoe Indians on account of the troubles with those of Virginia. The Governor said: "I am but just now returned from Virginia, where I wearied myself in a long journey, both by land and water, only to make peace for you, my children, that you may safely hunt in the woods without danger from Virginia and any Indian nations that are at peace with that government. But the Governor of Virginia expects that you will not hunt within the great mountains on the other side of the Potomac River, being it is a small tract of land which he keeps for the Virginia Indians to hunt in. And he promises that his Indians shall not any more come on this side of the Potomac, or behind the great mountain, this way to disturb your hunting, and this is the condition I have made for you, which I expect you will firmly keep, and not break it on any consideration what- soever." The second branch of the treaty was with the Five Nations. As that cele- brated confederacy owned the lands pur- chased for our people, their doings are of interest to us. In the course of the speech of Ghesaont on behalf of the Five Nations,

*III Col. Rec. 49.

->*III Col. Rec. 92.

+III Col. Rec. 123-Proud 132.

THE ABORIGINES.

he said "though they cannot write, yet they retain everything said in their councils with all the nations they treat with, and pre- serve it carefully in their memories, as if it was committed in our method to writing. They complain that our traders carrying goods and liquors up Susquehanna River, sometimes meet with their young people go- ing out to war, and treat them unkindly, not only refusing to give them a dram of liquor, but use them with ill language and call them dogs, etc. They take this unkindly because dogs have no sense or understanding, where- as they are men, and think that their brothers should not compare them to such creatures. That some of our traders calling their young men by these names, the young men an- swered If they were dogs, they might act as such, whereupon they seized a keg of liquor and ran away with it." N. B. This seems to be told in their artful way, to excuse some small robberies that had been committed by their young people .- Gazette.

"Then, laying down a belt of wampum upon the table, he proceeded and said that all their disorders arose from the use of rum and strong spirits, which took away their sense and memory; that they had no such liquors among themselves, but were hurt with what we furnished them, and therefore desired that no more of that sort might be sent amongst them." This speech of Ghesaont is a fine specimen of Indian eloquence, and now ex- hibits their force in the use of metaphor. "He presented a bundle of dressed skins, and said that the Five Nations faithfully remembered all their ancient treaties, and now desire that the chain of friendship between them and us may be made so strong as that none of the links can ever be broken. Presents another bundle of skins and ob- serves that a chain may contract rust with lying and become weaker; wherefore he desires it may now be so well cleaned as to remain brighter and stronger than ever it was before. Presents another parcel of skins and says that as in the firmament, all clouds and darkness are removed from the face of the sun, so they desire that all mis- understandings may be fully done away. So that then when they who are now here shall. be dead and gone, their whole people, with their children and posterity, may enjoy the clear sunshine of friendship with us forever, without anything to interpose and obscure it. Presents another bundle of skins and says that looking upon the Governor as if William Penn was present, they desire that in case any disorders should hereafter happen be- tween their young people and ours, we should

not be too hasty in resenting any such acci- dent, until their council and ours should have some opportunity to treat amicably upon it, and so to adjust all matters as that the friend- ship between us may still be inviolably pre- served. Presents a small bundle of dressed skins, and desires that we may now be together as one people, treating one another's children kindly and affectionately on all occasions. He proceeds and says that they consider themselves in this treaty as the full plenipotentiaries and representatives of the Five Nations, and they look upon the Gov- ernor as the great King of England's Repre- sentative, and therefore they expect that everything now stipulated will be made ab- solutely firm and good on both sides. Among other things, presenting a bundle of bear skins, he said that having now made a firm league with us, as becomes our brothers, they complain that they get too little for their skins and furs, so as they cannot live by their hunting; they desire us therefore to take compassion on them and contrive some way to help them in that particular."

On the 8th of July, the Governor and his Council, at the house of John Cartlidge, Esq., near Conestogoe, having advised upon and prepared a proper present, in return for that of the Indians, which consisted of a quantity of stroud match coats, gunpowder, lead, bis- cuit, pipes and tobacco, the Governor made his speech in reply to that of the Five Nations from which the following extract is made:# "As to what you have said of trade, I suppose the great distance at which you live from us prevented all commerce between us and your people; we believe those who go into the woods and spend all their time upon it endeavor to make the best bargains they can for themselves; so on your part you must take care to make the best bargain you can with them, but we hope our traders do not exact, for we think that a stroud coat or a pound of powder is now sold for no more buck-skins than formerly. f

The skins they delivered in the morning having been numbered and weighed as ordered, they were found to be,

38 summer Deer Skins in the hair, many of them ordinary, wt. 681. at 18d., £5.

2. 0

10 small Drest Deer Skins, wt. 181. at 3-6d, 2. 2. 0 1 Good Winter Buck in the hair, 6. 0

2 Bear Skins a 8 ps. 16. 0

£8. 6. 0

What isprepared & was now Delivered them, are 8 Stroud Water Coats of the best sort, a 17-6d. £7. 0. 0

10 lb. of Powder, a 20d. 16. 8

20 1b. Lead, a 3d, 5. 0

*III Col. Rec. 129.

+Official trade in 1718.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY.

6 pr. Stockings, pt. Blew & pt. Red, a 2-9d. 16. 6

1 Dozn. Tobacco Boxes, a

1 Dozn. Tobacco Tongs, a

4. 6

12 1b. Tobacco, a 4d.,

4. 0

1. 0

3 Dozn Pipes,

1 Red Stroud to the Queen,

17. 6

£10. 12. 2

These being Delivered the Governour Gave them an Entertainment, and the Secretary was Ordered to provide for them as from the ffirst, all necessarys During their stay & for their Journey on their returu home.

"Beaver is not of late much used in Europe, and therefore does not give so good a price, and we deal but very little in that commodity. But deer skins sell very well amongst us, and I shall always take care that the Indians be not wronged, but except other measures be taken to regulate the Indian trade everywhere the common methods used in trade will still be followed, and every man must take care of himself, for thus I must do myself, when I buy anything from our own people; if I do not give them their price, they will keep it, for we are a free people. I am sensible rum is very hurtful to the Indians; we have made laws that none should be carried amongst them, or if any were, that it should be staved and thrown upon the ground, and the Indians have been ordered to destroy all the rum that comes in their way. But they will not do it; they will have rum, and when we refuse it they will travel to the neighboring provinces and fetch it. Their own women go to pur- chase it, and then sell it amongst their own people, at excessive rates. I would gladly make any laws to prevent this that could be effectual, but the country is so wide, the woods are so dark and private, and so far out of my sight, that if the Indians them- selves do not prohibit it, their own people, there is no other way to prevent it. For my part I shall readily join in any meas- ures that can be proposed for so good a purpose."

These interviews between the provincial Governors and the Indians will serve to rep- resent in some sort to our minds the political relations of each to the other, the manner of their social intercourse, and of the unhappy condition of the Indians, in this section of Pennsylvania, who, when free from liquor, were inoffensive, faithful and hospitable.+ The Quakers treated them in an honorable manner. With the frontier settlers, the case was otherwise, when traders came among them, cheating them. Some of these were of a vile class, as will be seen by an act of Assembly of 1754. All sorts of people found their way into the province, and the Indians

were subjected to the distresses so feelingly described in the journal of the great inter- preter, Conrad Weiser,

These treaties serve an important histori- cal purpose in showing the names of the tribes or nations who inhabited the country anywhere in this vicinity. There were no other tribes than those mentioned, else they would necessarily have been obliged, for their own protection, to join with the others in treaties. Even from a distance, from Maryland and New York, there appear the Nantikokes and the Six Nations, and there is mention of Vir- ginia Indians. At one conference, there was present the King of the Conewagoes. As there is the stream of that name, we may guess either that the tribe took its name from that creek, or gave their name to it, and presum- ably they were resident near it. A letter from Thomas Cookson to Richard Peters, April 23, 1746, writing concerning a tract of land about three miles from York, says: "The land was settled by Adam Dickenson, who, it is said, has an entry on your books, by the proprietor's order, for settling the same on his obtaining license, from the Indians who lived there about."

Yet it was the Indians at Conestogoe wlio complained of the settlement of John Grist, * and of whatever tribes were those who inhab. ited here, they were represented before the Provincial Council by the Conestogoes. It appears, however, from all we can ascertain, that the Indians did not inhabit to any large extent the territory now comprising the county of York. It was, as it appears from the Indian complaints, preceding its settle- ment, a hunting ground, or in the way to hunting grounds, nearly all woods, and claimed by the Indians to have been expressly reserved for them by William Penn. The original settlers here found immense tracts of land entirely denuded of timber by the annual fires kindled by the Indians, for the purpose of improving their hunting grounds. Yet there is room for the exercise of the skill of the archaeologist, from rude and scanty remains of the aborigines, such as weapons of stone found near the river in many local- ities, especially near the mouth of Cone- daghly Creek and Cabin Creek, in Windsor Township. About the Devil's Cave in that locality tradition fixes one of their haunts. Relics have been found about Wrightsville. t

*Infra.

+Some Indian relics were found here in 1835. "A brass medal has been left at this office "-says the editor of the Colum- bia Spy-"which, together with several other articles, and a human skull, was dug up a few days since, in Wrightsville, York Co., Penn. It bears on one side a head, with the inscription, "George, King of Great Britain," and on the other an Indian with his how and arrow, in the act of shooting a decr. It appears to have been worn as an ornament for the nose or ears. There

*Proud.

INDIAN TITLE.

The Indians and the English moved along in harmony, subject only to those occasional disorders and crimes incident to any commu- nity, especially in the intercourse between opposite races, or induced by a free supply of rum. The Indians at Conestogoe contin- ued there until the settlement was abandoned in 1763, when the race in that section was virtually exterminated.

INDIAN TITLE.

THE first deed that appears in the chain of Indian title is dated January 3, 1696, in the eighth year of the reign of William III. "Thomas Dongan, late Governor of New York, and now of London, Esq., to William Penn, Governor of the province of Pennsyl- vania in America; for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred pounds, for all that tract of land, lying upon both sides of the river, commonly called or known by the name of the Susquehanna, and the lakes ad- jacent, in or near the province of Pennsyl- vania in America, beginning at the moun- tains or head of the said river, and running as far as and into the bay of Chesapeake, which the said Thomas Dongan lately pur- chased of or had given him by the Seneca- Susquehanna Indians: With warranty from the Seneca-Susquehanna Indians." This sale was effected by deeds of lease and re- lease, on succeeding days, according to the approved English forms of conveyancing under the statute of uses. The Indian deed to Col. Dongan is not known now to exist, nor is there any trace of it in the public offices. It is known, however, that he was the agent of William Penn to make the purchase .* The time of the purchase of Col. Dongan is fixed by the relation of it, given in the treaty of July, 1721, at the council at Conestogoe, already referred to, with Sir William Keith, from which the following extract is made: "The discourse being continued they were told that it was now very near, viz .: within one moon of thirty-seven years since a great man of England, Governor of Virginia, called the Lord Effingham, together with Col. Don- gan, Governor of New York, held a great

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of York County, Pennsylvania : from the earliest period to the present time, divided into general, special, township and borough histories, with a biographical department appended, Part 6

Author: Gibson, John, Editor Publication date: 1886 Publisher: F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Gibson, John, Editor
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago
Number of Pages: 1104