USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 9
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103
Having presented a belt of wampum, by way of emphasis, and to con-
75
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
vince the natives of the honesty and fidelity with which he spoke, the sachem replied: "Brother Corlear and War-ragh-i-ya-ghey, I have with great attention and surprise heard you repeat the substance of the devilish writing which I brought you. and also with pleasure noticed your just re- marks thereon, which really agree with my own sentiments 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 war- pum, shall be communicated immediately and verbatim to the Five Nations by myself. and, moreover, shall see it forwarded from the Seneca's 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 interest at heart."
This incident of the planting of the first leaden plate, and its possession by the Indians, and bringing it to the attention of the English government. hirows a flood of light upon the struggle for the possession of the Mis- sissippi Valley between the English and the French, and shows the temper of the Six Nations. Better than whole chapters of description of the atti- tude of the two nations is the translation of the inscription, and the speech of this native orator of the forest. From this scene of the first planting Celeron floated on down the Allegheny till he reached the Indian God, sonie nine miles below Franklin (Venango), an immense boulder, on which had been cut rude figures held in superstitious awe by the natives, and here he planted the second of his plates with the same formal ceremonies, which were continued at each burial. At Logstown, some twelve miles below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela (Pittsburg), the third was planted. This had become a place of some importance. Here the agents of the English colonies upon the Atlantic were accustomed to meet the sachems of the surrounding tribes, and make their formal talks, smoke the pipe of peace, distribute the high piled presents and ratify solemn treaties. Here, too, the traders brought their goods and bartered them for valuable skins and furs, and. shame to say it, here these conscienceless traders brought kegs of fire-water, and when the poor Indians were made drunken were cheated and abused. Discovering a number of the English trading with the Indians Celeron's wrath was kindled. He expelled these "intru- ders," as he termed them, and made a speech to the assembled Indians of many tribes, telling them that all the country along the "Beautiful River" belonged to the French, and that they would supply the Indians with all the
76
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
goods they needed. He forbade them to trade with the English, and sent a curt letter to Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, informing him that he was here by authority of the Marquis de la Galissioniere, Commandant Gen- eral of New France, warning him against allowing English traders to tres- pass upon this country, which was clearly the rightful possessions of France, and threatening force if this notice was not heeded.
Continuing his journey down the Ohio. Celeron and his party took formal possession of the country by burying plates at the mouth of the Mus- kingum River, another at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, and the sixth and last at the mouth of the Great Miami. Believing that he had now cov- ered all the territory that was likely, for the present. to be claimed by the English, Celeron paused in his course, and toilsomely ascended the Miami River till he reached the portage, where he burned his boats, and, procur- ing ponies, crossed over to the Maumee, down which he moved to Lake Erie, by which and Ontario he returned to Fort Frontenac, arriving on the Oth of November.
These metal plates, planted with so much formality, regarded as sym- bols of French power, which they were to defend by force of arms, remained for a long time where they were originally planted, with the exception of the first, which, as we have seen, was immediately disinterred and sent to Sir William Johnson. That buried at the mouth of the Muskingum was washed out by the changing of the banks in the floodtides, and was dis- covered in 1798 by some boys who were bathing at low water in summer time, and having no idea of its value, or the purport of the characters cut on its surface, they cut off a portion of it, and run it into bullets. The re- maining portion was sent to Governor De Witt Clinton, of New York, and is still preserved at Boston, Mass. That which was buried at the mouth of the Kanawha was found in 1846 by a son of J. W. Beale, of Point Pleasant. Va. In playing along the river bank he saw the edge of it protruding from the sand a little below the surface, where it had been carried by the current. It was dug out, and has been preserved in its original form.
The intelligence of this expedition of Celeron, with the purpose of taking possession on this whole Ohio country for the French, aroused the attention of the proprietary of Pennsylvania, who at once brought it to the attention of the Duke of Bedford and Lord Halifax in London, and wrote to Governor Hamilton in Pennsylvania that if a house with thick walls of
77
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
stone with small bastions could be built at Logstown or vicinity he would be willing to contribute four hundred pounds for the building, and one hun- dred pounds toward the expense of keeping up a small force and providing arms and ammunition.
This recommendation looked to the building a fort on the Ohio, as was afterward done at Fort Pitt. Governor Hamilton conferred with his council; but the legislative body was at this period swayed by the Quaker element, which was opposed to spending any money which looked to the use of carnal weapons, and the Governor found himself powerless to accom- plish the purpose of the recommendation. It will be observed that the proprietary himself had no scruples against the employment of force in maintaining his just rights, the sons of Penn having forsaken the religion of their father, John Penn, the grandson of the founder, showing a vigorous war spirit against the Indians, even going so far as to offer, without scruple, graduated bounties for their capture, scalping or death.
It was ascertained through traders and scouts that the French had built forts at Presque Isle, at Aux Bœuf (Waterford), at Venango (Frank- lin), and that in the following spring they were intending to come in force to build a strong fort on the Ohio. Jean Cœur, who labored in the interest of the French, made a journey to Logstown, and after laboring with the Indians sent the following missive to Governor Hamilton: "Sir-Monsieur, the Marquis de la Galissonier, Governor of the whole of New France, hav- ing honored me with his orders to watch that English make no treaty in the country of the Ohio, I have directed 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 ap- prise 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 de la Galissoniere, 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."
CHAPTER VII.
THE EMBASSAGE OF WASHINGTON TO ST. PIERRE.
T HE goodly lands along the "Beautiful River," and its many tribu- taries, seemed now more attractive than ever, and the next few years succeeding the planting of the plates by Celeron witnessed a vigorous and sanguinary struggle for their occupancy. And now com- mences the active operations of the Ohio Company, chartered by the Vir- ginia Legislature, by authority of the English government, previously de- tailed. for the settlement and permanent occupancy of this coveted country. How Virginia could lay claim to this section, so clearly embraced in the charter of Penn, is difficult to comprehend.
Boldly assuming the right, the company sent out from Virginia, in 1750. as its agent. Christopher Gist, with instructions to explore the territory and sound the temper of the Indians towards its settlement by the whites. During this and the following year he traversed the country on either bank of the Ohio, as far down as the present site of city of Louisville, going even further than Celeron had done with his pewter plates, and making a far more extensive and thorough exploration of the country. In 1752 he was pres- ent at Logstown as commissioner, with Colonel Fry, in concluding the treaty with the chiefs of the Six Nations, which secured rights of settlement in this country. The French were ever watchful and the provisions of the treaty were not unknown to them, as well as the explorations of Gist.
The English commanding officer at Oswego sent a missive to Sir Wil- liam Johnson in these words: "Yesterday. passed by here thirty odd French canoes, part of an army going to Belle Riviere to make good their claim there. The army is reported to consist of six thousand French." This intel- ligence was communicated to the Governors of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It was found later that as to the numbers it was incorrect, as there were but twenty-four hundred, and eight pieces of brass cannon. This force was intended for manning the works at Presque Isle, Le Bœuf and
78
79
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Venango, and it was the intent to go in the following spring with a large force to build a fort on the Ohio.
The systematic operations of the French in building a line of forts and providing cannon and a strong military force at each, substantially on the same line as Celeron had taken possession of with his plates, finally aroused the attention of the British government, and the Secretary of State, Earl Holderness, addressed the Governors of the several colonies urging that they be put in a state of defense. The communication to the Governor of Virginia was considered of so much importance as to be sent by a govern- ment vessel. It reached its destination in October, 1853, and was regarded of such pressing import as to require the sending of a special messenger to the French commandant, on this side of the great lakes, to remonstrate with him in an official capacity for intruding upon English territory, but probably more especially to ascertain precisely what had been done, and with what forces the French were preparing to contest their claims.
Robert Dinwiddie, then Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, made 110 delay in selecting a suitable person for this embassage, and his choice fell upon George Washington, then Adjutant-General of the Northern Division of the Virginia militia, and only twenty-one years of age. It should here be observed that Lawrence Washington, the brother of George, who was President, and a leader in the Ohio company, had died July 26, 1752, and that by his will a large share of his estates and interests had fallen to George. He, consequently, had a pecuniary interest in holding the lands of the Ohio . Company, in addition to the patriotic one of discharging a public trust. It should also be observed that Dinwiddie was a large stockholder in the Ohio Company.
The youthful Washington made no delay in accepting the trust imposed on him, and though now the inclement season of the year, he quickly had his preparations completed for his departure. It appears from the follow- ing note to the Lords of Trade that the Governor had previously sent a messenger on a similar errand: "The person [Captain William Trent] sent as a commissioner to the commandant of the French forces neglected his duty, and went no further than Logstown, on the Ohio. He reports the French were then one hundred and fifty miles up the river, and I believe was afraid to go to them." But there was no fear on the part of George Washington, though then but a mere boy, and he was soon on his way.
80
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
That we may understand precisely the nature of his mission, we present the commission and instructions which he received: "Whereas, I have te- ceived information of a body of French forces being assembled in a hostile manner on the river Ohio, intending by force of arms to erect certain forts on said river within the territory, and contrary to the dignity and peace of our sovereign. the King of Great Britain. These are, therefore, to require and direct you, the said George Washington, forthwith to repair to Logs- town, on the said river Ohio, and having there informed yourself where the French forces have posted themselves, thereupon to proceed to such place, and being there arrived to present your credentials, together with my letter, to the chief commanding officer, and in the name of his Britannic Majesty to demand an answer thereto. On your arrival at Logstown you are to address yourself to the Half King, to Monacatoocha, and the other Sachems of the Six Nations, acquainting them with your orders, to visit . and deliver my letter to the French commanding officer, and desiring the said chiefs to appoint you a sufficient number of their warriors to be your safeguard as near the French as you may desire, and to await your further direction. You are diligently to inquire into the numbers and force of the French on the Ohio, and adjacent country, how they are likely to be assisted from Canada. and what are the difficulties and conveniences of the com- munication, and the time required for it. You are to take care to be truly informed what forts the French have erected and where, how they are garrisoned and appointed, and what is their distance from each other, and from Logstown, and from the best intelligence you can procure you are to learn what gave occasion to this expedition of the French, how they are likely to be supported, and what their pretensions are. When the com- mandant has given you the required and necessary dispatches you are to desire of him a proper guard to protect you as far on your return as you may judge for your safety against any straggiing Indians or hunters that may be ignorant of your character and molest you."
It will be observed that the ship bearing the royal dispatch reached Virginia in October. This letter of instructions was dated October 30, 1753, and on the same day the youthful envoy left Williamsburg, reaching Fredericksburg on the 31st. Here he engaged his "old master of fence," one Jacob Van Braum, a soldier of fortune, as interpreter, though, as Irving observes, "the veteran swordsman was but indifferently versed in the French
81
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
or English." Purchasing horses and tents at Winchester, he bade good- bye to the abodes of civilization, and pushed on over mountain and across stream, through the wilderness, on his important and perilous mission. At Will's Creek, now Cumberland, he engaged Mr. Gist, who had been the agent of the Ohio Company in exploring all that region and negotiating with the natives, to pilot him on, and secured the services of John Davidson as Indian interpreter, and four frontiersmen. With this escort he set out on the 15th of November, but found his way impeded by storms of rain and snow. Passing Gist's cabin, now Mount Braddock, and John Frazier's place at the mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela River, and finding the river swollen by recent rains, he placed his luggage in a canoe, thus relieving the horses, and himself rode on to the confluence of the Monon- gahela with the Allegheny. "As I got down before the canoe." he writes in his journal. "I spent some time in viewing the rivers and the land at the fork [now Pittsburg], which I think extremely well suited for a fort, as it has the absolute command of both rivers. The land at the point is twenty to twenty-five feet above the common surface of the water, and a con- siderable bottom of flat, well-timbered land all around it, very convenient for building. The rivers are each a quarter of a mile or more across, and run here nearly at right angles. Allegheny bearing northeast, and Monon- gahela southwest. The former of these two is a very rapid and swift-running water, the other deep and still, without any perceptible fall."
It had been proposed. by the agents of the Ohio Company, to build a fort two miles below the forks on the south side, where lived Shingiss, chief Sachem of the Delawares. But Washington says in his journal, "As I had taken a good deal of notice yesterday of the situation at the fork, my curiosity led me to examine this at Shingiss more particularly, and I think it greatly inferior, either for defence or advantages." The good judgment of Washington in preferring the forks for a fort was subsequently confirmed by the French engineers, who adopted the site at the forks. At Logstown, which was twelve miles below the forks, Washington met ten Frenchmen, deserters from a party of one hundred, who had been sent up from New Orleans, with eight canoe-loads of provisions, to this place, where they expected to meet a force from Lake Erie. This showed un- mistakable evidence that the French were determined to take forcible pos- session of the country. The wily chieftains asked Washington why he
6
82
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
wanted to communicate with the French commandant, and being naturally suspicious that they had not fathomed all the purposes and bearings of this mission they delayed him by their maneuvers. Indeed, an old Indian Sachem had previously propounded to Mr. Gist, while surveying the lands south of the Ohio, this question: "The French claim all the land on one side of the Ohio, the English claim all the land on the other side,-now, where does the Indian's land lie?" There was, undoubtedly, a suspicion in the minds of these dusky kings that the English as well as the French were preparing to occupy this delectable country. "Poor savages!" ex- claims Mr. Irving. "Between their 'fathers,' the French, and their 'brothers,' the English, they were in a fair way of being most lovingly shared out of the whole country."
Finally, after having been detained about a week by Indian diplomacy, Washington set out on the 30th of November with an additional escort of three of the Indian chiefs,-Half King, Jeskakake, and White Thunder .- and one of their best hunters. A toilsome journey of five days brought the party to Venango, at the mouth of the Venango River, or French Creek, where the French flag was floating upon a cabin which had been occupied by the same John Frazier visited on the Monongahela, where he had plied the trade of a gunsinith, but from which he had been driven by the French. Captain Jean Coeur was in command here, who said he was also in com- mand on the Ohio, but he advised Washington to present his credentials for an answer to a general officer, who had his headquarters at "a near fort." "He invited me to sup with them," the journal proceeds, "and treated 11s with the greatest complaisance. The wine, as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully with it, soon banished the restraint which at first appeared in their conversation, and gave a license to their tongues to reveal their senti- ments more freely. They told me that it was their absolute design to take possession of the Ohio, and by G-d they would do it. for that, though they were sensible the English had two men to their one, yet they knew their motions were too slow and dilatory to prevent any undertaking of theirs." But the French had yet something to learn of the temper and steady endurance of the English in America. Washington ascertained that there had been some "fifteen hundred men on this side of Ontario Lake, but, upon the death of the General. all were recalled to about six or seven hundred, who were left to garrison four forts, one on a little lake at the
83
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
headwaters of French Creek. now Waterford, another at Presque Isle, or Erie, fifteen miles away. Jean Coeur was adroit in his influence over the Indians, and used his best arts to win the chiefs, who had accompanied Washington, from their allegiance to them, plying them with liquor, and refusing to receive back the wampum belt which the Half King offered as a token of his tribe's allegiance to the French. But, after long parleying, they finally got off on the 7th. Washington records in his journal: "We passed over much good land since we left Venango, and through several very extensive and rich meadows, one of which I believe was nearly four miles in length and considerably wide in some places." This passage un- doubtedly refers to the valley where is now spread out the city of Mead- ville.
At the fort at Le Boeuf, now Waterford, Washington was courteously received by the general in command of all the forces south of the lakes. "The Commander," proceeds the journal, under date of December 12, "is a knight of the military order of St. Louis, and named Legardeur de St. Pierre. He is an elderly gentleman, and has much the air of a soldier. He was sent over to take the command immediately upon the death of the late General, and arrived here about seven days before me." In the letter which Dinwiddie had entrusted to Washington the claim of the English to all this Ohio territory was reiterated, and a demand made that the French should depart from it, and no more molest its peaceful occupancy. The answer of the Chevalier was courteous, but firm. He said that the ques- tion of the rightful occupancy of this territory was not one which he could properly argue, that he was an officer commanding a detachment of the French army in America, but that he would transmit the letter of the Governor of Virginia to his general, the Marquis Du Quesne, "to whom it better belongs than to me to set forth the evidence and reality of the rights of the King, my master, upon the lands situated along the river Ohio, and to contest the pretensions of the King of Great Britain thereto. His answer shall be law to me. As to the summons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it. Whatever may have been your instructions, I am here by virtue of the orders of my general, and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment but that I am determined to conform myself to them with all the exactness and resolution which can be expected from the best officer."
84
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Governor Dinwiddie had added to the business part of his commu- nication the following request: "I persuade myself you will receive and entertain Major Washington with the candor and politeness natural to your nation, and it will give me the greatest satisfaction if you can return him with an answer suitable to my wishes for a long and lasting peace between us." In his response, the Chevalier added in reply to this clause: "I made it my particular care to receive Mr. Washington with a distinction suitable to your dignity, as well as his own quality and great merit. I flatter myself that he will do me this justice before you, sir, and that he will signify to you, in the manner I do myself, the profound respect with which I am, sir," etc.
His mission over, he sent his horses on in advance, and himself and party took to canoes, in which they floated down French Creek to Fort Venango, now Franklin. It may be observed, in passing, that Washington, in going upwards from Fort Venango, followed the Indian path, which crossed the river at a ford near the Mercer Street bridge in the city of Meadville. But finding the stream swollen by recent storms, he decided not to cross, but kept on up on the Meadville side, and a spring within the northern limits of the city is pointed out where he stopped to lunch and take a draft of the pure water, and a little hillock on the turnpike which overlooks Woodcock Creek as the place where he encamped for a night. In returning he took the more comfortable way by floating down in canoes, while the horses returned by the path over which they had come.
On arriving at Fort Venango, finding his horses jaded and reduced, he gave up his own saddle horse for transporting the baggage. Equipped in an Indian hunting dress, he accompanied the train for three days. Finding the progress very slow, and the cold becoming every day more intense, he placed the train in charge of Van Braam, and, taking his necessary papers, pulled off his clothes and tied himself up in a watch coat. Then, with gun in hand and pack on his back, he set out with Mr. Gist to make his way back on foot to the Ohio. Falling in with a party of French and Indians, he engaged one of them for a guide, who proved treacherous, leading them out of their way, and finally turned upon and fired at Washington, "not fifteen steps off." But he missed, or the Great Spirit guided the bullet aside.
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.