USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania: The German influence in its settlement and development, Pat V > Part 2
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Johannes Yans
Johannes Claes Shaver
Peter Ritt
Jo. Hamelar Ritt
Conrad Schitz
Antonis Sharb
Paltus Unsf
Johan Peter Pacht
Toritine Serbo
Jocham Michael Cricht
Josap Sab
Sebastian Pisas
Jorge Ritt
Andrew Falborn
Godfreyt Filler.3
3 The names to the petition, being mostly in a deep German hand, could not be read, but by one skilled in German writing (which is decidedly manifest). They are given as above.
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CHAPTER IV.
THE EMIGRATION TO PENNSYLVANIA.
HE place and route decided it remained but to put their project into execution. In the spring of 1723 a certain num- ber of families, not exceeding thirty-three, the names of many of whose heads we have just read, turned their backs on those with whom they had experienced so Wurtemberg. many trials and sufferings in the past and so few joys, and turned their faces towards the setting sun as it sank below the unknown wilderness which lay before them with all its hidden dangers.
There is something not only pathetic, but grand and noble, in the stalwart faith of these people which led them to this act, far exceeding, in romance and daring, any parallel performance in the history of this land. What was the deed of either Puritan or Cavalier, so constantly on the lips of everyone, compared to that of these despised and down-trodden Germans? They too endured persecu- tion in the home land for religion's sake, but they endured
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it patiently for a century until home, land and, often, family was gone and neither endurance nor patience was any longer a virtue. They too endured the horrors of the terrible voyage across the Atlantic, but when they landed their feet did not rest on the shores of Freedom; their coming was only to another slavery. And now, unlike the Pilgrims or any other of the peoples who came to this country, they alone once more resolutely set out to seek a home where they may peacefully live and worship their God in accordance with the dictates of their conscience, knowing full well the great dangers which lay before them, dangers apparently greater than any experienced in the past.
It is difficult for us, of our day, to fully imagine the trackless wilderness which literally covered the territory now teeming with cities, cultivated farms and civilized life of every description. One immense forest practically ex- tended from Schoharie to their destination on the head waters of the Susquehanna, through which alone roamed the wild beast and still wilder savage man. The river gained, its waters floated them, day by day, through a desolate country, without sign of habitation or habitant. How interesting to us could we but picture them to our- selves, mentally, on their daily journey, and what a reve- lation to them could the future of the noble stream, on whose bosom they were borne, have been spread before them !
Guided by the Indians, and not under the leadership of either the elder Weiser, or his gifted son, as some sup- pose, both of whom came later, the pioneers of 1723, with much toil and labor, cut their way through the forest, after which, with their wives, little ones and animals, they fol- lowed, by day, the scanty track they had made in the woods
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Down the Susquehanna.
and slept at the foot of its trees, wooed to slumber by its ceaseless noises, during the night, until the forty or fifty miles, which separated them from the river, had been traversed. Then came the building and launching of the heavy rafts, to contain their domestic utensils, and of the light and speedy canoes for themselves, on which they were to continue their long journey to the haven of rest, accompanied slowly by their cattle driven along the river's banks. As forest and open space, trees, rocks and sandy beach, succeeded each other with tiresome monotony, and as camp-fire followed camp-fire at the close of the day, they little reckoned that they had swept by the spots where the flourishing towns of Binghamton and Oswego were, later, to stand. As they rounded the curve where the Lackawanna joins the Susquehanna at Pittston, who was the wizard of their number whose divining rod would point to the priceless diamonds beneath them and tell them that their dumb animals were treading under foot riches of far greater value to mankind than all the pearls and rubies for which the world was striving? Whose fancy amongst them all could have pictured or imagined the beautiful city of Wilkes-Barré, and the coal breakers everywhere rearing their heads into the air as though they were indeed giants issuing from their long slumber in the bowels of the earth ? Which of them, as they halted for the night by the site of that busy town of Danville, and watched the smoke of their fires curling lazily into the air, could have trans- formed it, by any power of imagination, into the volumes of black smoke which were, later, to pour from its busy iron factories, or to have even dreamed of the iron monsters which plow our waters, as their glance, perchance, rested on their tiny canoes by the river's bank? As they ex- changed greetings with the Indians in their village at Sha-
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mokin can it be that there rose up before any one of them a picture of the hideous scenes of their near future, or any foresight of their murdered sons and daughters and the blackened ruins of the homes towards which they were
Type of Costume of Early Palatines.
hastening, or did the troubled dreams of any other reveal to him the fort at Sunbury, no longer Shamokin, filled with its soldiers, and sound into his astonished ears the booming of its guns ?
37I
They Reach the Swatara.
Down the grand stream, which was bearing them, they slowly floated until their watchful eyes caught sight of a long log cabin on its shores, where now stands the capital city of Pennsylvania, and, as they looked upon the home of John Harris, it is altogether probable they saw, for the first time in all their journey, the dwelling of a white man. Cheered by the sight on they went, until they came to where the Swatara Creek joined its waters with those of its mighty brother, and at the spot where Middletown, with its busy mills and works, now stands, our wanderers at last changed their course and entered the stream which told them they were drawing near the goal towards which they had been hastening for so many weary days. To reach this goal was but to endure a few more trials and a few more hardships, and when, in the lovely Tulpehocken region, nestling at the foot of the Blue Mountains and watered by its numerous streams, they pitched their camp for the last time-it was HOME.
And what a home, indeed, was this Tulpewihaki, or land where the turtles sang and wooed. If there be any trace of Paradise still left in this world surely it is to be found in the Tulpehocken region of Berks County. Its extent was not then limited to the two smaller townships now bearing the name, but it embraced all the county west of that part of the Schuylkill River between the city of Reading and town of Port Clinton to the north, or, to state it differently, it covered all the territory watered by the beautiful Tulpehocken stream and its many tributaries, all springing from the main Kittatinny or Blue Mountains and adjoining hills. Then its streams were filled with the finny tribe, through its forests and over its hills roamed countless animals of the hunt, and its fertile soil readily gave birth to such food as its people needed. Now its plains are cov-
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ered with waving fields of golden grain, or silk-tasseled corn, with bough-laden orchards of fruit, in the midst of which stand the cheerful homes and great barns, bursting with plenty, of the descendants of those who opened it up to civilization.
THE ABORIGINES OF THE TULPEWIHAKI.
Its aboriginal inhabitants, at that time, were members of the Delaware tribe of Indians. This great nation was di- vided into three principal tribes-the Unamis, or Turtle, the Unalâchtgo, or Turkey, and the Minsi (or Monseys), or Wolf. It was this latter tribe which occupied the entire eastern portion of Pennsylvania, with headquarters either at Minisink, on the Delaware River, now in Pike County, or at Shamokin, on the Susquehanna River, near the pres- ent town of Sunbury. Their great sachems, or chiefs, during the English occupation were Kekerappan, Opekas- set, Taminent, Allumapees (or Sassoonan) and Teedyu- scung. The Minsi tribe was itself subdivided into various clans, such as the Schuylkills, Susquehannas, Nesh- amines, Conestogas, Assunpinks, Rankakos, Andastakas and Shackmaxons, each with its petty chief, the names of these clans being derived from the locality which they oc- cupied, or giving name to it. Of these the Schuylkill In- dians occupied the region selected by our German immi- grants for their home. At the time of their arrival the chief of the clan was Manangy, whose principal village was at Tulpehocken, and on the direct thoroughfare be- tween the Susquehanna River and Philadelphia, which added greatly to its importance and made it a frequent stop- ping place for the head chiefs on their way to and from the Councils held at Philadelphia. On March 12, 1705, Ma- nangy appeared before the Lieutenant Governor, John
The Tulpehocken Indians. 373
Evans, with a statement that the Ganawese (or Shawanees, or Piscataways) tribe of Indians, living along the Potomac, had been greatly reduced in numbers by sickness and were desirous of settling amongst their Schuylkill brethren near Tulpehocken. As an inducement towards favorable action on the part of the authorities a guarantee was given by the Conestoga Indians, along the Susquehanna River, in Lan- caster County, for their peaceful behavior. The Governor promptly gave them a kind invitation to come, only engag- ing that they should live peaceably upon arrival. Not only did these Shawanees pitch their wigwams beside those of the Schuylkill Indians, but they gradually spread to the west and north. In 1728 Shekallamy was appointed by the Five Nations to reside amongst them and be their Chief. This he did, making his headquarters at Sha- mokin, becoming the firm friend of Weiser and rendering untold service to the English. He was a most valuable man, and one of sterling character.
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CHAPTER V.
THE SETTLEMENT.
HIS was the country to which our German pilgrims came from New York Province, and these were the neighbors they found awaiting them upon their arrival. Outside of the Indian villages we have no record of previous settlements, so that, in very truth, they had taken up Bavaria. " vacant lands." But, with age and experience, they had learned wisdom. Their serfdom at Livingston Manor had shown them that promises were but broken reeds on which to lean, their expulsion from Schoharie had taught them that " might is right" and that the rightful gift of their Indian friends was but a shadow to them when the hand of might was reached out to grasp it. This time they tried to make their title secure at the outstart. Immediately upon arrival they entered into communication with Governor Keith and obtained permission from the lawful authorities to take up such land as they needed, with the understanding that they would make full satisfaction to the proprietor, or his agents, when the latter were ready to receive the same. During
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Demands of the Indians.
the following year, learning that an agent had been ap- pointed with ample power to dispose of lands, they ad- dressed the petition, previously quoted, to the Governor, stating that they were ready to purchase and asking that the sale might be consummated to give them a clear title to their homes. They left it to their English friends to satisfy the Indians for the lands they might obtain.
In this paper it will be noticed that reference is made to " fifty families more who, if they may be admitted upon the same conditions, are desirous to come and settle with us," showing that a good report of the land had already reached those remaining in Schoharie. Whilst, unfortu- nately, there seems to be no record extant indicating the exact time when the newcomers reached Tulpehocken, yet there can be no doubt of the Governor's approval and of their arrival in due time. Indeed, it is more than probable that, for several years after the immigration of 1723, there was a more or less constant accession to the number of the Palatines. Were any proof needed of this fact it would be evidenced in the demand of the Indians, under the leader- ship of Sassoonan and other chiefs, made June 5, 1728, for satisfaction to be made them on account of their lands, on the Tulpehocken, occupied by the incoming Germans.
So much has been said, and not without truth, of the kind invitations given by William Penn to the Germans to settle on his lands, and of their kind reception when they came, that we take it for granted they slept, as it were, upon beds of roses. We forget that roses have thorns. Whilst William Penn was living and his lands still unoccu- pied he was most anxious for settlers, but William Penn was now dead, many settlers had come and others were coming, expenses were increasing and money not flowing in so rapidly as his successors desired. Indigent new-
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comers were not so welcome as before, even when they de sired to make their homes on lands already acquired of the Indians. But here comes a body of foreigners who delib- erately squat upon territory claimed by the aborigines, putting the Proprietors to the expense of satisfying the same without much prospect of any immediate equivalent return for their expenditure. To be sure these Germans claimed that they had acted by the advice and with the consent of Sir William Keith, then Governor, but Sir William had already been deposed because his ideas and plans had not been in accord with those of the Proprietors, and the Commissioners, who alone had power to dispose of lands, claimed, on their part, that, the Governor's action was illegal and without either their knowledge or consent. It was a little cloud that formed on the horizon, but it was very black and bid fair to burst over the heads of our de- voted pilgrims. Under God's guidance, I believe it was only because of the well-known character of the German settlers for determination, or obstinacy if you please, which decided those in authority to avoid force and resort to peace- ful means of settlement, and thus averted the storm.
It will be interesting to trace events to the satisfactory conclusion which was reached by giving a few extracts gleaned from the " Papers relating to Provincial Affairs."
On May 13, 1723, James Mitchell writes to Secretary Logan from Donegal :
"I give you to know that there is fifteen famileys of Duch come from Albaney, &c are now setling upp Swat- tarra. I sent an account of it to the Governour & councle by Cony Thomas, & an address from the upper savens to the Governour & Councle & I have heard they are Impa- tient for the answer, & for me to send an express on such occasions, att my own charge, will not answer."
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James Logan's Letters.
In the letter of Nov. 25, 1727, from James Logan to John Penn, which is taken up, to a great extent, with the division of the Province amongst Penn's heirs, he says :
" For Laetetia a Tract of very good Land was laid out at a place call'd Tulpehockin about 70 miles from Philaia, by young Rees Thomas, about 5 years since, by W"Aubrey's directions, at which, tho' it could not properly or regularly be done at that time, I thought it was much better to con- nive than oppose it. The next year our late Govern' placed the Palatines there, whom he had invited from Albany, who will certainly hold it, on some terms or other, peace- ably, by agreeing to an annual Rent or a reasonable pur- chase, if they can, but they are too numerous and resolute to be removed; nor, since they were placed there by what they accounted an authority would it be proper to endeav- our their Dissappointmt."
Pushed as the Proprietaries were for money, in their let- ter of April 24, 1728, to the Trustees, they say :
" And on this head we must beg leave to observe, that as within these few years there have been several persons, as well others as Palatines, that have seated themselves on Lands without purchasing them, wee think moneys, more than sufficient to pay all our Father's debts might be raised from settling with them, without the sale of any other Lands, and as wee have been informed many of these people are not in a Condition to pay the full purchase their settlements are worth, they might (if you thought propper) be granted them on their paying a less consideration and raising the quitrent in proportion, which, considering the part of the purchase money abated to be entirely lost, must not be calculated to the Common Interest, but at least at three p. cent more."
We now come, chronologically, to a meeting of the
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Council held at Philadelphia, in the "Great meeting house," June 5, 1728, at which were present the Delaware Indian chiefs, who had come demanding satisfaction for their lands, especially in the Tulpehocken region, which were occupied by the whites. In response to this demand they were shown the treaty made with them ten years previously, deeding to the English "all their Lands, Islands, Woods & Waters, situate between the said two Rivers of Delaware & Susquehannah." Then come the following occurrences which we quote :
" This Deed being fully explained to the Indians in their own Language, Sassoonan & Opekasset, two of those who had executed it being present, viewed their Marks & ac- knowledged that it was all true, and that they had been paid for all the Lands therein mentioned ; but Sassoonan said the Lands beyond these Bounds had never been paid for, that these reached no further than a few miles beyond Oley, but that their Lands on Tulpyhocken were seated by the Christians.
" Mr. Logan answered, that he understood at the Time that Deed was drawn, & ever since, that Lechay Hills or Mountains stretched away from a little below Lechay or the Forks of Delaware to those Hills on Sasquehannah that lie about ten Miles from Pextan. Mr. Farmer said, those Hills passed from Lechay a few Miles above Oley, & reached no further, & that Tulpyhocken Lands lay be- yond them.
" Mr. Logan proceeded to say, that whether those Lands of Tulpyhocken were within or without the Bounds men- tioned in the Deed, he well knew that the Indians some few years since were seated on them & that he with the other Commissioners, of whom Richard Hill and Isaac Norris now present at the Board were two, would never
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Petition from Palatines.
consent that any settlement should be made on Lands where the Indians are seated, that these Lands were set- tled wholly against their minds & even without their Knowledge.
" Sassoonan said, he could not himself believe the Chris- tians had settled on them, till he came & with his own Eyes saw the Houses and Fields they had made there.
" Mr. Logan proceeded & said, that he was sensible the Palatines were settled there, but as he had observed before, it was without the Consent or Knowledge of any of the Commissioners, And how they came hither he should now make his Audience sensible. He said, that when he left his home this morning he did not expect this Affair would be now mentioned, but hearing after he came abroad that it was intended, being unable himself to walk, he had sent for one Paper, which he could easily direct to, that if he could have gone himself amongst his Papers, he could have produced some Letters & Affidavits that would more fully explain the matter, but he hoped that what he had there would be sufficient to make it clearly understood. It was a Petition from those Palatines themselves, directed to the late Governour, Sir William Keith & the Council, all wrote in the hand of Patrick Baird, who was then Sec- retary to the Governour & Clerk of the Council, & who it was that drew it would appear by its Stile."
(Here follows the petition of the Palatines to Governor Keith, previously quoted.)
" Mr. Logan observed upon this petition, that by the whole Tenour of it, as well as the Writing, 'twas very easy to judge from whom what hand it originally came. It is addressed to HIS EXCELLENCY the Governour Sir William Keith ; who (as they are made to speak) OF HIS GREAT GOODNESS PERMITTED THEM to inhabit on Tulpahaca
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Creek. HIS EXCELLENCY is to recommend them to the Agents, that they may have sufficient Rights and Titles made to them for such Lands as they should have occasion to buy; And to HIM they apply also, that by His Au- THORITY they might be freed from the demands of the In- dians. It will therefore no longer remain a question, (he said) tho' nothing more than this Petition were produced, by whose authority these foreigners had been encouraged to invade these lands to the manifest Injury of the Proprie- tor, and to the great abuse of the Indians, who at that very time were seated there, and had their Corn destroyed by those Peoples Creatures. And he now hoped that such of this Audience as had been so sollicitous to have the In- dians complain of James Logan might go away satisfied. They had complained, and they were answered.
" Then applying to the Indians, he desired, that tho' these People had seated themselves on Tulpahockin Lands, without the Commissioners Leave or Consent, yet they would not offer them any violence, or injure them, but wait till such time as that matter could be adjusted.
" Mr. Hamilton being at the Board desired the Gover- nours Leave to say a few words which he did to this effect.
" It was not difficult, he said, to account for the Indians mentioning at this time the affair of their Lands, consider- ing the pains some had taken to perswade them they were wrong'd. That having accompany'd the Governour in his late Journey to Mahanatawny, with divers Persons of as good note as any of this City, on the News sent down to us forreign Indians in that neighborhood, he had heard some things very positively advanced amongst the Inhab- itants concerning this Injustice to the Indians, which as he could not then believe to be true, he had wished to see them sett in a true Light, and to that purpose he thought it
1162741
THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN SOCIETY.
With
ORIGINAL PENCIL SKETCH AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA,
FROM = PENNSYLVANIA PROVINCE AND STATE,'' BY ALBERT S. BOLLES.
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Rights of the Indians.
would be most proper for these persons in this Audience to declare openly what they had to say, that if true it may be known who are to bear the blame, or if false that they may be convinced of their Error.
" Thomas Rutter, Senr., who had been call'd on by Sas- soonan, stood up & denied he had ever uttered any such thing, as that the Indians had not been satisfied for their Lands, &c.
" Mr. Logan further desired the Governours Permission to speak to another Point, which tho' proper to be taken notice of at this Treaty, yet he intended it, he said, for the sake of the Audience only.
" It was with the utmost astonishment, he said, that he first heard the Story he was about to mention, for he could scarce believe it possible that any Man could be so lost to all Sense of Shame as to form it, but he had received such numerous Accounts, & from such credible Persons of its being said & spread by many, that he could no longer forbear believing what he had so repeatedly been assured of.
" He was sensible, he said, of our present Unhappiness in having Divisions fomented amongst us. Great Pains were taken to infuse into the Minds of such as could be prevailed on, a Spirit of Contention & Faction. To divide & con- fuse, & by any means to perplex the Government has been the principal aim of some, the instances of it are ob-
vious. But whatever they may do amongst ourselves, it is exceeding wicked to carry their Endeavours amongst the poor innocent Indians, & to spirit them up to uneasiness by perswading them they are wrong'd in their Lands.
" Yet if anything can be worse, it is that ridiculous, that shameless but malicious Story he rose up to speak concern- ing himself, vizt : That the Proprietor had sent him over a vast Quantity of Indian Goods, Strowds, & he knew not
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what, for a Present to the Indians, all which (they were pleased to say) he had converted to his own Use in Trade. This was a home Push against him, for perswade the In- dians of this & nothing can incense them more, That this wild & wicked as it is, has been currently said, many of those who now heard him speak very well knew. It re- quired indeed a vast Stock of Assurance to say it, but he was certain none would have so much as to own it to himself, they must deeply blush, if it were possible for such to blush to acknowledge it. It would have been a great Pleasure to him, he said, to have received anything of that kind, & he would gladly have applied it as intended, but he had been so far from making Advantages that way that his own Generosity to the Indians had cost him more than he should name. Their malice who invented & spread this Story is to be pitied, but even the Indians themselves have more sense than to believe it.
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