USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > The Wyoming Valley, upper waters of the Susquehanna, and the Lackawanna coal-region : including views of the natural scenery of northern Pennsylvania : from the Indian occupancy to the year 1875 > Part 6
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Susquehanna > The Wyoming Valley, upper waters of the Susquehanna, and the Lackawanna coal-region : including views of the natural scenery of northern Pennsylvania : from the Indian occupancy to the year 1875 > Part 6
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
Colonel Stone says, "the battle commenced at about forty rods distance, without much execu- tion at the outset, as the brush-wood interposed obstacles to the sight."
The description of the manner of commencing the battle, as given by some of the historians of the valley, with all of the speeches made upon the occasion, and the bombastic style of exhort- ing men who were accustomed to hardships, must pass here unnoticed. Such military litera- ture may inspire the youth of the land, but the theory here maintained is, that fighting com- menced, and men fought as a business matter. A deal of romance connected with the history of battles deserves a contempt which soldiers are able to bestow.
The two Butlers, it seems, opposed each other moderately, neither suffering much, for the fire was but a moderate one with the earlier style of arms, but Dennison, who was opposed to the hidden force of Indians, must have received from the woods, a fire which would have staggered troops of the same number, in any part of the world.
As Colonel John Butler expresses it in his re- port, "this pleased the Indians highly, who ob- served they should be on an equal footing with them in the woods-''
Colonel Stone states, after noticing the firing on the American right,-"unluckily, just at this moment the appalling war-whoop of the Indians rang in the rear of the American left-the Indi- an leader having conducted a large party of his warriors through the marsh, and succeeded in turning Dennison's flank." Even on the other flank, the British Butler, in his report says, that "we posted ourselves in a fine open wood, and for our greater safety, lay flat upon the ground, wait- ing their approach." But there, it was white against white, while Dennison was pushing on into a forest which the Indians had selected, and where the penalty was paid in approaching the position, as it ever was in Indian warfare. In the confusion which followed the terrific fire, Dennison ordered his men to "fall back," not as a retreat, but to prevent a lapping over on his flank, on the part of the Indians who would have soon surrounded him. His men mistook his meaning, and the consequence was-a panic, which determined the battle.
--
This is all that could have been of the occa- sion, and volumes written upon the matter can- not change the result.
The American officers must have been of stern metal, for nearly all fell, but the men had been seized with the panic, and no force on the face of the earth could hold thein. It needs only to cite Chancellorsville to determine upon low large a scale a reason-lost host will plunge into madness, and taking into consideration, the wild and hellish-like yell of the Indians who followed the fugitives, one can gather why the slaughter became so general on the American side. Col- onel John Butler states in his report, in men- tioning the firing, "that the affair was soon over, not lasting half an hour from the time they gave us the first fire to their flight." It has been sup- posed that many of the Americans were scalped by the Indians after they had surrendered and asked quarter, be that as it may, they were upon the field when they fell, and in those early days when every man would fight for himself, it is safe to presume that many an Indian paid the penalty of his life when close quarters were entered into. The pioneers of the valley did not die like fright- ened fawns, and if such a large number were stricken upon the plains, it was because they were overwhelmed by the Indians.
The Tory force was there, too, and right heart- ily did they enter into the wild, demoniac spirit of slaughtering the Americans. Take but one instance to prove the spirit of revenge which was manifested, and any historian is defied to match it on the part of the so-called red-skinned savage. Stone calls it Cain-like barbarity, but that is drawn mild, for Cain deserves more pity than many a theological student will tender his mem- ory.
A short distance down the Susquehanna, upon the line of retreat is an island, called Monocko- nock. To reach this island, the retreating fugi- tives were obliged to swim. In doing this they had divested themselves of every ineumbrance, including arms. Their retreat being discovered, the local Tories followed them. Even Colonel Stone, who writes partially, leaning upon the British side, says, "and though obliged to swim, yet so intent were they upon the work of death, that they succeeded in taking their guns with
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سعب ديكورسعيـ
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TORY CRUELTY AND THE CAPITULATION.
them. Arriving upon the island, they deliberately wiped their gun-locks, recharged their pieces, and commenced searching for the fugitives."
It seems that two were concealed in sight of each other, and one escaped to tell the story, but as the historians all agree, a sighit was be- holden by him which would stagger a savage. Oac of the pursuing party came upon a concealed person, who proved to be his own brother. His salutation was-"So it is you is it ?" The wretcli- ed man, who was unarmed, came forward, and falling upon his knees, begged for merey, prom- ising to live with his brother the remainder of his life, and serve him forever, if he would but spare him. What was the answer? "All this is mighty fine, but you are a d -- d rebel," upon which he shot him on the spot. That is the type of the massaere of Wyoming ! That is the spirit which inaugurated the cold-blooded cruelty ! Did anyone ever know of soldiers who were strangers to each other, carrying vengeance after surrender ? And, did anyone ever know parti- sans-not soldiers, who would not do it ? The instanee here quoted is but one, but when will all the feuds, existing between families, bc brought to light, as they displayed themselves at Wyoming ?
The reader must observe, that before this bat- tle at Wyoming, neighbors had suckled the ven- om of revenge for ten years previous, but notice that ten years of bitter hatred as neighbors, will engender more vindictive hate, than all the pages of red-skin atrocities ean assume.
Another instance, and one well in point,-that of Windecker, a Tory who had lived amongst the settlers of Wyoming, and who had been treated by Elijah Shoemaker with the tenderness of a child of his loins. During the progress of the flight, Shoemaker was obliged to seek the river, but was unable to swim. Windecker ob- served him wading in the water, and hailed him : "Come out Shoemaker." Said the old man in reply, "I am afraid you will give me up to the Indians." No, I sha'n't, I will save you, they sha'n't hurt you." The confiding Shoemaker, indeed, thought he could recognize a claim for former aets of kindness, and trusting in the de- ceiving tones of Windecker, hastened toward him. No sooner had he set foot upon the shore 4
than the eternally branded Windecker sent a a tomahawk into the brain of his former bene- factor, and threw the body back into the Susque- hanna. Providential means, allowed Esquire Carpenter, and Anning Owen, who were con- cealed in a tree, to witness this brutal act, that the real motives might be transmitted to poster- ity. What may have been the fate of the Tory, Windecker, cannot here be recorded, but the fratricide inct a doom becoming such a wretch, -that of being consumed and eaten piece-meal, to his heart strings by a pack of hungry wolves, away in a dense forest of Canada. If a figure of speech were necessary to mect this case, it would fail in forec, for what more significant and perti- nent than the reality-a lean wolf whose eyes were bulging with ferocious appetite, satisfactori- ly lapping every jet which his exposed heart forced through the valves. Indeed vengeance does not belong to man.
These illustrations find place in this work, in order to meet the theory which has been ad- vanced, and herein, for want of further spacc. other cases, and numerous ones, must be crowded out, in order to make room for later days in the valley.
The morning; after the battle, July 4th, the British commander with his entire force appeared at Fort Wyoming and demanded its surrender. It is claimed by more than one writer, that in the first, and every instance, Colonel Zebulon Butler would not be recognized by his naine- sake on the British side, the latter refusing to have anything whatever to do with him, as an official head of the American forces. Following this statement, it is said that John Butler, asked in his demand, to treat with an officer other than Zebulon Butler.
The reader will observe in the latter's official letter, that he refers to this matter, still not in such a manner as will refute either side.
Colonel Stone takes another view,-that of the inhabitants both within and without the fort be- traying Colonel Zebulon, by their weakness and fear. The following extract is from Stone's his- tory, and needs some qualifications :
"The inhabitants, both within and without the fort, did not, on that emergency, sustain a chiar- aster for courage becoming men of spirit in ad
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
versity. They were so intimidated as to give up without fighting ; great numbers ran off; and those who remained, all but betrayed Colonel Zebulon Butler, their commander. The British . Colonel Butler sent several flags, requiring an unconditional surrender of his opposing name- sake, and the few Continental troops yet remain- ing, but offering to spare the inhabitants their property and effects, but with the American Colonel the victor would not treat on any terms, and the people therefore compelled Colonel Den. nison to comply with conditions which his com- mander had refused."
The consequence was, therefore, that the American commander, with the remains of Cap- tain IIewitt's company of regulars, left the fort, leaving Colonel Dennison to complete the articles of capitulation, as follows :
"CAPITULATION AGREEMENT-Made and com- pleted between John Butler, in behalf of his ma- jesty king George the Third, and Colonel Nathan Dennison, of the United States of America :
"ART. I. It is agreed that the settlement lay down their arms, and their garrison be demol- ished.
"ART. II. That the inhabitants occupy their farms peaceably, and the lives of the inhabitants be preserved entire and unhurt.
"ART. III. That the Continental stores are to be given up.
"ART. IV. That Colonel Butler will use his utmost influence that the private property of the inhabitants shall be preserved entire to them.
"ART. V. That the prisoners in Forty Fort be delivered up.
"ART. VI. That the property taken from the people called Tories be made good; and that they remain in peaccable possession of their farms, and unmolested in a free trade throughout this settlement.
"ART. VII. That the inhabitants which Col- onel Dennison capitulates for, together with him- self, do not take up arms during this contest.
(Signed),
"JOHN BUTLER, "NATHAN DENNISON."
On the 2nd of July, the day following the sign- ing of the above artieles, the gates of the fort were opened and the victors entered.
The terms which had been agreed upon by the officers commanding, were not strictly ad- hered to. If the accounts given from newspaper columns of the day, are to be credited, then Wy- oming would cause a shudder whenever the name was uttered.
It is strange that such writers as Ramsay, and Gordon, and Marshall,-nay, even the British historians, should have allowed themselves to have written such gross exaggerations.
Chief Justice Marshall, however, left to the world his admission of the error after having been convinced by Mr. Charles Miner, of Wilkes- Barre, an historian who was accurate in every- thing save matters of local prejudice. Then, again, such monstrosities as have been narrated in such works as Thatcher's Military Journal, and Drake's Book of the Indians, including a host of others whose names are unworthy of note-are hardly deserving of consideration were it not that they are adhered to and believed with so stern a tenacity.
It was to be but natural on the part of the Indians, after the battle in general to pursue their time-honored and loved carousals over the selected victims of torture, and therefore, when the whites had stacked their arms, the Indians were just beginning to devour the sweets of the victory at "Bloody Rock," sometimes called 'Queen Esther's Rock." There is a record worthy of belief that but eighteen in all were taken to this place of torture. Eleven were sub- jected to the forest victor's vengeance, two escap- . ing from the horrid scenes, while others were reserved for a future occasion.
This rock is about at the base of Campbell's Ledge, a view of which is given in Part I. of this work, and is a huge conglomerate, mixed largely with quartz, upon which some had their brains dashed out, to preserve a method which had been sanctioned by the red men for time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.
It is said that this Queen Esther, whose name was Catherine Montour, presided over the orgies. There can be no doubt of this, for the quasi chiv- alry of the savages demanded some one for this honorable station, and it seemed fitting that her eminence entitled her to the post of distinction. She was a half-breed, and had been well edu-
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TORY CRUELTY AND THE CAPITULATION.
1579359
ested in Canada. Stone says, "her reputed fath- er was one of the French governors of that pro- since when appertaining to the crown of France, And she herself was a lady of comparative refine- went. She was much caressed in Philadelphia, and mingled in the best society ; hence the re- mnotest belief cannot be entertained that she was the Hecate of that fell night."
It would seem from many acts of her life which have passed into history, that her refined nature would have revolted against such scenes, but that does not materially affect the matter, for she was but occupying an official position which in her own race was considered honorable and ancient.
There is too much direct evidence from the lips of those who saw her there, although the same testimony greatly exaggerates her actions, hence our space will not be profited by going in- to an examination of all authorities, which are numerous, and woefully conflicting.
Beyond these extra field measures nothing can be shown that there was a massacre at Wy- oming. So far it has been shown herein that it was a fair and square fight, and.the Americans got the worst of it, which was but paying for their own folly in leaving Forty Fort to go out to attack a superior force, especially when in the debate the night before the battle the semi- mob were urged to abandon the attack by the best military minds of their number.
Such results invariably follow such causes, and Wyoming happened to be the scene where the strongest corroboration was ever given by the same number of men engaged.
The fighting is here ended, and it devolves upon us to show what followed in the shape of a massacre, and here it will do to premise that, there was no massacre, nothing of the nature of one, and nothing that could be any resemblance to such a scene, unless it is contained in the fol- lowing :
When the gates of the fort were thrown open, the Indians marched in-under Butler, not as a horde of savages, and after examining everything with the curiosity of which a savage is capable, went out again, and all through that day, the 5th, molested no one, nor the property of friend or foc.
On the 6th they commenced plundering in some parts of the settlement, and toward evening many of them were drunk, when the ravaging of property became more general. At the first in- stance, Colonel Dennison sent for Butler and re- monstrated with him, alleging that the conduet of the Indians under his command was a breach of the stipulated articles which existed between them. Butler promptly replied, "my men shall not molest the people, I will put a stop to it."
As a military officer, it is but just to say that Butler attempted to arrest every inclination of the plunderers, but it proved in vain, for the real malicious spirit which prompted these overt acts had its origin in the hatred of the Tories to their old neighbors. What more natural than to pay off old scores ? Did not the early settlers visit summary punishment upon the Tory element, by sending many of their number away to prison in Connecticut ? Were not several of the families proscribed, as we have shown in a former page : Then who was paying the old score, the Indians or the Tories ?
Colonel Butle: was sent for again before even- ing, after the Indians became drunk and unman - ageable, and Dennison had another conversation with him. Butler's concluding remarks were, "To tell you the truth, I can do nothing with them.". Colonel Dennison on his part chided the British commander, but the same words were repeated, and who does not think more of John Butler for his honesty. Do nothing with them ? The whole military force of Great Britain, were they present, could not control them but by ousting them from the place, for the Tories had furnished the whiskey, and put them npon the track.
No reader will be silly enough to believe that the carly settlers of the valley who were subjugated, and who knew as well as dreaded the Indian character, would put the fire-water into an Indian's mouthi, nor will any candid ob- server, who has ever seen anything of military life, believe that John Butler and the soldiers under him, would have sanctioned such action, especially after the caution which was sent to the fort before the battle, requesting all liquor to be destroyed.
Then there could be but the diabolical spirit of
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
the Tories to originate and consummate the eow- ardly scheme. But, even with this view, -- with property plundered, with women and children frightened, no one was hurt, and we fail to find a massacre.
How suggestive, indeed, are the words of Chief Justice Marshall, who eandidly and forci- bly throws light upon the feeling which pervaded the people in the earlier days. IIe says, after admitting his error in overdrawing the account of Wyoming : "It was certainly our policy dur- ing the war to excite the utmost possible irrita- tion against our enemy, and it is not surprising that we should not always have been very mind- ful of the verity of our publications ; but when we come to the insertion of facts in serious his- tory, truth ought never to be disregarded."
Five days after the battle of the 3d of July, Butler left the valley with his entire force ; henee, up to this time nothing is recorded of cruelty, excepting destroying property, which is herein elaimed was the work of the Tories, as principals.
A melancholy aspect attaches to the event be- cause of mueh bodily suffering consequent there- on. The retreat on the day of the battle, fright- ened many women and children from their homes, and others joined them on the 6th, after the violent demonstrations on the part of the In- dians. Families were broken up and dispersed, children were carried away into captivity, while far the greater number fled to the mountains, en- deavoring to cross them and reach the older set- tlements. They plunged into a wilderness where but little could be found to nourish them, where many died of wounds, others from want and fa- tigue, and from keen suffering and deprivation. That wilderness and swamp leading from the mountains bordering the valley, looking toward the Delaware, has acquired a name which it yet retains,-The Shades of Death.
Butler, in his mareh northward, after having burned the houses, mills, ete., states in his report that "we have also killed and drove off about one thousand head of horned eattle, and sheep and swine in great numbers."
This was in reality an altnost entire destruction of the valley. Even Zebulon Butler, in his re- port on the American side states :
"I have heard from men that came from the place sinee the people gave up, that the Indians have killed no persons since, but have burned most of the buildings, and are collecting all the horses they can, and are moving up the river.''
After the lapse of two weeks, from the day of the battle, a rumor flow to the few remaining outskirts, from those who remained in the fort, that the valley was again to be scourged by an approaching body composed of Tories and In- dians. This had the effect of clearing the valley of all that had any intentions of remaining, and again the troubled Eden was emptied of its white inhabitants. This approaching expedition proved to be a small party of Rangers and In- dians, who had been operating after a bush- whacking style of fighting, along the Delaware. and who moved up country by way of Wyoming up the Lackawanna, thence on, to join the main foree of Jolin Butler, from which they had been originally detailed for such a scouting expedition. They found little to encounter around Wyoming. but in the Lackawanna region, they overtook two men on Keiser's Creek, named Leach and St. John, whose sealps they carried away with them. and at Capoosc, a Mr. Ilickman, who was attend- ing to his crops, was murdered, as were his wife and child. This bushwhacking party, composed only of Tories and Indians, and being under no regular military discipline, were capable of doing such work, and had it not been for the presence of British troops and strict discipline, it could not be here recorded that one hundred and forty eseaped, while but one hundred and sixty fell at Wyoming.
The faets recorded in the foregoing chapter are truly painful, and purely the results of war, but the specific acts are all given, which tend to make it doubly painful. Beyond these, the mueh abused, and ever agitated chapter of the waste and destruction of the valley, ends here.
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بول سبيب
CHAPTER VIII.
JOSEPH BRANT-THAYENDANEGEA, THE GREAT WAR-CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS. WAS HE AT WYOMING?
A dreary sea now flows between, But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, Shall wholly do away I ween The marks of that which once hath been. "
-Coleridge'x Christabel.
What if his dull forefathers us'd that cry, Could le Lot let a bad example die ?
-Pope.
The real vexed question concerning Wyoming, in later years is-did Thayendanegea, the "Great Chief of the Six Nations," or in other words Jo- seph Brant, which was his English name. lead the Indians to the so-called massacre at Wyom- ing. Historians have endeavored to prove that he did; not so much because Brant was more than a man himself, but for the reason that, could it be proven that he was the immediate leader on the occasion, it would give to history an enormous and dire calamity to record, for Brant was the typical exponent of might, in the grand conelave of nations, which, when reduced to its smallest compass, meant "The Six Nations," and that title in forest warfare days was terrible in the minds of pioneers, far beyond modern re- alization.
The reader will recall the first chapters in this work, to know that the Six Nations, which meant that number of larger nations,. encompasscd the territory of many hundred subordinate, distinct tribes, whose arms then grasped still smaller clans as adjunets of power. The sovereignty of the whole combined, vested in the "Great Chief,'' who, at the time of the expedition into Wyoming, was Brant.
It is easy to see the motive of the early settlers in laying everything against the account of the mighty Iroquois Chief, which title covered his domain. Take one instance of hundreds, to illus- trate the terror of settlers, who knew nothing of
the real condition of the country, save what was gathered by hearsay from every rumor of the forest, and the forest, at the date here referred to, includes the powerful combination of landed title covered by the Iroquois when they were de- nominated the "Five Nations," at the time in which they were engaged in war with the Mo- hieans, from which James Fenimore Cooper bas extracted so many deep figures.
During this period, if a strange Indian was seen in the vicinity, the cry was raised, and car- ried from bill to hill, A Mohawk ! A Mohawk ! upon which the terror-stricken Red-skins fled like sheep, making no resistance or defense on their side. "Some years after, a wandering Mo- hawk had straggled away from the ancient home of his tribe, as far as the State of Maine, and pre- sented himself one day, in the streets of a small town not far from the Penobscot river. Indian forms and faces were not strangers in this little community, there being a. remnant. of the Penob- scots yet existing in the neighborhood, who were in the habit of visiting the place four or five times a year, for the purchase of such necessaries as their means could command. It happened that a party of them had come in on the very day of the Mohawk's arrival; and as he was lounging through the street, he came suddenly upon them in turning a corner. The recognition on their part was instantaneous, and was evidently accompanied by emotions of alarm and distrust.
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
"Mohawk, Mohawk, was muttered by one and another, and so long as he remained in sight, their eyes were fixed upon him with an evident expression of uneasiness. As for the Mohawk, he condescended to give them only a passing glance, and went on his way with the same lounging, mdifferent step that he had exhibited from the first. He was a superb looking fellow, of about 25, full six feet in height, and could easily have demolished three or four of the dwarfish and effeminate Penobscots."-Stone's Border Wars.
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