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Gc 974.801 L97pe 1271362
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
3
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01203 8227
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/wyomingitshistor00peck_0
ZINZENDORF PROVIDENTIALLY DELIVERED.
WYOMING,
Pennsylvania ITS
HISTORY, STIRRING INCIDENTS, AND
ROMANTIC ADVENTURES.
C
BY GEORGE PECK, D.D.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
THIRD EDITION.
NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1872.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
79-3-5
PREFACE.
1271362
THE present work is composed of a brief history of Wyoming, followed by a series of historic scenes, which constitute natural amplifications of the general outline. Each story is a complete picture in itself, and yet is a necessary part of the whole. The plan has the advan- tage of presenting independent views of the historic drama from many different stand-points. Our heroes not only reflect the lights and shades of their own character and actions, but give us their separate ver- sions of the eventful scenes through which they passed.
Forty years since we first visited Wyoming, and from that period we have enjoyed rare advantages for the study of its history. How we have improved our opportunities will appear in the work which we now present to the public. Our object has been strict con- formity to historic truth, and we have spared no pains in the collection of facts, and in their study and expo- sition.
The events herein recorded constitute a part of the wonderful history of the early development and fear- ful struggles of America, and we believe they will not fall behind any portion of that story in exciting in- terest.
With the diffidence which a profound sense of the difficulties to be overcome in the execution of such a work naturally inspires, we publish the result of our
vi
PREFACE.
labors, hoping that it may both interest and instruct the reading community. The work, so far as we are concerned, has been a " labor of love," and our desire is that it may inspire in the reader a spirit of enlarged patriotism, noble heroism, patient endurance under se- vere trials, trust in Providence, and gratitude to God.
We have the pleasure to acknowledge the kindness of several who have afforded us valuable assistance in our labors. In addition to the acknowledgments of favors which will be found in the body of the work, we would return thanks to the Hon. George Bancroft for the use of an important document, and for vari- ous suggestions; to Benson J. Lossing, Esq., for sev- eral important authorities, and much valuable aid in the illustrations; to the Hon. George W. Woodward, and to the Hon. George M. Dallas, our minister to the court of St. James, for the use of an important paper from the archives of the British government; also to several ladies for fine artistic sketches of objects and scenes which are used as illustrations. We owe to Mrs. Rev. Selah Stocking, of Pittston, thanks for orig- inal sketches of Campbell's Ledge and Falling Spring ; to Mrs. Dr. Crane, of Pennington, N. J., for a sketch of the old Myers House; and to Miss Miranda Myers for sketches of Toby's Cave and the Umbrella-tree.
To all who in any way have given us facilities, we return many thanks, and it is to be hoped that they will find their reward in a conviction that they have contributed something to the object of giving per- manency to the facts of history which will be valuable to posterity, but which might otherwise have passed into oblivion.
GEORGE PECK.
SCRANTON, 18th April, 1858.
CONTENTS.
Chapter
Page
I. WYOMING-ITS HISTORY. 9
II. BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES 71
III. COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 99
IV. INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES RELATED BY MRS. MARTIIA MYERS 133
V. SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS COMMUNICATED BY MRS. DEB- ORAH BEDFORD 200
VI. INCIDENTS OF THE WARS IN THE LACKAWANNA PORTION OF THE SETTLEMENT, RELATED BY MRS. MARTHA MARCY 220
VII. MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE AND
FLIGHT.
231
VIII. THE CAPTIVE GIRL, FRANCES SLOCUM 234
IX. QUEEN ESTHER'S ROCK 284
X. CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF THOMAS AND ANDREW BEN- NET AND LEBBEUS HAMMOND 291
XI. THE CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF JONAH ROGERS, MOSES VAN CAMPEN, PETER PENCE, AND ABRAM PIKE ... 301
XII. THE CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS 315
XIII. BENJAMIN BIDLACK-CAPTURE BY THE PENNAMITES AND SINGULAR ESCAPE 330
XIV. A VIEW FROM CAMPBELL'S LEDGE, CONTRIBUTED BY REV. L. W. PECK. 344
XV. AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD GARDNER 351
XVI. PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE OF RUFUS BENNET ON THE, FATAL 3D OF JULY 362
XVII. NOAH HOPKINS-HIS LIFE SAVED BY A SPIDER 369
XVIII. THE FRATRICIDE 371
XIX. THE MONUMENT. 376
XX. COLONEL JOHN JENKINS 388
XXI. ORIGINAL JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT 405
XXII. MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES 417
The Umbrella-Tree-Prospect Rock-Harvey's Lake-Toby's Ed- dy-Toby's Cave-Seminaries.
INDEX. .. 431
WYOMING.
I. ITS HISTORY.
AMONG the mountains which lift up their heads, in countless numbers and in all shapes, between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies, on the banks of the wind- ing Susquehanna, lies the classic vale of Wyoming. It is not so much distinguished for its magnitude as for its beauty, its mineral wealth, and its historical inci- dents.
WYOMING is a corruption of the name given to the locality by the Indians. They called it Maughwau- wame. The word is compounded of maughwau, large, and wame, plains. The name, then, signifies THE LARGE PLAINS. The Delawares pronounced the first syllable short, and the German missionaries, in order to come as near as possible to the Indian pronuncia- tion, wrote the name M'chweuwami. The early set- tlers, finding it difficult to pronounce the word cor- rectly, spoke it Wauwaumie, then Wiawumie, then Wiomic, and, finally, Wyoming.
The valley of Wyoming lies northeast and south- west, is twenty-one miles in length, and an average of three miles in breadth. The face of the country is considerably diversified. The bottom-lands along the river overflow at high water. The plains are in some places perfectly level, and in others rolling. The soil
A 2
10
WYOMING.
is exceedingly productive, being suited to all sorts of grain and grass.
Two ranges of mountains hem in the valley, the eastern range being of an average height of one thou- sand feet, and the western about eight hundred. The eastern range is precipitous and generally barren, but is strikingly diversified with clefts, ravines, and forests, and presents a most picturesque view. The western range is rapidly yielding to the process of cultivation.
There are several charming points of view which in- vite the attention of the lovers of the beautiful and the grand in nature: Prospect Rock, east of the old town of Wilkesbarre, being the easiest of access from the town, and the most frequently visited, is the most cel- ebrated in the annals of travel. From this point the valley, with the slope of the west mountain, presents the appearance of a beautiful ascending plain, with the remotest border merged in the clouds, or bounded by the blue sky. A more charming landscape can not be imagined. The view from the mountain side west of Forty Fort gives you a more extensive prospect of the northern and southern extremities of the valley. From this point you have a fair view of the northern gap through which the Susquehanna forces its way-of the Lackawanna Valley, Pittston, Wyoming, Wilkesbarre, Kingston, Newport, and Jacob's Plains. Campbell's Ledge is becoming a favorite point of view for the ro- mantic and athletic. This high peak is situated at the head of the valley. The ascent is laborious, but the sublimity of the scene amply rewards the toil of the traveler.
Torrents gush through deep gorges in the mount- ains on either side, slackening their speed as they en- ter the valley, and sluggishly meander through the
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ITS HISTORY.
level plains and flats until they find their way to the river. These creeks are each dignified by the name of some Indian chief who dwelt on its banks, and fig- ure considerably in the history of the country.
From whatever point the valley is surveyed, the no- ble Susquehanna is one of the many beautiful objects which present themselves to the gaze. Such are its windings, and such the variety which characterizes its banks, that you have no extended view of it. It is only seen in sections, varied in size and form by the position occupied. Now it hides itself among the bowers of willow, sycamore, and maple which fringe and beautify its borders, and now it throws open its mirror bosom to the kisses of the sunlight, and reflects the forms of beauty and grandeur of the surrounding scenery.
"The Large Plains," when first visited by the whites for purposes of settlement, were in the possession of the Delaware Indians. The Delawares had once been a powerful tribe, but had been subjected by the Iro- quois, or the six confederated nations, and by them were ordered to leave the country on the Delaware, east of the Blue Ridge, and occupy Wyoming. The Nanticokes had settled on the lower extremity of the valley, on the east side of the river, and the Shawanese were located on the flats immediately over against them on the west side. But these tribes finally re- moved-the Nanticokes up the river, and the Shawa- nese to Ohio. How the Delawares became sole mas- ters of the valley may be learned from the following interesting relation :
" While the warriors of the Delawares were engaged upon the mountains in a hunting expedition, a num- ber of squaws, or female Indians, from Maughwau-
12
WYOMING.
wame, were gathering wild fruits along the margin of the river, below the town, where they found a number of Shawanese squaws and their children, who had crossed the river in their canoes upon the same busi- ness. A child belonging to the Shawanese having taken a large grasshopper, a quarrel arose among the children for the possession of it, in which their moth- ers soon took a part, and, as the Delaware squaws contended that the Shawanese had no privileges upon that side of the river, the quarrel soon became gen- eral; but the Delawares, being the most numerous, soon drove the Shawanese to their canoes and to their own bank, a few having been killed on both sides. Upon the return of the warriors, both tribes prepared for battle, to revenge the wrongs which they consider- ed their wives had sustained.
" The Shawanese, upon crossing the river, found the Delawares ready to receive them and oppose their landing. A dreadful conflict took place between the Shawanese in their canoes and the Delawares on the bank. At length, after great numbers had been kill- ed, the Shawanese effected a landing, and a battle took place about a mile below Maughwauwame, in which many hundred warriors are said to have been killed on both sides; but the Shawanese were so much weak- ened in landing that they were not able to sustain the conflict, and, after the loss of about half their tribe, the remainder were forced to flee to their own side of the river, shortly after which they abandoned their town and removed to the Ohio."-Chapman's History of Wyoming.
The ancient fortifications which are found scattered over the country, and prove that it was once peopled by warlike tribes or nations which had made consid-
-
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ITS HISTORY.
erable advances in civilization, were found in Wyo- ming. One of these was situated on the eastern branch of Toby's Creek, below the old Esquire Pierce place, or the place occupied by the late Pierce Butler, Esq. There are persons still living who recollect this ancient monument of an extinguished race, but every trace of it is now obliterated. Another of these ancient rel- ics was situated on the east side of the Susquehanna, opposite Forty Fort. We explored this ground some twenty years since, in company with the venerable his- torian of Wyoming, Hon. Charles Miner. At that time, a lane running along the side of one of the em- bankments had protected it from being leveled by the plow. It was then in a good state of preservation, several feet in height, with a corresponding ditch. When the whites first visited the valley, there were large pine and oak trees growing on the embankments of these ancient forts, and the oldest Indians could give no account of their origin, or the purposes which they were designed to serve.
It was missionary zeal that first penetrated this se- cluded region.
Count Zinzendorf is believed to be the first white man who set his foot upon The Great Plains. In 1742 he came with an interpreter, and erected his tent near the Indian village, and proposed a talk. He was a messenger from the Great Spirit, sent to teach the red man the true worship. He had crossed the seas upon this benevolent errand, without the hope of earthly gain. The savages could not comprehend the fact that he had taken so much pains to visit them with no selfish motive. Concluding that it was the object of the pale faces to take their lands from them, they re- solved to terminate the enterprise by their immediate
14
WYOMING.
COUNT ZINZENDORF.
destruction. A few warriors selected for the purpose stealthily approached the tent of the unsuspecting stranger by night to accomplish their designs, when a strange providence interfered. Peeping through an opening of the tent, they saw a huge rattlesnake crawl over the feet of the strange visitor without interrupt- ing his composure, as he sat upon a bundle of weeds engaged in writing. Considering that he was protect- ed by the Great Spirit, they departed without offering him the least molestation. To this circumstance has been attributed the success of the Moravian missiona- ries among the Delawares, or at least their first favor- able reception among that savage people.
As early as 1750, a few daring adventurers from New England had crossed the mountains, and pushed their way toward the setting sun, until from the heights
15
ITS HISTORY.
of the Susquehanna range they gazed upon the most lovely natural landscape which the eye ever beheld. The primeval forests covered the slopes of the mount- ains, while the plains and river-bottom were here and there imperfectly cultivated by the Indians, who as yet held undisputed possession of the country west of the Delaware. Wild fruits and flowers garnished the hill sides, the deep ravines, and the river banks. The wild grape hung in clusters upon the vines, which, clung to the branches of the trees and waved in the breeze. Vegetation of all kinds flourished in wonder- ful luxuriance.
" So on he fares, and to the border comes Of Eden, where delicious Paradise, Now nearer, crowns with her inclosure green, As with a rural mound, the champaign head Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild : and overhead up grew, Insuperable height of loftiest shade, Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm, A sylvan scene; and as the ranks ascend Shade above shade, a woody theatre Of stateliest mien.
Another side, umbrageous grots and caves Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps Luxuriant : meanwhile murmuring waters fall Down the slope hills, dispersed, or in a lake, That to the fringed bank with myrtle crowned Her crystal mirror holds, unite their streams." MILTON.
The mountains and the vales were thickly inhabit- ed by an endless variety of wild game, which had not yet learned to fear the white man and to elude his arts ; the waters were stored with an abundance of fish ; and
16
WYOMING.
the air was made vocal with the songs of the feathered tribes that discoursed the sweet music of nature.
"Then, when of Indian hills the daylight takes His leave, how might you the flamingo see Disporting like a meteor on the lakes- And playful squirrel on his nut-grown tree : And every sound of life was full of glee, From merry mock-bird's song or hum of men ; While hearkening, fearing naught their revelry, The wild deer arched his neck from glades, and then, Unhunted, sought his woods and wilderness again." CAMPBELL'S Gertrude of Wyoming.
These adventurers returned to the rocky hills of Connecticut and Massachusetts with the most wonder- ful tales of a sort of "Paradise" which lay away among the western mountains. To the visitors themselves,
17
ITS HISTORY.
the imagery which lingered in their memory seemed like a vision of celestial scenery; and to those who listened to their vivid descriptions, the whole seemed a mere romance. New parties followed "to spy out the land," and they returned with something more than a mere confirmation of the reports of their predecessors. The whole country was filled with wonder, and a de- sire naturally sprung up in many minds to see the glories of the goodly land for themselves. Plans were formed for early emigration to "Wyoming on the Sus- quehanna," and many hearts beat high, and many strong arms were ready for the hazards of the enter- prise.
The mountains and rivers could be crossed, the wil- derness could be threaded, the wild beasts could be driven from their lairs; but there was still a difficulty which seemed insuperable-it was the ownership and occupancy of the soil by the Indians. This obstacle must be overcome by negotiation, by purchase, by kind treatment, if possible ; but if not, by the appliances of war. The settlement of Wyoming by the whites was a foregone conclusion, and the only question about it was that of time. The country was visited every sea- son by small parties, whose object was to test the state of the savage mind, and to determine the question of the safety of white settlers in the neighborhood of the Indians .*
* In 1754, Conrad Weiser, a famous Indian interpreter, and agent for the proprietary government of Pennsylvania, on a visit to the In- dians at Shemokin, reports : "The Indians in Susquehanna and about Shemokin saw some of the New England men that came as spies to Woyomock last fall; and they saw them making drafts of the land and rivers, and are much offended about it. They asked me about them. I told them we had heard so much as that, and that we had intelligence from New England that they came against
18
WYOMING.
The conflicts which occurred between the people of Connecticut and Pennsylvania in relation to the right of settlement and jurisdiction constitute so prominent a part of the early history of Wyoming, that it will be proper here to notice the grounds of their respective claims. "King Charles II., by letters patent, under the great seal of England, granted a tract of land in America to William Penn, Esq., his heirs and assigns, and made him and them the true and absolute propri- etors thereof, saving always to the crown the faith and allegiance of the said William Penn, his heirs and as- signs, and of the tenants and inhabitants of the prem- ises, and saving also unto the crown the sovereignty of the said country."
The country was "thereby erected into a province and sovereignty, and called Pennsylvania."
" And thereby granted free, full, and absolute power unto the said William Penn and his heirs, and to his and their deputies and lieutenants, for the good and happy government of the country, to ordain, make, enact, and, under his and their seals, to publish any laws whatsoever."-See Pennsylvania Archives, vol. ii., p. 100, 101.
Under this charter a government was instituted, consisting of a governor and council, but the Penns
the advice of their superiors as a parcel of headstrong men, and dis- turbers of the peace. They, the Indians, said they were glad to hear that neither their brother Onos nor their own chief men had sent them, and they hoped they would not be supported by any English government in their so doing."-Letter to the Governor : Colonial Rec- ords, vol. vi., p. 35.
This was the first attempt which was made to sketch a rude map of the country preparatory to the formation of a settlement. It is believed by their descendants that the elder John Jenkins and Thom- as Bennet were in this company.
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ITS HISTORY.
owned the soil in fee. Their policy was to lay out all the best lands into manors, and settle them by tenants under leases. Thus some of the most objectionable features of the old feudal system were established in Pennsylvania. The proprietaries, of course, were op- posed to emigrations from other states to their lands, except to such of them as were worthless. Settlers were, consequently, often driven off by force, and their houses burned.
In 1754, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, wrote to Governor Wolcott, of Connecticut, remonstrating against the scheme of some of the Connecticut people to settle Wyoming. At the same time, he offered them lands "in the western parts of this province," or to use his good offices to procure them the privilege of settling in "Virginia."
Governor Wolcott made a very cautious but perti- nent answer, taking special pains to urge that wherev- er settlers were permitted to take possession of lands in Pennsylvania, they should be made "freeholders." HIe suggested that, in the event of war with the French, "the resolution of the soldier will be very much, in fighting for his country, according to his interest in it." " If I must go out," says he, " let me have an army of freeholders or freeholders' sons." He then proceeds to give the result of his experience in the case of "the siege of Louisburg," and then continues :
" Whenever the war commences with you, I think a small army of such men, well appointed and disci- plined, will soon convince the French of their error in provoking and insulting of you; I think a few of them will be more than a match for a multitude of their plebs, brought up in slavery, and who have nothing to fight for of their own.
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WYOMING.
"This brings to mind a story a gentleman told me, that he went in to see his negro man, then dying, and seeing him just gone, said to him, 'Cuffy, you are just going; are you not sorry ?' 'No,' says the fellow ; ' master, the loss won't be mine.'"
The Pennamite and Yankee wars were not merely a conflict between the proprietaries of Pennsylvania and the Susquehanna Company for the jurisdiction of the country-it was not a mere question of boundary, but a question between landlord and tenantry. The question was one in which the tenantry of Pennsyl- vania generally were interested, and, consequently, the cause of the proprietaries was never popular with that class. Wyoming was the battle-field where the ques- tion was to be settled whether the people who culti- vated the soil should be serfs or freeholders. We do not pretend that this was the open ostensible issue made, but it is beyond a doubt that this question lay at the bottom of the controversy, and had much to do with its progress and termination. If the laborers and producers were to be made freeholders, it could make but little difference whence they came; but if they were to be mere tenants, it would be somewhat import- ant that they should not have been educated in the spirit of freedom and independence, but should have the views and feelings of servants rather than those of citizens. The New England people might be allowed to settle in the Alleghanies, to constitute a sort of breakwater against the overflowing of the French arms, but it would never do to give them possession of the fertile plains and valleys along the Delaware and Sus- quehanna. The Yankees were not likely to be the pliant tools suited to the objects and policy of the aris- tocratic proprietaries. They had trouble enough with
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ITS HISTORY.
those whom they had trained to their hand, and the tide of Yankee emigration which was setting in from the east bid fair to result in more general discontent, if not in revolution. Hence the diplomacy of the pro- prietaries had for its object, not the settlement of the northern boundary of the province, but preventing em- igration from the east; and, as will be seen as we proceed, the quasi civil, but really military proceedings with the settlers was not designed to secure their rec- ognition of the civil jurisdiction of the proprietaries, but nolens volens to expel the intruders from the country.
The charter granted to "The Plymouth Company" by James I. covered the territory " from the fortieth to the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean." This charter was granted under the great seal of England, on No- vember 3, 1620, to the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Buckingham, the Earl of Arundel and Warwick, and their associates, "for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of New England, in America." The char- ter of Connecticut was derived from the Plymouth Company, of which the Earl of Warwick was pres- ident. This grant was made in March, 1621, to Vis- count Say and Seal, Lord Brooke, and their associates. It covered the country west of Connecticut "to the extent of its breadth, being about one degree of lati- tude from sea to sea." This grant was confirmed by the king the same year, and also in 1662. " The New Netherlands," or New York, being then a Dutch pos- session, was excepted in these grants under the gen- eral limitation of such portions of territory as were " then possessed or inhabited by any other Christian prince or state."-See Col. Stone's History of Wyoming.
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