USA > Wyoming > A sketch of the history of Wyoming > Part 5
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they had no means of defence in case they should be attacked, and found themselves exposed to the cold winds of autumn without sufficient raiment. With these melancholy recollections and cheerless prospects did the fugitives commence a journey of two hundred and fifty miles on foot.
The report of this circumstance having reached Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania, a detach- ment of militia from that Province under the com- mand of Colonel James Boyd was ordered to march from Harrisburg to Wyoming and disperse the sav- ages. Col. Boyd was also nominated a commis- sioner on the part of Pennsylvania to act in con- junction with such person as might be appointed on the part of Connecticut (agreeably to his majesty's order in such cases,) to put a stop to all disorders and establish tranquillity in the Colony. On the arrival of the detachment at Wyoming they found the Valley abandoned by the Indians who had scalped those whom they had killed and carried away their captives and plunder. The bodies of the slain lay strewed upon the field, and Col. Boyd having caused them to be decently interred, with- drew with his detachment down the river. The hostile Indians had fled to Sheshequanni or Shesh- equinunk, an Indian Town on the Bank of the Sus- quehanna a little below Tioga Point or Tyogo ; but those who continued friendly to the English and had embraced the christian religion, removed to. Gnaddenhutten on the Lehigh near the English set- tlement, where they were taken under the protec- tion of the Moravian Church. A definitive treaty
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of peace being concluded between England and France in 1763, hostilities between their Ameri- can Colonies consequently ceased and the differ- ent Indian tribes resumed their friendly traffic with the English settlements. The christian Indians af- terwards removed in a body to Wyalusing on the Susquehanna, where, in the year 1765, they built a regular town on the bank of the river near the mouth of W.yalusing creek, and erected a spacious church. Here they attended strictly to their reli- gious duties and employed themselves principally in agricultural pursuits.
Peace having been established between the Eng- fish Colonies and the different tribes of Indians bordering upon their frontier settlements, the Brit- ish ministry considered it a favorable time to culti- vate a friendly intercourse with the Indians and to fix and establish a permanent and certain bounda- ry line between the Indian territories and the Jands which had been at different times purchased by the Colonies, and accordingly gave orders for effecting these objects to the different Colonial and Provin- cial Governments. In pursuance of these orders a general treaty was held with the Indians at Fort Stanwix near the Oneida lake, in October 1768. where various purchases of lands were made, and such agreements entered into with the Indian tribes as were well calculated to preserve a good under- standing between them and the English Colonies. At this treaty the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania procured a Deed from a number of the chiefs of the Six Nations, dated on the 5th. day of November,
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1768, for all the lands not previously sold to the Proprietaries lying within the Province of Penn- This purchase included Wyoming and all the lands previously sold by the chiefs of the same Nations to the Susquehanna company. The reader perhaps, is aware that an Indian gift and an Indian bargain are proverbial. The Indians would probably have sold the land as often as they could have received pay for it. After the conclu- sion of the treaty the Susquehanna company held a general meeting at Hartford, and entered into par- ticular resolutions relative to the settlement of Wyoming. In these resolutions they say : that in 1763, having been advised that his majesty had in- hibited all settlements of lands adjoining the Indian territory until precautions should be taken by his majesty's orders for preventing troubles with the Indians, and as those precautions have been made at the treaty at Fort Stanwix, they resolve that forty persons, being proprietors, shall proceed to Wyoming to commence settlements by the first of February ; that two hundred more shall follow them early in the spring, and that £200 shall be im- mediately appropriated to provide implements of husbandry and provisions for the forty. Their res- olutions appointed a committee consisting of Isaac Tripp, Benjamin Follet, John Jenkins, William Buck and Benjamin Shoemaker, being part of the forty, who were to have the government and su- perintendence of the new Colony. This commit- tee were to be increased to the number of nine per- sons on the arrival of the 200 men, and they were
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authorised to exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers for the order and good government of the settlement ; but there was an appeal reserved from this tribunal to a general meeting of the whole company, which, as in the system of Lycurgus,
possessea the only real sovereign authority. The Proprietaries of Pennsylvania having effected a purchase of the Wyoming lands, and being infor- med of the intentions of the Susquehanna company to resume their settlements, took immediate meas- ures to get possession of the territory, in order to defeat the intentions of the company, For this purpose a lease was drawn by John Penn on the part of the Proprietaries to Charles Stewart, Amos Ogden and John Jennings, for one hundred acres of land at Wyoming for the term of seven years. They were to establish a house there for the pur- pose of trading with the Indians, and were to de- fend themselves and those who might go on under them, as well as their possessions, against all ene- mies whatsoever .* Stewart was a surveyor, and in compliance with the directions of the Proprietaries he surveyed and laid out the Valley into two exten- sive manors for their use : one on the East side of the river extending from Nanticoke Falls to Ma- nokony Island, and from the river nearly to the foot of the mountain including the old Wyoming Town, was called the " Manor of Stoke ;" and the other on the West side nearly of the same ex- tent was called the " Manor of Sunbury." These
*See lease on file in Secretary's office.
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lessees with several other adventurers removed to Wyoming in January 1769, and took possession of the improvements made by the Connecticut people from which they had been driven by the Indians in 1763. On the 8th. of February 1769, the forty persons selected by the Susquehanna company ar- rived at Wyoming, and found Stewart and Ogden with their party in possession of their former im- provements and well secured in a fortified block house at the mouth of Mill creek. They accord- ingly took possession of another piece of ground and built temporary huts for their protection during the remainder of the winter. Having soon afterwards ascertained that the Ogden party claimed the land under grants from the Proprietaries of Pennsylva- nia, and that their garrison was small, they adop- ted such measures as cut off the communication be- tween the block-house and the surrounding coun- try, and entirely invested the Pennsylvania garri- son. Ogden and Stewart having been apprized of the approach of the Connecticut party by express from Mr. Vancampen on the Delaware, despatched a messenger on the 6th. to Gov. Penn with the intelligence, informing him that their garrison con- sisted of only ten persons at that time, and that reinforcements with provisions would be immedi- ately necessary. Having waited several days with a hope of receiving reinforcements, and finding that hope likely to fail, Ogden had recourse to stratagem to effect what he had not power to execute by force. He accordingly, after exhibiting his little garrison to the best advantage, addressed a note to
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the Connecticut settlers inviting some of their principal men to his house under pretext of effect- ing an amicable negociation concerning their res- pective titles. The invitation was accepted, and Isaac Tripp, Vine Elderkin and Benjamin Follett repaired to the block-house where they were im- mediately seized by Jennings who was Sheriff of Northampton County, and being conveyed to Eas- ton, were thrown into prison. Their companions were sufficiently numerous to have rescued them, but would not attempt it through fear of endanger- ing the safety of the prisoners. They accompa- nied the Sheriff to Easton, and having procured bail for their peaceable behavior, the whole party returned again to Wyoming. In the month of March Jennings having ascertained that the settle- ment of Connecticut people was increasing, assem- bled a number of persons as a posse, and being ac- companied by Lewis Gordon, Anson Depui and Henry Hooker, three Justices of the Peace, pro- ceeded to Wyoming. On their arival the Connec- ticut people apprized of their approach had secured themselves in a fortified house, but the Sheriff and his posse, having succeeded in forcing it open, seized them and carried the whole, to the num. ber of thirty one persons, to Easton, except a few. who escaped on their march through the swamp.
In April the two hundred emigrants appointed by the Susquehanna company arrived at Wyoming, and were joined by those who had been taken to Easton and had been liberated on giving bail .-. The new Colony, finding they were exposed to be
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annoyed by the Pennsylvania party, built a Fort a short distance from the bank of the river by the side of a small stream which flows through the plain, to which they gave the name of " Fort Durkee" in honor of the person who was chosen to command the garrison. Near the Fort they erec- ted about twenty log houses which were provided with loop-holes to fire through in case of an attack. Their Fort consisted of a strong block-house sur- rounded by a rampart and entrenchment, and be- ing guarded by the river on one side, and a morass extending along the brook on another, afforded a very secure place of refuge in case it should be ne- cessary to abandon their houses. Jennings and Ogden, who had left Wyoming for a few weeks, being informed that the Connecticut people were again collecting at that place, assembled as many as they could persuade to accompany them, and. proceeded to Wyoming, where they arrived on the 24th. of May, but finding the Connecticut people too numerous and too well fortified to justify an attack upon them, returned again to Easton, and made a report to the Governor in which Jennings says: he " does not believe it is possible to raise a force in the county strong enough to dispossess them, they being by account upwards of 300 able bodied men."
The new Colony having fortified themselves and commenced their agricultural operations for the summer, the Susquehanna company thought it a favorable time to open negociations with the Pro- prietaries of Pennsylvania, and accordingly in
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May Colonel Dyer and Major Elderkin were sent with full powers to negociate for a settlement of all disputes concerning the Wyoming lands, who, on their arrival in Philadelphia, submitted to Benja- min Chew, Esq. agent for the Proprietaries, the following proposition :
" Shall all matters in dispute between the Sus- quehanna company and the Proprietaries of Penn- sylvania relative to the claim made by the former of lands within the Charter limits of Pennsylvania be referred to a Court of Law to be selected or constituted by the parties, or to Referees to be mutually chosen by the parties, and in either case the decision to be conclusive."
This proposition was rejected as preparations were then in train for sending an armed force to Wyoming to dispossess the Colony. A full copy of the resolutions and proceedings of the Susque- hanna company at their general meeting held at Hartford during the previous winter, had been sent to Governor Penn, by Sir Henry Moore, Go- vernor of New York, and had been considered by the council of the 13th. of February, 1769. In consequence of these resolutions, and the events which had subsequently transpired, an armed force was sent to Wyoming under the command of Col. Francis, who appeared before Fort Durkee on the 22d. of June, and demanded a surrender of the garrison and settlement into his hands. This de- mand was promptly refused, and the Colonel, after reconnuitering the position of the Connecticut for- ces, and finding them too strongly entrenched to be
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captured by his forces, withdrew his troops with- out commencing any attack. The Proprietaries, finding by the report of Col. Francis that a more powerful force was necessary, concluded to send the Sheriff of Northampton with a powerful posse of that county to dispossess the Wyoming settlers .. Accordingly a long and formal letter of instruc- tions was made out by Gov. Penn at Philadelphia, on the 24th. of August, 1769, and directed to John Jennings, Sheriff of Northampton county, directing him to raise the posse of the county, and proceed to Wyoming to dispossess all persons whom he might find settled there under any other title than that of the Proprietaries. In these in- structions the Governor says:
" It is however warmly recommended to you; to exercise on this unhappy occasion the utmost discretion and prudence, to avoid the effusion of blood, and that neither you or your party strike, fire at, or wound the offenders, unless you are first stricken, fired at or wounded."
In pursuance of these instructions Jennings as- sembled a large force in Northampton county, and having been furnished with a large quantity of fire arms, an iron four pounder, and a quantity of fixed ammunition; he proceeded to Wyoming, accom- panied by several magistrates. Ogden and his party, having been informed of the Sheriff's ap- proach, suddenly surrounded the houses of some of the settlers with about forty armed men, and took by surprize several prisoners, among whom was Col. Durkee who was taken to the Philadel-
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phia prison. Two days afterwards Jennings and his armed force arrived and paraded to the number of 200 men before Fort Durkee, where they con- - tinued on a parley with the garrison, while Ogden and his party collected and drove away all the cat- tle and horses in the neighborhood. The next day Jennings and his party again assembled in front of the Fort and began to erect a battery on which they mounted the four pounder. The garrison having been deprived of one of their commanders, (Col. Durkee, ) and having no means of defence but mus- kets and rifles, and seeing that a regular siege was about to be commenced, concluded to surrender the Fort to Jennings. Articles of capitulation were accordingly entered into between the parties by which the Fort and buildings were to be given up to Ogden, Jennings and their party. Fourteen men were to remain in possession of their houses on the part of Connecticut, with their families and ef- fects, and to take care of, and harvest the grain sowed, and to hold possession on the part of the Susquehanna company, until his majesty's pleas- ure in the premises should be known. These arti- cles having been duly exchanged and the Connecti- cut settlers, with the exception of the seventeen, having peaceably left the disputed territory, Ogden and his party commenced an indiscriminate plun- der of whatever could be found in the settlement, cattle, sheep, swine, and other articles, were ta- ken and carried to market upon the Delaware .--- The seventeen settlers who were left in possession being thus deprived of the means of sustenance du-
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ring the winter, were under the necessity of leav- ing their habitations and returning to their friends in New England.
In the month of February, 1770, a number of people from Lancaster county, at the head of whom was Lazarus Stewart, accompanied by a number of the Connecticut people, under arms, proceeded to Wyoming, and finding in Fort Durkee a garri- son of only 8 or 10 men, took possession of the Fort without opposition. They then sent a party to Ogden's house at Mill creek and took from it the four pounder which was deposited there, and conveyed it to the Fort, Ogden being then absent. On being informed of these transactions, Ogden re- turned to Wyoming and collected his party into his house which they again fortified. On the 28th. of March about fifty armed men from the garri- son of Fort Durkee, proceeded to Ogden's house in order if possible to make him prisoner, but a Dep- uty of the Sheriff was then in the house, having ac- companied Ogden home, and he immediately pro- ceeded with the force which was then in the house to arrest the party from the Fort. On the approach of the deputy and his party a skirmish ensued in which several of the Connecticut party were wounded, and one man of the name of Stager kill- ed. Which party commenced the fire is not known, as each accused the other of doing it. The party from the Fort finding that Ogden and his par- ty in the house were armed and could fire at them without being exposed, his house being a well built block-house fitted for a siege, returned to Fort
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Durkee to devise means of expelling Ogden and his party from the settlement before reinforcements could arrive, each party being too strong in its fortification to be taken by storm with the forces the other possessed. In pursuance of the resolu- tion agreed upon in full council at Fort Durkee, the Connecticut party, on the 9th. of April com- menced the erection of a block-house on the West side of the river, opposite Ogden's block-house, which they fortified in a strong manner, and in which they mounted the four-pounder which they had taken from Ogden. With this piece they commenced a cannonade upon Ogden's house, which was removed at intervals for several days ; but finding that it did not force Ogden to surren- der, and their shot nearly expended, they resolv- ed upon a different manner of attack. Accordingly on the 23d. of April, the Connecticut party march- ed in columns from Fort Durkee with drums beat- ing, and having advanced near Ogden's house, they formed into three divisions, and each division commenced the erection of a breast-work which was completed about noon, when a fire opened from each upon the block-house. This fire was returned by Ogden and his party, and was con- tinued atintervals between the two parties for five days. On the 25th. the third day of the siege, a detachment from the Connecticut party advanced from one of the breast-works under a fire from the block-house, and set fire to one of Ogden's houses which was consumed together with a considerable quantity of goods and provisions. On the 28th:
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Major Durkee who had returned from Philadel- phia, and who commanded the Connecticut party, sent a flag with a note to Capt. Ogden requesting a conference. Ogden accordingly waited on the Major for that purpose, when a cessation of hos- tilities until the next day at 12 o'clock were agreed upon. On the next day (the 29th. of April,) arti- cles of capitulation were entered into by which it was agreed that Ogden and his party, who had no improvements upon the land, should depart the territory by the first of March-and that six men of Ogden's party should remain to take care of the property belonging to that party, and should occu- py one of the houses. ; After Ogden had departed in pursuance of these articles, some difficulties arose between the six men and the Connecticut party, and the latter remembering the last capitu- lation, took possession of Ogden's property and burnt his house. Among the prisoners that were found in Ogden's block-house after the capitulation, were eight men from New England, and three Ger- mans who had never been at Wyoming, and who mistook Capt. Ogden's house for the Fort. The number of killed and wounded during the siege of Ogden's block-house, is not now known. After the attack of the 28th of March, Ogden despatched a messenger to Gov. Penn, informing him of the investment of his block-house, and the necessity of reinforcements ; but as dissatisfaction to a very great degree had already manifested itself between the American Colonies and the Government of Great Britain, Governor Penn, like other Colonial
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Governors, found his authority very fast declining; and not being able to afford the relief so immedi- ately necessary to Ogden, he wrote from Phila- delphia on the 6th. of April to General Gage who then commanded his majesty's troops in the city of New York, for the assistance of the force under his command. In his letter, after informing the General that the Connecticut people were forming settlements in Pennsylvania, that they had built a large stockade fort at Wyoming, &c. he says :- " They have lately gone so far as to fire upon a party of our people who had several of their asso- ciates under legal arrest which obliged them to re- turn the fire, and it unfortunately happened that one o the rioters was killed and another wound- ed." He goes on further to add: " Not having , any militia in the Province, I find myself under the disagreeable necessity of applying for the aid of the military to support the civil power " Gen. Gage, in his answer dated New York, April 15, 1770, among other things says: " The troops in all the Provinces have orders in general to assist the civil power when they shall be legally called upon, but the affair in question seems to be a dispute con- cerning property in which I cannot but think it would be highly improper for the King's troops to interfere." Not succeeding in this attempt to obtain assistance, the Proprietaries of Pennsylva- nia concluded to assemble such forces as their per- sonal exertions could raise, for the recovery of Wyoming ; and accordingly in September a force of one hundred and forty men was placed under
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the command of Capt. Ogden. A Proclamation had been published at Philadelphia by Gov. Penn on the 28th. day of June, directing all intruders to depart from Wyoming, and forbidding any settle- ments to be made there without the consent of the Proprietaries, and Ogden marched with his forces, accompanied by Aaron Van Campen, Esq. and other civil officers, ostensibly for the purpose of carrying- this Proclamation into effect. Ogden, knowing his strength was insufficient for the reduc- tion of the settlement in case the settlers should be in garrison, concluded if possible to attack them by surprize ; and to effect this the more safely, he commenced his march by way of Fort Allen on the Lehigh near the Water-gap, and thence by the warrior's path to Wyoming. Having arrived in sight of the Wyoming mountains they left the path. for the greater safety, and on the night of the 21st. of September encamped on the head waters of Sol- omon's creek. In the morning of the 22d., Ogden with a few attendants ascended the high nob of Bullock's mountain, now called " Penobscott," which commands a view of the whole Valley of Wyoming, from which with his glasses he ob- served the settlers leave the fort and go into the fields in detached parties at a distance to their work. He concluded to attack them in this situ- ation unprovided with arms, and accordingly divi- ded his forces into several detachments which commenced their attacks nearly at the same time. 'The working parties were immediately dispersed in every direction, and many of them were taken H
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prisoners and sent under an escort to Easton Jail ; the greater number succeeded in reaching the Fort where they immediately prepared for their defence. Night was approaching and Ogden did not think proper to attack the Fort. He accor- dingly removed his troops with their booty to their encampment at Solomon's Gap. A consultation was held in Fort Durkee, and it was concluded as they had provision and ammunition to last some time, to send messengers to Coshutunk on the Delaware, for assistance. Accordingly about midnight the messengers departed, and thinking that Ogden and his party would be likely to guard the direct road to Coshutunk, they concluded to go out through Solomon's Gap. Ogden's party for their better security had encamped without fires. and took the messengers prisoners in the Gap ; they learned from them the confused situation of the Fort, filled with men, women and children. Up-
on receiving this intelligence they concluded to make an immediate attack upon the Fort. Ac- cordingly Ogden's whole force was immediately put in motion, and a detachment commanded by Capt. Craig suddenly entered the fort under cover of the night, knocked down the centinel and arri- ved at the door of the block-house before the gar- rison received notice of the attack. Several of the latter were killed in attempting to make resistance in the block-house, and Capt. Craig's men having forced a number into a small room where they were trampling upon the women and children, knocked down Capt. Butler and were about to pierce him
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