USA > Wyoming > Wyoming; its history, stirring incidents, and romantic adventures > Part 17
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"GEO. W. EWING."
The letter reached its destination, but the post- master, considering it a hoax, flung it by, and for two years it lay among a quantity of old letters and papers in the office which were deemed worthless. There was a providence in the discovery of the lost one, and will that providence, which was concerned in the first development, allow the light to die out, and the whole matter to be hid from the vision of those so deeply in- terested in the revelation ? We shall see. The post-
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master died, and, for some reason-possibly mere curi- osity-his wife overhauled the mass of old papers be- longing to the office, among which she found and read Colonel Ewing's letter. She was more confiding than her husband in the truthfulness of the tale, and she sent the letter to the editor of the Intelligencer, by whom it was published. Here providence seems to have again interfered, and saved the letter from final oblivion. Another interesting fact worthy of special attention is, that the letter came to hand just in time to make its appearance in an extra number contain- ing some temperance documents, and these were sent to the clergymen generally through that part of the state. One of these fell into the hands of the Rev. Samuel Bowman, a native of Wilkesbarre, and inti- mately acquainted with the Slocum family. He had from his childhood been accustomed to hear the mel- ancholy story of the captivity of little Frances Slocum, and well knew the efforts which the brothers had made to find her. He immediately mailed one of these papers to her brother, who lived in Wilkesbarre, and the wonderful development which the letter contained flung the whole community into a state of excitement. There was no father or mother living to say " Frances is yet alive, and I will go and see her before I die," but there were brothers, a sister, and a large circle of nephews and nieces, whose hearts leaped for joy at the prospect of at least learning the veritable history of Frances, who had been for sixty years in savage life, but utterly lost to her kindred and friends.
A correspondence ensued between Jonathan J. Slo- cum, Esq., son of Mr. Joseph Slocum, and Colonel Ewing, which speaks for itself, and here follows:
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FRANCES SLOCUM.
" Wilkesbarre, Penn., August 8, 1837. " GEORGE W. EWING, Esq. :
"DEAR SIR,-At the suggestion of my father and other relations, I have taken the liberty to write to you, although an entire stranger.
" We have received, but a few days since, a letter written by you to a gentleman in Lancaster, of this state, upon a subject of deep and intense interest to our family. How the matter should have lain so long wrapped in obscurity we can not conceive. An aunt of mine-sister of my father-was taken away when five years old by the Indians, and since then we have only had vague and indistinct rumors upon the sub- ject. Your letter we deem to have entirely revealed the whole matter, and set every thing at rest. The description is so perfect, and the incidents (with the exception of her age) so correct, that we feel confident.
"Steps will be taken immediately to investigate the matter, and we will endeavor to do all in our power to restore a lost relative who has been sixty years in In- dian bondage.
"Your friend and obedient servant,
" JON. J. SLOCUM."
" Logansport, Indiana, August 26, 1837. " JON. J. SLOCUM, Esq., Wilkesbarre :
" DEAR SIR,-I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 8th instant, and in an- swer can add, that the female I spoke of in January, 1835, is still alive; nor can I for a moment doubt but that she is the identical relative that has been so long lost to your family.
"I feel much gratified to think that I have been thus instrumental in disclosing to yourself and friends such
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facts in relation to her as will enable you to visit her and satisfy yourselves more fully. She recovered from the temporary illness by which she was afflicted about the time I spent the night with her in January, 1835, and which was, no doubt, the cause that induced her to speak so freely of her early captivity.
" Although she is now, by long habit, an Indian, and her manners and customs precisely theirs, yet she will doubtless be happy to see any of you, and I my- self will take great pleasure in accompanying you to the house. Should you come out for that purpose, I advise you to repair directly to this place; and should it so happen that I should be absent at the time, you will find others who can take you to her. Bring with you this letter; show it to James T. Miller, of Peru, Ind., a small town not far from this place. He knows her well. He is a young man whom we have raised. He speaks the Miami tongue, and will accompany you if I should not be at home. Inquire for the old white woman, mother-in-law to Brouriette, living on the Missisinewa River, about ten miles above its mouth. There you will find the long-lost sister of your father, and, as I before stated, you will not have to blush on her account. She is highly respectable, and her name as an Indian is without reproach. Her daughter, too, and her son-in-law, Brouriette, who is also a half-blood, being part French, are both very respectable and in- teresting people-none in the nation are more so. As Indians they live well, and will be pleased to see you. Should you visit here this fall, I may be absent, as I purpose starting for New York in a few days, and shall not be back till some time in October. But this need not stop you; for, although I should be gratified to see you, yet it will be sufficient to learn that I
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have furthered your wishes in this truly interesting matter.
"The very kind manner in which you have been pleased to speak of me shall be fully appreciated.
" There perhaps are men who could have heard her story unmoved, but for me, I could not; and when I reflected that there was, perhaps, still lingering on this side of the grave some brother or sister of that ill-fated woman, to whom such information would be deeply interesting, I resolved on the course which I adopted, and entertained the fond hope that my letter, if ever it should go before the public, would attract the attention of some one interested. In this it seems, at last, I have not been disappointed, although I had long since sup- posed it had failed to effect the object for which I wrote it. Like you, I regret that it should have been delay- ed so long, nor can I conceive how any one should neglect to publish such a letter.
" As to the age of this female, I think she herself is mistaken, and that she is not so old as she imagines herself to be. Indeed, I entertain no doubt but that she is the same person that your family have mourned after for more than half a century past.
" Your obedient humble servant,
" GEORGE W. EWING."
The way was now plain, and there was no delay in taking measures to visit the locality where, it was now nearly reduced to a certainty, the Slocums would find their long-lost sister. Mr. Isaac Slocum and Mrs. Mary Town resided in Ohio, but not in the same neighborhood. It was arranged by correspondence that Mr. Joseph Slocum should visit Ohio by private conveyance, take Mrs. Town in his carriage, and that
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they should meet their brother Isaac somewhere near the " Deaf Man's Village," perhaps in the nearest white settlement. Isaac pushed on by public conveyance, and, accompanied by Mr. Miller, the interpreter, went directly to the residence of the old woman described by Colonel Ewing. He found her, to all appearance, a perfect Indian. He had fixed in his mind an infal- lible mark of distinction. Before she was carried off, her brother Ebenezer had struck her fore-finger on the left hand with a hammer, in the blacksmith's shop, and so injured the bone that the nail was permanently destroyed, and the finger otherwise disfigured. Mr. Slocum accordingly took hold of her hand, and brought her to the light, and saw the mark still remaining, with very little variation from the changes of time. " How came that finger jammed ?" asked he, through the interpreter. "My brother struck it with a ham- mer in the shop, a long time ago, before I was carried away," was the answer.
She, however, said but little; she was coy and sus- picious, and manifested no confidence in the claims of the stranger to be her brother. Mr. Slocum was satis- fied beyond a doubt that he had found the real Fran- ces Slocum, for whom he and his brothers had so long and so often been employed in ineffectual searches. He now returned to a small village nine miles distant, called Peru, and anxiously waited the arrival of his brother Joseph and sister Town. Here he spent sev- eral weary days in great anxiety and suspense.
At length, after hard toiling most of the way over horrible roads through a new country, the brother and sister arrived. For persons in advanced life they had almost performed miracles of endurance; they were much fatigued, but they did not delay long until they
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were on the line of march for the house of Frances. On their way they paid their respects to Godfrey, the second chief of the Miamis, who was an exceedingly large man, of fine proportions and noble bearing. The chief received them with great courtesy, and promised them his good offices in the matter of their visit, should they be needed.
The party left the chief and hastened on to the point of interest. They entered the decent Indian cabin- constructed of logs, and quite roomy-and found the mistress of the house sitting in her chair. Still she was not disposed to converse freely. She gave a brief account of her family and the circumstances of her capture, but seemed utterly unmoved, and not free from suspicion that there was some plan in operation to take her away or to get her land. The brothers walked the floor with emotions too deep and over- whelming for utterance-the sister wept. Could it be possible that this Indian woman was the dear little Frances, whose sweet smiles lingered in their memory, and which they could scarcely do any other than identify with her still? Has she-dear Frances-been metamorphosed into this stoical, iron-hearted Indian woman-old, wrinkled, and cold as an iceberg ? But there could be no mistake about it. She said her father's name was Slocum; he was a Quaker, and wore a broad-brimmed hat; he lived near a fort by a great river; she had seven brothers and two sisters; her brother hammered off her finger nail; she was taken from under the staircase; three Indians took her, with a boy and a black girl, a great many winters ago, when she was a little child. The question was settled ; this was Frances.
She was now a widow. Her husband was a chief.
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She had two daughters: the younger of the two had lost her husband; the husband of the elder was a half- breed-his father a Frenchman-and his name was Brouriette, who managed the out-door affairs of the family, subject always to the views and feelings of the queen mother-in-law. The family circle scrupulously followed the lead of the venerated head of the house- hold, making no advances, exhibiting no emotion. On this occasion only one tender chord was touched. The long-lost sister had forgotten her own name. She was asked if she thought she could remember it if she should hear it mentioned. Her answer was, "It is a long time ; I do not know." "Was it Frances ?" Something like emotion instantly agitated her iron- cast features, and, with a smile, she answered in the affirmative, "Francà, Francà."
Things changed a little, but by very slow degrees. The hospitalities of the house were never denied to respectable strangers, and, of course, would be offered to the Slocums. When the conversation was con- cluded, the Indian queen went about her business, ap- parently with as much indifference as though nothing of interest had happened. The party surveyed the premises, and were pleased to find every thing in ex- cellent order for an Indian residence. Returning from a stroll, they observed the sister seated on the floor, at work at a deerskin, which was nearly ready for use. She was scraping the rough places with a knife, and reducing its rigidity by friction. She paid little atten- tion to the strangers, only answering when addressed through the interpreter. The daughters evidently ob- served the strangers with interest, but, Indian-like, only cast at them side-glances when they thought they were not observed.
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The company proposed to the sister to accompany them, with her son-in-law and daughters, to Peru. She could not fully pledge herself to comply with this request until she had consulted Godfrey, the chief. He advised her to comply with the request, assuring her that she would be in no danger from the respect- able strangers; that, being her relations, they had cer- tainly visited her with none other than the most friend- ly intentions. The arrangement was completed, and the party returned.
On the Sabbath, the sister, her son-in-law, and two daughters came on horseback, in single file, and pre- sented themselves before the door of the new hotel of the little town, the queen before, the daughters next, and Captain Brouriette bringing up the rear. They were met by the brothers with great cordiality, and re- quested to alight, and were conducted into the house. Before any intimacy could be entered upon, the stran- gers must receive a present. The eldest daughter brought something in a clean white cloth and laid it upon the table, which, upon examination, was found to be the hind-quarter of a deer. After a brief expla- nation through the interpreter, Mrs. Town advanced and took possession of the present, which was the proffered token of friendship, when confidence was es- tablished.
There was now only one drawback to the circum- stances of the meeting, and that was the fact that it was the Sabbath. And was it possible that Frances had lost the idea of the sacredness of the Sabbath ? that "she did not know when Sunday came ?" Here was an evidence, among many, that Frances Slocum had become an Indian in every thing excepting her parentage, and that she was, in fact, a heathen. Noth-
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ing else could have been expected, and yet the fact seemed surprising, as it was afflicting, to the Slocums.
The best provisions were now made for the enter- tainment of the Indian party, and Frances was some- what more free. She listened with interest to a his- tory of the Slocum family, a part of which was the cruel murder of her father soon after her capture, and the deep anxiety of their mother, while she lived, to find her lost child. They assured her that Mrs. Town was the sister who ran away to the fort with her little brother in her arms, and that Mr. Joseph Slocum was that very little brother. In due time preparations were made to take down in writing her Indian history. To this she seemed to have some aversion until the reasons for it were explained by the interpreter. She then proceeded with a brief account of her captivity, and her Indian life down to the present time, which, as it was more fully recited on the occasion of a sub- sequent visit, we shall reserve for record in connection with that visit.
This was a most extraordinary meeting, and excited no little interest in the community. People gathered in and around the house, gaping and listening with amazement. They crowded the doors and windows, and so interrupted the free circulation of the air, that the Indian party, so accustomed to the free air of the woods and the prairies, were almost suffocated. The food, too, seasoned with salt and pepper, was not only unpalatable, but was scarcely endurable. The circum- stances, altogether, had an injurious influence upon the health of Frances, and she sought relief in accordance with the habits of savage life. She quietly slipped away, and in five minutes was found with her blanket pulled over her head, lying on the floor of the stoop,
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fast asleep. The two parties remained at Peru three days. They had frequent conferences, during which the following questions and answers are reported :
"Were you ever tired of living with the Indians?" "No; I always had enough to live on, and have lived well. The Indians always used me kindly."
"Did you know that you had white relations who were seeking you for so many years ?"
"No; no one told me, and I never heard of it. I never thought any thing about my white relations un- less it was a little while after I was taken."
" We live where our father and mother used to live, on the banks of the beautiful Susquehanna, and we want you to return with us; we will give you of our property, and you shall be one of us, and share all that we have. You shall have a good house, and every thing you desire. Oh, do go back with us!"
"No, I can not. I have always lived with the In- dians; they have always used me very kindly; I am used to them. The Great Spirit has always allowed me to live with them, and I wish to live and die with them. Your Wah-puh-mone (looking-glass) may be larger than mine, but this is my home. I do not wish to live any better, or any where else, and I think the Great Spirit has permitted me to live so long because I have always lived with the Indians. I should have died sooner if I had left them. My husband and my boys are buried here, and I can not leave them. On his dying-day my husband charged me not to leave the Indians. I have a house and large lands, two daugh- ters, a son-in-law, three grandchildren, and every thing to make me comfortable : why should I go, and be like a fish out of the water?"
Brouriette spoke and said :
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" And I know all about it. I was born at Fort Harrison, about two miles from Terre Haute. When I was ten years old I went to Detroit. I was married to this woman about thirteen years ago. The people about here and at Logansport and at Miamisport have known me ever since the country was settled by the whites. They know me to be industrious, to manage well, and to maintain my family respectably. My mother-in-law's sons are dead, and I stand in their place to her. I mean to maintain her well as long as she lives, for the truth of which you may depend on the word of Captain Brouriette."
" What Captain Brouriette says," added the old lady, "is true. He has always treated me kindly, and I am satisfied with him-perfectly satisfied; and I hope my connections will not feel any uneasiness about me. The Indians are my people. I do no work. I sit in the house with these my two daughters, who do the work, and I sit with them."
"But will you at least go and make a visit to your early home, and when you have seen us, return again. to your children ?"
"I can not. I can not. I am an old tree. I can not move about. I was a sapling when they took me away. It is all gone past. I am afraid I should die and never come back. I am happy here. I shall die here and lie in that grave-yard, and they will raise the pole at my grave with the white flag on it, and the Great Spirit will know where to find me. I should not be happy with my white relatives. I am glad enough to see them, but I can not go. I can not go. I have done."
" When the whites take a squaw," said Brouriette, with much animation, as if delighted with the decision
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of the old lady, " they make her work like a slave. It was never so with this woman. If I had been a drunken, worthless fellow, this woman could not have lived to this age. But I have always treated her well. The village is called Deaf Man's Village, after her hus- band. I have done."
The eldest daughter, whose name is Kick-ke-se-qua, or "cut-finger," assented to all that had been said, and added that " the deer can not live out of the forest."
The youngest daughter, O-show-se-quah, or " yellow leaves," confirmed all, and thought that her mother could not go even on a visit, " because," said she, "the fish dies quickly out of the water."
The talk closed. The Indian sister was weary and sick, and anxious to return to her wilds, so congenial to her feelings, and so endeared to her heart by many tender associations. There was her home, and there were the graves of her husband and her sons, and there she could enjoy the mode of life which, by long and invincible habit, had become her element, and was nec- essary to her being.
The brothers and sister returned to their homes with mingled emotions of pleasure and pain. They had found their long-lost sister Frances, but they had found and left her an Indian, with almost every trace of Christian civilization erased, both from her soul, body, and being. She looked like an Indian, talked like an Indian, lived like an Indian, seated herself like an Indian, ate like an Indian, lay down to sleep like an Indian, thought, felt, and reasoned like an Indian ; she had no longings for her original home, or the so- ciety of her kindred; she eschewed the trammels of civilized life, and could only breathe freely in the great unfenced out-doors which God gave to the Red Man.
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There was, however, this to comfort the Slocums : their sister was not degraded in her habits or her charac- ter; there was a moral dignity in her manners entirely above ordinary savage life; her Anglo-Saxon blood had not been tainted by savage touch, but bore itself gloriously amid the long series of trials through which it had passed. She was the widow of a deceased chief ; she was rich; all that abundance and respectability could do for a woman in savage life was hers. Such was the former Frances Slocum, of Wyoming, now Ma-con-a-qua, the Indian queen of the Miamis. The problem was settled-the veil of sixty years cast over the history and fate of a captive child was now finally removed.
On Mr. Joseph Slocum's return to his family in Wilkesbarre, his relations were listened to with the most intense interest. Every body had a long cata- logue of questions to ask about Frances, which he was always ready to answer. He seemed never weary of conversing upon the subject of the captivity-the mysterious history-the visit. But Mr. Slocum was not quite satisfied with that visit; he consequently resolved upon another, and this time he took with him his eldest and youngest daughters.
Mr. Slocum and his two daughters-Mrs. Bennet and Harriet, now Mrs. Drake-left home upon this in- teresting trip September 10th, 1839. Their route was through Montrose, Owego, Ithaca, the Cayuga Lake, and by the Erie Canal to Niagara Falls. Mr. Slocum's memorandum of the journey contains many interest- ing entries, besides an account of his expenses; Mrs. Bennet kept a regular journal. Both of these are be- fore us, and, so far as facts are concerned, will be strict- ly followed.
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After a thorough examination of that great natural curiosity, the Falls, the party took the cars for Buffalo, and thence came, by steam-boat, to Sandusky City. After a short visit at Mr. Isaac Slocum's, who resided a few miles back in the country, they took another steam-boat for Maumee. Thence they came by stage, via Fort Defiance, to Fort Wayne, through the rain, over horrible roads, heavily loaded : nothing is noted very favorable to the stages or drivers. Here they took passage on a canal packet to Logansport, and thence to Peru, where they arrived September 28th, having been eighteen days on their journey. Mrs. Ben- net says, "We found comfortable lodgings at Mr. Bur- nett's, a temperance house. This place has only been settled four years; the country is rich, but unhealthy." Mr. Miller, the interpreter, called upon them; they spent the Sabbath here. On Monday morning they chartered a wagon, and proceeded to "the Deaf Man's Village." The company consisted of Mr. Slocum, his two daughters, Mr. Miller, and two gentlemen-Mr. Taylor and Mr. Fullweller. "Our charioteer likes a dram : to be sure of a supply, he carried a bottle in his pocket; if he had spent the money in getting his har- ness mended it would have been better for us:" so says Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Slocum says, " Had some trou- ble with breaking our harness; got up there about half past twelve o'clock."
Having received intelligence of the coming of the party, Brouriette, according to the custom of the Mi- amis when visited by distinguished guests, came well mounted to meet them. He dismounted and shook hands with them all, and bid them welcome. He then mounted his horse, and galloped off through the woods with great speed to apprise the family of the approach
M
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of the company. He spoke broken English, and Mrs. Drake says, "He is a very fine, tall Indian ; his head was covered with a handkerchief something like a tur- ban, with nearly a yard of red calico hanging down behind." As he ran his horse through the woods,. with his red streamer flying after him, " he made," as she says, "a grotesque appearance."
The Slocums and their friends arrived at the resi- dence of Frances September 30. Captain Brouriette met them at the door and brought them into the house. Mrs. Drake says, "We found our aunt seated in a chair, looking very much as represented in the water-colored portrait now in possession of Judge Ben- net, with her two daughters standing by her."
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