USA > Wyoming > Wyoming; its history, stirring incidents, and romantic adventures > Part 2
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By the terms of this charter, the people of Connecti-
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cut very reasonably considered themselves entitled to the territory within the latitudes above specified, west of "the New Netherlands," and began to cast a long- ing eye upon the fertile lands lying upon the Dela- ware and Susquehanna. About fifty years after the charter to Lords Say and Seal, and Brooke, the crown granted a charter to William Penn, which covered a portion of the grant to Connecticut, equal to one de- gree of latitude and five of longitude, which embraced the rich and inviting valley of Wyoming. This was the first ground of the feuds which arose between the Connecticut and Pennsylvania people, and which oc- casioned much trouble and distress to the early set- tlers.
In 1753 an association was formed in Connecticut, called " The Susquehanna Company," for the purpose of forming a settlement in Wyoming; but, that this company might not come into conflict with the native occupants of the soil, a commission was appointed " to explore the country and conciliate their good-will." The company now embraced about six hundred per- sons, many of them men of wealth and high respecta- bility. A deputation was appointed to meet a great council of the Six Nations at Albany in 1754, and, if possible, effeet a purchase of the land. As the trans- action was not secret, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsyl- vania, sent to Albany a deputation, consisting of "John and Richard Penn, Isaac Norris, and Benjamin Frank- lin," to prevent the purchase by the Susquehanna Com- pany. Notwithstanding this formidable opposition, strengthened as it was by the influence of Sir William Johnson, the purchase was effected. The sum paid was "two thousand pounds, of current money of the province of New York." Colonel Stone has given us,
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in an Appendix to the second edition of his History, a " copy of the deed of purchase," duly executed by the " chief sachems and heads of the Five Nations of In- dians, called the Iroquois, and the native proprietors," &c. Among these " chief sachems" is the famous Mo- hawk chief Brant, who subsequently figured so largely in the war of the Revolution. The names of the pur- chasers are also embraced, owners of full shares "five hundred and thirty-four in number," and of "half shares" "one hundred and thirty-six;" most of them from "ye colony of Connecticut, in New England," some "of the colony of Rhode Island," some "of the government of Pennsylvania," some " of the province of ye Massachusetts Bay," and some "of the province of New York." The following are the boundaries of the purchase :
" Beginning from the one and fortieth degree of north latitude at ten miles distance east of Susquehan- na River, and from thence with a northwardly line ten miles east of the river, to the forty-second or begin- ning of the forty-third degree north latitude, and so to extend west, two degrees of longitude, one hundred and twenty miles south, to the beginning of the forty- second degree, and from thence east to the afore-men- tioned bound, which is ten miles east of the Susque- hanna River."-Colonel Stone's History, p. 389.
Having thus procured what they considered a valid title to the soil, the Susquehanna Company took pre- paratory steps for the planting of a settlement in Wy- oming; but the agitations among the Indians, occa- sioned by "the French war," prevented them from ac- complishing their purposes until the year 1762, when about two hundred men pushed their way into the val- ley, and commenced clearing farms just below Mill
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Creek, and at a sufficient distance from the Indian town, which was situated on the flats below the pres- ent town of Wilkesbarre. They felled the timber, and constructed huts, and, before winter set in, had sown extensive fields of wheat. They secured their imple- ments, and returned to Connecticut to winter. In the spring they returned with their families, cattle, furni- ture, &c., but little meditating the dreadful fate which awaited them.
"The season had been favorable; their various crops on those fertile plains had proved abundant, and they were looking forward with hope to scenes of prosperity and happiness; but suddenly, without the least warn- ing, on the 15th of October, a large party of savages raised the war-whoop, and attacked them with fury. Unprepared for resistance, about twenty men fell and were scalped; the residue, men, women, and children, fled, in wild disorder, to the mountains. Language can not describe the sufferings of the fugitives as they traversed the wilderness, destitute of food or clothing, on their way to their former homes."-Miner's History of Wyoming, p. 54.
After this massacre, the Indians, anticipating a mil- itary movement against them on the part of the gov- ernor of Pennsylvania, left the valley, the Christian portion of them removing east to the Moravian town, Gnadenhutten, and the others north to Tioga. Six years now intervened before the Connecticut people made another attempt to settle Wyoming. But in the mean time " the proprietaries of Pennsylvania" availed themselves of an Indian council assembled at Fort Stanwix in 1768, and purchased the disputed territory from some of the chiefs. A deputation of four chiefs from the Six Nations had been sent to Hartford in
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1763 to disclaim the sale made to the Susquehanna Company, and in the talk of the speaker, he asserted that the Six Nations knew nothing of the sale of this land, and furthermore remarked, "What little we have left we intend to keep for ourselves." This was a mere ruse, as is evident from their selling the same land five years subsequently to the proprietaries of Pennsylva- nia. They were, in fact, ready to sell land whenever they could find purchasers; and as to any conflict which might afterward arise among rival claimants, that was not their look out. After all, the poor In- dians were not so much in fault as were the designing white men, who had interests to serve by involving them in improper and contradictory acts.
This fair valley was next to be made the scene of civil war; and in contending for the rich prize, the blood of one white man was to be spilled by the hand of another white man. The parties had exhausted their diplomatic skill; each had sent deputations to the mother country, and in turn obtained the most re- spectable legal decisions in their favor. Nothing seemed left to them but to maintain their claims by force.
The Susquehanna Company sent a body of forty pioneers into the valley in February, 1769, to be fol- lowed by two hundred more in the spring. But the proprietaries of Pennsylvania, anticipating the move- ment, had leased the valley for seven years to Charles Stuart, Amos Ogden, and John Jennings, on condition that they should establish a trading-house for the ac- commodation of the Indians, and adopt the necessary measures for defending themselves, and those who might settle under their lease. These men, with a small party, had proceeded to Wyoming, and fortified
B
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themselves in a block-house, where the forty Yankees found them upon their arrival.
A series of conflicts now ensued, which we can not here detail, but which were characterized by the usual circumstances and elements of war upon the largest scale, and attended with incidents and adventures of rare interest, many of which will be found in the fol- lowing sketches. Erecting fortifications, investments, escalades, capitulations, surprises, ambuscades, battles, marches, countermarches, retreats, taking prisoners, and violating pledges for the security of property, are all duly chronicled in the histories. During this period the Yankees were three times driven from the valley, and obliged to thread their way, with their wives and children, through an unbroken wilderness of two hund- red miles, back to their former homes. But they as often rallied and returned to the charge with accumu- lated numbers, until, finally, they were able to keep possession of the prize. The proprietaries were unpop- ular even in Pennsylvania, and it became impossible for them, even with the aid of all the industry and skill of Captain Ogden, to raise a sufficient force finally to dispossess the Yankees, until the rupture between Great Britain and her colonies directed the attention of all parties to the common defense of the country, and, for the time being, put a period to the civil war.
The object of the Connecticut people had been the establishment of an independent colony, and they had, accordingly, petitioned the parent government to this effect. But, as this object could not be secured with- out much delay, and as the Legislature of Connecticut was cautious of assuming any responsibility which would involve the state in the quarrel, the Susque- hanna Company met at Hartford, June 2, 1773, and
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adopted a provisional plan of government, on truly re- publican principles, and every way worthy of the heads and hearts of the best statesmen of the age .*
Under this form of government the people lived in great harmony and prosperity, and the colony rapidly increased in numbers. In the mean time, the Legisla- tive Assembly of Connecticut made an effort to procure a settlement of the difficulty, but Governor Penn closed his ears to all propositions, and even refused to recog- nize the deputation sent from Connecticut. Upon this the assembly made up a case, and transmitted it to En- gland for the legal opinions of the ablest counsel.
"This case was submitted to Edward, afterward Lord Thurlow, Alexander Wedderburn, Richard Jackson, and J. Dunning, all famous for their learning in the law, who gave a united opinion in favor of the com- pany. Thus fortified, the General Assembly of Con- necticut took higher ground, and, perceiving how great- ly the colony was flourishing, in October, 1773, they passed a resolution asserting their claim to the juris- diction of the territory, and their determination, in some proper way, to support the claim."-Col. Stone.
The following year Wyoming was constituted a town, by the name of Westmoreland, and connected with Litchfield county, and a census taken at the close of the year showed that the town numbered one thou- sand nine hundred and twenty-two inhabitants.
The great events of 1775 seriously affected the in- habitants of Westmoreland. The Indians committed some outrages within the limits of the town, and, though they made hollow professions of a pacific disposition, were evidently preparing for war. Several families from the north, who were hostile to the American
* For which, see Mr. Miner's History, p. 146-149.
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cause, came into the settlement, who, with good reason, were considered bad neighbors. The following notes of the town meetings will show the spirit of the people in taking incipient steps for the common defense :
" At a town meeting, held March 10, Voted, that the first man that shall make fifty weight of good salt- petre in this town, shall be entitled to a bounty of ten pounds, lawful money, to be paid out of the town treas- ury.
"Voted, that the selectmen be directed to dispose of the grain now in the hands of the treasurer, or col- lector, in such way as to obtain powder and lead to the value of forty pounds, lawful money, if they can do the same."
" At a town meeting legally warned and held, in Westmoreland, Wilkesbarre District, August 24, 1776,
" Colonel Butler was chosen moderator for the work of the day.
" Voted, as the opinion of this meeting, that it now becomes necessary for the inhabitants of this town to erect suitable forts, as a defense against our common enemy."
A regiment of militia having been established, the meeting voted that "the three field officers should be a committee to fix on the sites of the forts, lay them out, and give directions how they should be built." Then was adopted what Mr. Miner calls "the follow- ing beautiful vote, which," says he, "we leave, in its simplicity, to speak its own eulogium."
" That the above said committee do recommend it to the people to proceed forthwith in building said forts, without either fee or reward from ye town."
In November of this memorable year (1776), West- moreland was, by the Legislative Council of Connecti-
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cut, erected into a county, with a complete civil and military organization. Congress also ordered that " two companies, on the Continental establishment, be raised in the town of Westmoreland, and stationed in proper places for the defense of the inhabitants of said town, and posts adjacent, till farther orders from Con- gress." The companies, consisting of eighty-two men each, were organized, and officers appointed. But when the British took possession of New York, Washington crossed the Delaware, and Congress were taking meas- ures to retire from Philadelphia to Baltimore, the two companies were ordered to join General Washington "with all possible expedition." This order was prompt- ly obeyed, which took nearly all the able-bodied men and arms from the settlement.
In the summer of 1777 the Six Nations were brought into the field as auxiliaries of the British forces, and commenced their operations in their own peculiar mode of warfare all along the frontier. Wyoming was pe- culiarly exposed, being situated at the distance of sixty miles from the white settlements, east and south, and their strength having been drawn away by the emer- gencies of the war; for, in addition to the two compa- nies above referred to, further enlistments were made, in all amounting to some three hundred. Application was made to Congress for aid, but without effect. The helpless females sent to the army the most pressing calls to their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers, who constituted the Westmoreland companies, to hasten to their relief, and the men begged for the privilege of ful- filling the purposes of their enlistment-"the defense of the inhabitants of said town." But Congress and Connecticut were both deaf to every entreaty. All that was done was an order passed by Congress that
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"one full company of foot be raised in the town of West- moreland, for the defense of the said town," and "that the said company find their own arms, ammunition, and blankets!" This amounted to nothing, as it did not in- crease the force of the settlement. The commissioned officers, resigned, and, together with twenty or thirty men who obtained leave, or went without leave, re- turned to the settlement to share the common peril. The Indians made a great show of peace; but a drunk- en Indian in a revel-one of a company of spies who came upon a pretense of negotiation-let out the secret of a meditated onslaught upon the settlement. This, together with the suspicious movements of the Tory settlers, several families of whom were situated at the head of the valley, and seemed to be acting the part of spies, created no inconsiderable alarm. The settlers had erected, on each side of the river, several forts, some of them consisting of logs planted in the ground, and standing about fourteen feet high, and others mere log pens, or block-houses, with loop-holes. The former were provided with log huts, in which the women and children might find shelter in cases of danger from the enemy. The principal fort on the west side of the river was called Forty Fort, constructed by the forty pioneers who came into the valley in the winter of 1769, and enlarged and strengthened in 1776, situated two miles above Wilkesbarre. In the arrangements for the defense of the settlement, as will be seen by the following, the women acted a conspicuous part :
"Justice and gratitude demand a tribute to the praise- worthy spirit of the wives and daughters of Wyoming. While their husbands and fathers were on public duty, they cheerfully assumed a large portion of the labor which females could do. They assisted to plant, made
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hay, husked and garnered the corn. As the settlement was mainly dependent on its own resources for powder, Mr. Hollenback caused to be brought up the river a pounder; and the women took up their floors, dug out the earth, put it in casks, and run water through it (as ashes are leached); then took ashes in another cask, and made ley; mixed the water from the earth with weak ley, boiled it, set it to cool, and the saltpetre rose to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then used, and powder produced for the public defense." - Miner's History, p. 212.
We need add nothing by way of completing the picture. While fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandsons, were scouring up their old muskets, moth- ers, daughters, and grandmothers were busily employed in manufacturing powder !
NORTHERN BORDER WARS.
In order to a more perfect understanding of the ori- gin and character of the disastrous war waged upon the settlers in Wyoming, we will direct the attention of the reader to the course of events upon the north- ern border.
Sir William Johnson came into the valley of the Mohawk when he was a young man, about forty years previous to the Revolutionary war. The emergencies of the times gave him an opportunity for the develop- ment of his talents. He entered the provincial army, and gained a victory over the French at Lake George in 1755, and this event made his fortune. He was made a baronet, and appointed Superintendent of In- dian Affairs for the northern provinces. He resided at Fort Johnson, near the village of Amsterdam, for nearly twenty years, after which he removed to John-
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son Hall, near Johnstown, where he died in 1774. He left one son-Sir John Johnson-and two daughters. One of his daughters was married to Colonel Daniel Claus, and the other to Colonel Guy Johnson, a dis- tant relative.
After the death of Sir William, Guy Johnson was appointed his successor as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. There were under his superintendency at this time 130,000 Indians, of whom 50,420 were war- riors. The Six Nations numbered about 10,000, about 4600 of whom were trained to the business of war.
In 1772, the county of Tryon-named after the then governor of the province of New York-was organ- ized, and it embraced the section of the state west of a line running north and south through the centre of the present county of Schoharie. It contained a pop- ulation of about 10,000, and Johnstown was the seat of justice.
The Johnson family exerted a great influence over the people in Tryon County, and had acquired almost unbounded control of the Indian mind of the Six Na- tions. When the troubles broke out between the moth- er country and her colonies, the Johnsons espoused the royal cause. Their influence over the Iroquois, or Six Nations, was used to attach them to the same cause, and they often led them on in their incursions upon the settlements in the valley of the Mohawk. Guy Johnson left Johnson Hall in 1775, passing through the country of the Six Nations, finally making his head-quarters at Montreal. Brant and his Mohawks, together with the Butlers, followed Colonel Johnson. Sir John Johnson was made a prisoner, by order of General Schuyler, in January, 1776, and taken to Fish- kill, where he was released on parole. In the May fol-
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lowing he broke his parole, and subsequently com- manded a regiment of refugees, known in border war- fare as "Johnson's Greens."
The last of April, 1777, Colonel Gansevoort, with the third regiment of the New York line of state troops, was ordered to Fort Schuyler .* Before the fortifica- tion was completed, it was invested by Colonel St. Leger. This division of the British forces was collected at Oswego, brought their munitions of war and stores up Wood Creek, and crossed the portage to the Mo- hawk. General Herkimer, with a regiment of militia, in attempting to relieve Fort Schuyler, was met by a considerable force of Indians and Tories, under the command of Brant and Butler, at Oriskany, where he was repulsed, and received a wound which occasioned his death. The patriots retreated down the river, and St. Leger pressed the siege. He raised batteries, and made many efforts to reduce the fortress by cannon shot, but failed to effect a breach. He then resorted to threats of savage barbarity, should the Indians be pro- voked by obstinate resistance. In such case, he said, it would not be possible for him to restrain them from their accustomed modes of redress. All this failed to move the brave men in the fort, who were then nearly out of provisions.
Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stockwell left the fort by night, and, eluding the vigilance of the enemy,
* This fort was situated where the village of Rome now stands. The French had built a fort here called Fort Stanwix, which was now reconstructed. The name of the new fortification was given it in honor of General Schuyler. This fort must be distinguished from the old fort by the same name, built, during the French war, on the point of high ground now in the northeastern portion of the city of Utica, and called by the same name, after an uncle of General Schuyler.
B 2
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passed down the Mohawk for the purpose of reassem- bling the militia and returning for the relief of the fort. This was a daring undertaking, but was so won- derfully successful that the Indians, believing Colonel Willett to have been assisted by some superhuman power, called him "the devil." The distressing events of the encounter at Oriskany had created a great sensa- tion in the country, and called for decisive measures. General Schuyler dispatched Generals Larned and Ar- nold to attack St. Leger and raise the siege of Fort Schuyler.
Colonels Johnson, Claus, and Butler had issued a proclamation designed to intimidate the people of Try- on County into submission, and to procure enlistments into the king's army, and Walter N. Butler, son of Colonel John Butler, had been sent on the delicate business of circulating this proclamation, and using his ยท personal influence with those whom he might find un- decided. He visited the German Flats, in the neigh- borhood of Fort Dayton, and collected a company of Tories at the house of one Shoemaker, who had been a civil officer under the king. Colonel Weston, at Fort Dayton, learning of the gathering, dispatched a detachment of troops, who came upon them by sur- prise just as Butler was in the midst of a harangue, and made them all prisoners. Butler was tried by a court-martial for a spy, and condemned to be hung, but at the intercession of several officers, who had formerly been his personal friends and associates, he received a reprieve, and was sent a prisoner to Albany. After several months' confinement he pretended to be sick, and, as a mark of favor, he was quartered in the house of a Tory, with a single soldier to guard him. But- ler and his host managed to make the soldier drunk,
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and, sick as he was, he escaped on a fleet horse, and reached Niagara. 1271362
Among those captured with Butler was a singular character by the name of Honyost Schuyler. Almost an idiot, he still had streaks of shrewdness which gave him no little distinction among the Indians and his half-civilized neighbors. His mother and brother Nicholas lived at Little Falls. Like Butler, he was condemned to death. His mother and brother hasten- ed to Fort Dayton to implore General Arnold to spare his life. Arnold for a time would not listen to their intercession, and the miserable woman became almost frantic. At length General Arnold proposed terms upon which the life of the poor fellow should be spared. He must immediately go to the camp of St. Leger, and make such representations to him of the forces which were coming up against him as would in- duce him to raise the siege. The proposition was glad- ly accepted, and the old woman offered to be held a hostage for the faithful performance of the commis- sion. General Arnold refused to receive the mother in that capacity, but took the other son, who was put in confinement, while Honyost took his departure. He took with him a friendly Oneida Indian, who was fully inducted into the secrets of the mission, and greatly aided him in its prosecution. Before his departure several balls were shot through his clothes, to help him make out his story, and the Indian took a different route, and fell into the camp at about the same time with the principal in the enterprise.
Honyost arrived at St. Leger's camp, and began im- mediately to give an account of his wonderful escape, and of Arnold's army. When asked as to the number of troops which Arnold had under his command, he
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shook his head mysteriously, and pointed to the leaves of the trees to intimate that the army was large-be- yond his power of enumeration. The Oneida had in his way met with several others of his tribe, who offer- ed him their co-operation. Honyost's story began to fly through the camp like wildfire, when lo! the story of the near approach of a great army was told by In- dians who fell in from different directions. A panic had really commenced before St. Leger knew it. He summoned Honyost before him, who gave a most frightful account of his escape. He had been con- demned to death, and, on his way to the gallows, he had availed himself of the carelessness of the guard, and fled. In the mean time, a volley of musketry was fired after him. Then, pointing to the holes in his coat, he showed the colonel and his officers how one ball had just grazed his side, another his shoulder, and another his thigh; but he had been miraculously pre- served. As to the Indians, they also gave to St. Leger the most exaggerated accounts of the strength and numbers of the army of General Arnold. St. Leger called a council of war, and, while the officers were deliberating upon the course to be taken, the Indian forces under Brant commenced preparations to depart. St. Leger used every effort to retain them, but to no purpose. They had suffered severely in the battle of Oriskany, and, as yet, had been wholly disappointed in the promised plunder of the Yankee fort, and they were in the moody state of mind, when they were vis- ited by Honyost and the Oneidas, which was entirely favorable to the success of these emissaries of the Yan- kee commander. Indeed, the Indians did what they could to make the retreat a flight.
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