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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 SELECTION OF SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING NARRATIVES OF OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY THE INDIANS IN WITH THE WHITE PEOPLE. ALSO, An Account of their Manners, Customs, Traditions, Religious Senti- ments, Mode of Warfare, Military Tactics, Discipline and Encamp- ments, Treatment of Prisoners, &c. which are better Explained, and more Minutely Related, than has been heretofore done, by any other Author on that subject. Many of the Articles have never before ap- peared in print. The whole Compiled irom the best Authorities, Bv ARCHIBALD LOUDON. VOLUME IL CARLISLE : From the Press ok A. Loudon. 181L listrid of §ettnsslb»nl»» to wit ******! I Be it remembered, That on the ninth day of August, in I SEAL.) t the Thirty Third year of the Independence of the United *it***** States of America, A. D. 1808. Archibald Loudon, of the said District, hath deposited in this Office, the Title of a Book, the Right whereof he claims as Author, in the Words following, to wit : *' A Selection of some of the most Interesting Narratives of Outrages "Committed by the Indians, in their Wars with the White People. " Also, an account of their Manners, Customs, Traditions, Religious " Sentiments, Mode of Warfare, Military Tactics, Discipline and En- " campments. Treatment of Prisoners, &c. which are better Explained, " and more Minutely Related, than has been heretofore done, by any " other Author on that Subject. Many of the Articles have never •' before appeared in print. The whole compiled from the bc'St Authori- " ties, — By Archibald Loudon." In Conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, in- tituled, "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies during the Times therein mentioned." And also to the Act entitled "An Act supplementary to Act, entitled, "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies during the Times therein mentioned," and extending the Benefits thereof to the Arts of designing, engraving and etching historical and other Prints." 1). CALDWELL, Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania. Contents. Battie of Wyoming, { " in verse, 13 Captivity of Robert Eastburn, 17 Richard BanV s Captivity, 47 M'Manimy Burn'd, 50 Capt. WJiite Eyes attempts to kill R. Bard, . . 61 Murder oj James Watson and W. M'Mullin, . 65 Taking of Free land' s Fort, 66 Benjamin Gilbert's Captivity, . . . . .69 Robert Robinson's Narrative, .... 160 Col. J. Armstrong's attack on the Kittaning, . .161 Capt. Mercer's suf prising escape from do., . . 163 £>avid Owen murders his wife and 3 children, . . 166 Murder of Whites and Campbells on Juniata, . . ib. Skirmish at Buffalo e creek, 168 Alexander Logan and others killed, . . .169 Samuel Bell's encounter 7vith three Indians, . 171 Murder of Sheridan's family, 173 Cotties an Indian killed at Hunter's Fort, . .174 Battle of Munsey, ' / if, Murder of three Indian prisoners, . . . 176 Great Cove destroyed, 17g M' Swine kills an Indian and White man, . . ib. Mitchell's reapers killed, . . ... 180 Miraculous escape of John Steel, . . .181 Captivity of Hugh Gibson, . . . . . ib. A woman tortured, Ig2 Fort Granville taken, . . . . * . . ] 85 A victoty over Indians in Fax ton, . . . 187 Modes of torture by the Indians, . . . . ;-^, Short Account of the Battle of Munsey, . . .191 Mrs. Durham scalped, 193 Mrs. Porter's encounter with three Indians, . .194 IV CONTENTS. List of Persons killed by the Indians^ . . . 195 T/ie cause which gave rise to the ivar in 1774, . . 199 Capt. Logan's celebrated speech^ .... 209 Some account of the person of capt. John Logan, . 214 General remarks by Charles Thomson, . . , 216 Jefferson' s account of an Indian burial ground, . 312 St. Clair's Defeat, 236 Extracts from the history of the American Indians, . 251 The Rainmaker, ib. Marriage of the Dark ianthorn, .... 263 The Archimagus's opinion concerning Hottentots, . 266 Indian musical instrument, 267 The old Physician or Prophet, .... 268 Laet's description of America, .... 275 South American Indians hope of a resurrection, . ib. Reasons for believing they are descendants of Jews, . 277 Cherokee women' s opinion of the whites, . . 281 Herbert's Spring, 282 Fort Loudon, whetstones for rasors, red, white, ^c. . 283 Priber, a man of curious speculative temper, . 286 Method of crossing deep rivers^ .... 298 The two Bachanalians, 303 Similar instance, 304 Instances of Indian fortitude at death, . . 311 Indian ceremonies on their return from war, . . 317 Exceedingly pointed against our method of war, . 320 Inside of their houses furnished with couches, . . 324 Formerly they made very handiome carpets, . . 325 They make vety beautiful stone pipes, .... 327 They are good saddlers, 330 They mount their horses on the off side, . . . 331 Their social and military virtues 333 They ridicule our officers for their ostentation, 336 Their opinion of law 337 Of our physicians, ...... 342 they desire to be acquainted with our theology, . . 343 The conclusion, 356 195 199 209 214 216 312 236 251 id. 263 266 267 268 275 ib. . 277 281 282 283 286 298 303 304 311 317 320 . 324 325 . 327 330 331 . 333 336 . 337 342 . 343 356 SELECTION OF SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING NARRATIVES, &c. INDIAN BATTLE OF WYOMING, IN 1778. WYOMING, (besides being a frontier settlement dur- ing the course of the revolutionary war ; constantly ex- posed to the inroads of the savages ;) had furnished two full companies, and about 60 recruits more for the main army. All which were annexed to the Connecticut line, and armed themselves ; amounting in the whole to 230 men. While thus weakened and unguarded, they were invaded by an army from Niagara, in the British ser- vice, composed of regulars, tories and Indians ; of which the Indians composed the greater part. The Indians, in the spring, began to be troublesome. Their numbers were frequently augmented by the ac- cession of new parties. It was with the cattle, hogs, and other plunder, taken from the inhabitants, they fur- nished themselves with provisions. Some of the in- habitants they killed and captivated others, and destroyed much property. At length they became formidable. The inhabitants had erected several small forts, but their principal fortress was Forty fort, in King;: ton, on the west side of the river, a small distance above Wy- mn (6) oming falls. To this the inhabitants had chiefly resorted. They had sent agents to the continental army to acquaint them with their distressed situation; in consequence whereof, captain Spaulding, .with about 60 or 70 men, was dispatched to their assistance. The detachment was at the time of the action about 40 miles distant. The garrison had been apprized of their march from Lancas- ter, but not of their proximity. The people in garrison grew uneasy, under the insults of the invaders. The militia were formed under officers of their own, and the whole commanded by colonel Zebulon Butler, of the continental army. Col. Denison of the militia, was second in command. There was a fortification about three miles above Forty fort, called Wintermot's fort. This is stated to have been in the possession of tories, that is, of persons inimical to the revolution, and attached to the interests of Great Britain. They surrendered at the approach of the enemy, with- out opposition, and gave them aid ; some of them enter- ing fully into their interests. Wintermot's fort instantly became headquarters of the expedition from Canada; this was commanded by colonel John Butler, an officer on the British establishment, commandant of a party of rangers. The second in command was col. Brandt, a natural son of Sir William Johnson, by an Indian woman. Some communications by flag, had taken place between the hostile parties, previous to the battle, with proposi- tions of compromise. The Canadians insisted on an un- qualified submission to Great Britain. This the garrison peremptorily refused, and nothing was effected. The reciprocal bearers of flags, represented the army of the invaders as double the garrison in number, and still more superior in the quality of their anns. « (7 ) It was debated in the garrison, whether it would be a point of prudence to hazard a sally. An officer who had been at the enemy's camp with a flag, opposed it, as did also col. Denison, and several others, and col. Butler rather declined it, but among others who were in favor of it, a certain captain, (who never lived to lament his temerity) urged it with so much vehemence, that the commandant consented. It is also added, that a Mr. Ingrasol, then in the garrison with a flag from the enemy, had been some time their captive, and was intimately acquainted with their strength, did his utmost to deter them from the rash attempt, but all in vain ; and, that when he saw them turn out and parade could no longer refrain from tears. The third day of July, in the year 1778, was the fatal day that deluged in blood the plains of Wyoming! The garrison marched off" in a solid column, and met with no material obstruction, till they reached the enemy's camp, about three miles above Forty fort. Here they had the Susquehanna on the right, and a thick swamp on the left — and perceiving the enemy extended from the one to the other, ready to receive them, displayed column, which threw them in a similar position. Col. Zebulon Butler commanded the right, and was opposed by col. John Butler on the enemy's left. Col. Denison commanded on the left, and was opposed by col. Brandt, on the enemy's right. The action commenced at about forty rods distance. The air being heavy, the smoke obstructed their sight. And after the first discharge, they could only direct their aim by the flash of the enemy's guns. Little execution was done, till after several dis- charges. Brandt marched a party into the swamp, and flanked the militia. The enemy, now firing from under (8) cover of the thicket, greatly annoyed that wing. The militia dropt down very fust, and at length began to give way one after another in rapid succession, till the rout became general. The fugitives were closely pur- sued by the Indians, who, besides their rifles and toma- hawks, were provided with long spears which they throw with great dexterity and seldom missed their object. The practice of throwing the tomahawk and spear, and taking aim, being the principal exercise to which an In- dian warrior is trained. It was impossible for men thus flying and thus pur- sued, to rally, nor had they a moment's time, even to load their pieces, while death was close upon every man's heel. And besides, many of them had no other weapon but a rusty musket. Flight was their only hope, smd the Indians being most accustomed to running, if they could not run the fastest, could however out-wind them. The carnage, at once became general, and three fourths of the militia were killed. According to the account of some who were present, the number that sallied out were 500, and of those who escaped the scalping knife 200. Others assert that the sortie consisted of but 385, and those which escaped were less than 100. The probability is, that between the confusion, carnage and panic of the day, the accounts are all incorrect. But by every account, about 300 able- bodied men, amounting to more than half the settlement were slain on that dismal day. A memorable day of bitterness and lamentation to the whole : but more es- pecially so to the widows, mothers and orphans of the de- ceased ; who, beside the pangs of grief attached to their losses, were in momentary jeopardy of being butchered themselves. I. ♦I 1 (9) The fugitives fled in every direction. Some saved themselves by fair running — some by hiding till the darkness covered their retreat; and many by swimming the river, &c. Particular details of all individual es- capes cannot be given, nor would they, perhaps, be en- tertaining, we shall therefore exhibit none. Some few of the enemy were killed in the pursuit; their total loss was never ascertained, but we are to presume it was small. Forty fort was immediately evacuated. Some few of the inhabitants took British protections, and remained on their premises. The signal for a house under pro- tection was a white cloth hung up near the door, and for a man, a white rag round the crown of his hat. Those of the militia who escaped from the battle, has- tened toward the Delaware, and on their way through the swamp, met capt. Spaulding's detachment, who, on being informed of the strength of the enemy, and deplo- rable condition of the settlement, judged it prudent to turn about, and retire to the settlement on the Delaware. The road through the swamp was thronged with wo- men and children, heavy hearted and panic struck ; des- titute of all the comforts of life, traveling day and night, and in continual dread of the tomahawk and scalping knife ! The whole country and all the property in it, was abandoned to the savages, save only by the few who had taken British protections. About three weeks after the battle, the scattered mili- tia having joined Spaulding's detachment, three young men were sent into Wyoming to reconoitre. They found the plundering parties still busily employed, and but narrowly escaped them. The scouting party however, returned safe to camp, and made report. About three weeks subsequent to this, the whole party, consisting of ( 10 ) both regulars and militia, amounting to near 200, ad- vanced in a body as far as Tenmile-run. Here they formed into three divisions, one of which proceeded di- rectly to Wilkesbarre, and began to erect a fort ; one filed of by the right, and took a circuitous rout by the way of Lackawanny, to the same place, and the other went to Nanticoke mills, (where the ironworks now stand) and thence to the West- Branch, under command of Col. Hartley ; and from thence through the woods to Tioga point. In their way they met a party of Indians and killed one of them, without sustaining any loss them- selves. At Tioga and Sheshequin they retook about 40 head of cattle that the Indians had driven off from the settlement. The Indians who had the care of them fled without firing a gun. The party marched all night with their drove ; while rising Wyalusing hill an ambuscade of Indians fired upon them, wounded one man in the leg, and a ball knocked otf the breech of another man's gun ; they sustained no other injury. Next day, near Tusca- rora Cre:k, the enemy attacked the rear guard and killed several men; one Indian was killed, and whether any more is unknow. ., They met with no further molesta- tion in their march. About four days after their arrival at Wilkesbarre, a party of Indians came into the settlement, killed three men ; and having speared a fourth in nine places and scalped him, left him for dead al^o, but he afterwards recovered. The fort at Wilkesbarre was completed with all possible dispatch, and in it they kept garrison till the termination of the war. Besides this fort they had block houses in various places, and in the re-settlement of the country the inhabitants built their habitations in little villas, contiguous to these, for mutual convenience and safety, they being frequently harrassed by the Indians. > ( 11 ) I, a ree id ds th le 3k lie lie ]d Is. On the 20th of March, 1779, the Indians came upon them 300 strong and immediately surrounded their fort. The alarm gun was fired, and the people flew to their block houses; some few of the inhabitants were killed, k^ some of their Strong-holds attacked, but none were taken. The savages collected together the greater part of the cattle and horses in the neighborhood, and in fair view of the garrison drove them away. It was an insult they had not the power to resent. The first settlement ever attempted by the white peo- ple, at Wyoming, was in 1762. They met with no dis- turbance that year — but on the 15th day of October, 17<)3, the sly and subtle Indians, at an u.iexpected mo- ment, made a vigorous attack on them, and with their usual ferocity, killed near 20 of them, captivated several and the rest being dispersed, sought an asylum for the moment, wherever they could find it, and escaped as fast as possible through the wilderness to their former homes. Their houses were all burnt; corn all destroyed ; horses and cattle .all killed or driven oft'. Thus perished in one day a flourishing settlement, after a rapid progress of two summers. Governor Penn, being informed of the savage incursion, ordered a detachment from the gar- rison at Harrisburg to their relief; they hastened their march, but previous to their arrival, the savages had withdrawn with their prisoners and plunder. The party, however, arrived soon enough to witness the deplorable havoc! they found the bodies of the slain stript naked, scalped, and lying above the ground ! and their little mansions all in ashes, while the fire that devoured them was not yet extinguished. In the l)eginning of March 1780, a i)arty of twenty Indians started from Niagara for Wyoming: Their object ( 12 ) ! ! being scalps and prisoners. Some of them could speak English. As they approached the settlement they divided into two parties, ten of them going down on each side of the river. The party on the east side of the river took three prisoners, viz. Thomas Bennet and son, and A. Hammond. With these they started for Tioga, the place of rendezvouse agreed on by the parties before separation. On the third night of their return they kindled a fire, took supper and laid down to sleep. One Indian kept watch, Bennet pretended to be in some distress, asked the Indian to untie him and let him step aside. It was accordingly done, Bennet went out, and returned; and while warming himself by the fire, saw the sentinel get to sleep; he untied his comrades and plunged a spear into the Indian's back with a mortal blow. The Indian gave one scream and sunk into ever- lasting silence. This aroused the whole party, they all sprung up, leaving their guns on the ground. Bennet & CO. seized their guns, kept possession of the fire till the morning and then set out for home, where they all arrived in safety with the arms of their captor^i. Whether this party killed any one or not does not api)ear. The party on the west side of the river, on the 28th and 29th of March, killed Asa Upton, and three Van- campens. They took prisoners Jonah Rogers, Peter Pence, Moses Vancampen and Abraham Pyke. They started for home, and the third night arrived at Wysox, and after gorging their stomachs with broiled venison fell a sleep. The prisoners were pinioned jmd their guns set up against a tree. Pyke disengaged himself, and re- moved the guns and cut loose the prisoners. Rogers was only 18 years of age and suff'ered to go at large (he gave me these details.) By Pyke's orders he carried an ( 13 ) r^tiy^r^T''' ^" ^^^^- ^'^^^J' Vancampen rose and rf off "' '"t"' "^^' ^'^ "^'^' ^^^ ^^^ were aroused and ran off some bemg wounded and some naked, but only one of the ten ever returned to Niagara. The «elf rescued prisoners returned l)ome in safety, and brou^^ht with them the Indian's guns "^uu^ni An Account of the Battle between the People of Wyoming, and the Indians, m the year 1778; in which two hnuhed of the Americans we^-e unhappily sacrificed to the Savage barbarity of some treacherous Americans, and cruel sav 7attle ''' "* ^^ " ^''''''' ^^''" ^'^**^^«^ '^^«'- f^^e field of Kind heaven assist the tremljling muse, While she attempts to tell ; Of poor Wyoming's overthrow, By savage hands that fell. One hundred whites in painted hue Whom Butler there did lead, Supported by a barbarous crew, Of the fierce savage breed : The last of June the siege began, And several days it held ; While many a brave and vjiliant man. Lay slaughtered on the field. Our troops march'd from the Forty fort The third day of July, Three hundred strong, they marclied aJon- Ihe fate of war to try; " ill !? ( 14 ) But ah I alas! three hundred men, Is much too small a band, To meet eight hundred men complete, And make a glorious stand ; Four miles we marched from the fort; Our enemies to meet, Too far indeed did Butler lead. To keep a f?afe retreat. And now the fatal hour is come. They bravely charg'd the foe ; And they with ire, return'd the fire, Which prov'd our overthrow. Some minutes they sustain'd the fire, But ere they were aware; They were encompass'd all around. Which prov'd a fatal snare. And now they did attempt to fly. But all is now in vain; The little host, by far the most. Was by these Indians slain. And as they fly for quarters cry. Oh ! hear indulgent h^ n; Hard to relate, the droa ■ .ate. No quarters must be given. With bitter cries, an( \ mournful sighs, They seek for some retreat; Here and there, they know not where. Till awful death they meet. i ( 15 ) There piercing cries salute the skies, Mercy is all their cry; Our souls prepare thy grace to share, We instantly must die. Some men were found a flying round. Sagacious to get clear; In vain to fly, the foe so nigh. The front, the flank, and rear. And now the foe hath won the day, ^ Methinks their words were these,' You cursed rebel Yanky race, Will this your Congress plekse. Your pardon's o-^ . you then shall have, We hold th -111 our hands; We all agree to set them free. By dashing out their brains. And as for you enlisted men. We'll raise your honors higlier; Pray turn your eyes where you m'ust lie. In yonder burning fire. The naked in these flames were cast, Too dreadful 'tis to tell; Where they must fry, and burn and die, W hile cursed Indians yell. No age nor life these Tigers spare, The youth and hoary head Were by those monsters murdered there And numbered with the dead. ( 16 ) Methinks I hear some sprightly youth, His awful state condole ; " Oh ! that my tender parents knew The agony of my soul. "But O! these cries can't spare my life, Or heal my dreadful fear; I see the tomahawk and knife And the r>ore glitt'ring spear. " Few years ago I dandled was Upon my parent's knee, I little thought I should be here In this sad misery. "I hoped for many a joyful day; I hop'd for riches there ; Alas! these dreams are fled away. And I shall be no more. " Farewell my friends, oh ! that I was Freed from this savage race: Your heart's would ache and nearly break If you could know my case. " Farewell indulgent parents dear, I must resign my breath ; I now must die and here must lie In the cold arms of death. " But O ! the fatal hour is come I see the bloody knife! The Lord have mercy on my soul I yield to thee my life." i (17 ) A FAITHFUL NARRATIVE, OF The many dangers and mfferings, as well as wondei'jul de- liverances of RoREHT Eastburx, during his late cap- tivity among the Indians: Together loith some remarks upon the country of Canada, and the religion and policy of its inhabitants ; the whole intermixed with devout re- flections. Written by himself. ABOUT thirty tradesmen, and myself, arrived at cap- tain William's fort, (at the Carrying- Place,) in our way to Oswego, the 2()th of March, 175(1, who infornied me that he was like to be cumbered in the fort, and there- fore advised us to take the Indian-House for our lodging. About ten o'clock next day, a negro man came running down the road, and reported that our slaymen were all taken by the enemy ; captain Williams on hearing this, sent a serjeant, and about twelve men, to see if it was true; I being at the Indian-House, and not thinking myself safe there, in case of an attack and being also willing to serve my king and country, in the best man- ner I could in my present citcumstances, asked him if he would tike company? He rei)liod, with all his heart! Hereupon, I fell into the rear, with my arms, and marched after them ; when we had advanced about a quarter of a mile, we heard a shot, followed with doleful cries of a II : '- ( 18) dying man, which excited me to advance, in order to discover the enemy, whom I soon perceived were pre- pared to receive us : In this difficult situation, seeing a large pine tree, near, I repaired to it for shelter; and while the enemy were viewing our party, I having a good chance of killing two at a shot, quickly discharged at them, but could not certainly know what execution was done till some time after; our company likewise dis- charged, and retreated. Seeing myself in danger of be- ing surrounded, I was obliged to retreat a different course, and to my surprise, fell into a deep mire, which the enemy, by following my track in a light snow, soon dis- covered, and obliged me to surrender, to prevent a cruel death. They stood ready to drive their darts into my body, in case I refused to deliver up my arms. Pres- ently after I was taken, I was surrounded by a great number, who stripped me of my clothing, hat, and neck- cloth, so that I had nothing left but a flannel vest, with- out sleeves, put a rope on my neck, bound my arms fast behind me, put a long band round my body, and a large pack on my back, struck me on the head a severe blow, and drove me through, the woods before them: it is not easy to conceive, how distressing such a condition is! in the mean time, I endeavoured with all my little re- maining strength to lift up my eyes to God from whom alone I could with reason expect relief. Seventeen or eighteen prisoners, were soon added to our number, one of which informed me, that the Indians were angry with me, and reported to some of their chiefs, that I had fired on them, wounded one, and killed an- other; for which he doubted they would kill me. Here- upon I considered that the hearts of all men are in the hand of God, and that one hair of our head cannot fall to ( 19 ) )m to in- ire- Ihe Ito the ground without his permission : I had not as yet learned what numbers the enemy's parties consisted of: there being only about one hundred Indians who had lain in ambush on the road, to kill or take into captivity all that passed between the two forts. Here an inter- preter came to me, to enquire what strength capt. Wil- liams had to defend the fort? after a short pause, I gave such a discouraging answer, yet consistent with truth, as prevented their attacking it, and in consequence the ef- fusion of much blood; a gracious Providence, which I desire ever to retain a grateful sense of; for hereby it evidently appeared, that I was suffered to fall into the hands of the enemy, to promote the good of my coun- trymen, to better purpose than I could, by continuing with them; veiily the Almighty is wise in counsel and wonderful in working. In the mean time, the enemy determined to destroy Bull's fort, at the head of Wood creek which they soon effected, all being put to the sword, except five persons, the fort burnt, the provision and powder destroyed, sav- ing only a little for their own use, then they retired to the woods, and joined their main body which inclusive, consisted of 400 French, and 800 Indians commanded by one of the principal gentlemen of Quebec; as soon as they got together (having a priest with them) they fell on their knees, and returned thanks for their victory ; an example this, worthy of imitation ! an example which may make prophane pretended protestants blush, if they are not lost to all sense of shame, who instead of ac- knowledging a God, or Providence, in their military un- dertakings, are continually reproaching him with oaths and curses; is it any wonder that the attempts of such, are blasted with disappointment and disgrace? ( 20) The enemy had several wounded men, both French and Indians among them, which they carried on their backs; besides which, about fifteen of their number were killed, and of us about forty; It being by this time near dark, and some Indians drunk, they only marched about four miles and encamped ; the Indians untied my arms, cut hemlock boughs, and strewed round the fire, tied my band to two trees, with my back on the green boughs by the fire covered me with an old blanket, and lay down across my band, on each side, to prevent my escape, while they slept. Sunday the 28th, rose early, the commander ordered a hasty retreat towards Canada, for fear of general John- son ; in the mean time one of our men said, he under- stood the French and Indians designed to join a strong party, and fall on Oswego, before our forces there, could get any provision or succor; having, as they thought, put a stop to our relieving them for a time ; when we encamped in the evening, the commanding officer or- dered the Indians to bring me to his tent, and asked me, by an interpreter, if I thought general Johnson would follow them ; I told him I judged not, but rather thought he would proceed to Oswego; which was indeed my sentiment, grounded upon prior information, and then expressed to prevent the execution of their design. He farther enquired, what was my trade? I told him that of a smith ; he then persuaded me when I got to Canada, to send for my wife, " for said he, you can can get a rich living there;" but when he saw that he could not pre- vail, he asked no more questions, but commanded me to return to my Indian master; having this opportunity of conversation, I informed the general, that his Indian warriors had stripped me of my clothing, and would be ( 21 ) ught my hen He that ada, rich pre- me nity iian dbe glad he would be good enough to order me some relief; to which he replied, that I would get clothes when I came to Canada, which was cold comfort to one almost frozen. On my return, the Indians perceiving that I was unwell, and could not eat their coarse food, ordered some chocolate, which they had brought from the Carrying Place, to be boiled for me, and seeing me eat that, ap- peared pleased. A strong guard was kept every niglit ; one of our men being weakened by his wounds, and rendered unable to keep pace with them, was killed and scalped on the road! — I was all this time almost naked, travelling through deep snow and wading through rivers cold as ice. After seven days march, we arrived at Lake Ontario, where I eat some horse flesh, which tasted very agreeably, for to the hungry man, as Solomon observes ever}'^ bitter thing is sweet.-*^ The French carried several of their wounded men all the way upon their backs, and many of them wore no breeches in their travels in this cold season, they are strong, hardy men. The Indians had three of their party wounded, which they likewise carried on their l)acks; I wish there was more of this hardiness, so necessary for war, in our nation, which would open a more encouraginer scene than appears at present. The * On the Friday l)eforo we arrived at the hike, the Indians killed a Porcupine, which is in bigness ei|ual to a large Racoon, with short legs, is covered with long hair, intermixed with sharp quills, which are their defence : it is iiuleed dangerous coming very near iheni, because they cast their quills, which are like l)arbod irons or darts, at anything that opposeth them, which when they pierce, are not easy to be drawn out ; for though their points are sharp and smooth, they have a kind of beard which makes them stick fast : ht)wever, the Indians threw it on a large fire, Iturnt off the hair and quills, roasted and eat it, with whom I had a part. ( 22) prisoners were so divided, that but few could converse together on our march, and which was still more dis- agreeable and distressing, an Indian, who had a large bunch of green scalps, taken off our men's heads, marched before me, and another with a sharp spear behind, to drive me after him; by which means the scalps were often close to my face, and as we marched, they fre- quently every day gave the dead shout, which was re- peated as many times as there were captives and scalps taken. In the midst of this gloomy scene, when I con- sidered, how many poor souls were hurried into a vast eternity, with doubts of their unfitness for such a change, it made me lament and expostulate in the manner follow- ing; O sin what hast thou done! what desolation and ruin hast thou brought into this miserable world ? What am I, that I should be thus spared ? My afflictions are certainly far less than my sins deserve ! Through the exceeding riches of divine goodness and grace, I was in this distressing situation supported and comforted, by these passages of sacred scripture, viz. That our light afflictions, which last but for a moment, shall work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And that, though no afflictions are for the present joyous, but grievous ; yet nevertheless, they afterwards yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness, to them who are ex- ercised thereby. And farther, that all things shall work together for good, to them that love God ; to them who are the called, according to his purpose. But to return, I may, with justice and truth observe, that our enemies leave no stone unturned to compass our ruin ; they pray, work, and travel to bring it about, and are unwearied in the pursuit ; while many among us sleep in a storm, that has laid a good part of our country desolate, and threatens ( 23) the whole with destruction : O may the Almighty awake us, cause us to see our clan;;er, before it be too late, and grant us salvation ! O that we may be of good courage, and play the man, for our people, and the cities of our God ! But alas, I am obliged to turn my face towards cold Canada, among inveterate enemies, and innumerable dangers! Lord, I pray thee, be my safe guard; thou habt already covered me in the hollow of thy hand; when death cast darts all around me and many fell on every side, I beheld thy salvation ! April 4th, several French battoes met us, and brought a large supply of provision ; the sight of which caused great joy, for we were in great want; then a place was soon erected to celebrate mass in, which being ended, we all went over the mouth of a river, where it empties it- self into the east end of lake Ontario, a great part of our company set off on foot towards Oswegotchy: while the rest were ordered into battoes, and carried towards the entrance of St. Lawrence, where that river takes its be- ginning; but by reason of bad weather, wind, rain, and snow, whereby the waters of the lake were troubled, we were obliged to lie by, and haul our battoes on shore ; here I lay on the cold shore two days. Tuesday set off, and entered the head of St. Lawrence, in the afternoon; came to late at night, made fires, but did not lie down to sleep ; embarked long before day, and after some miles progress down the river, we saw many tires on our right hand, which were made by the men who left us, and went by land, with them we staid till day, and then again embarked in our battoes, the weather was very bad, it snowed fast all day, near night arrived at Oswe- gotchy ; I was almost starved to death, but hoped to stay in this Indian town till warm weather; slept in an Indian ( 24) /; wigwam, rose early in the morning, being Thursday, and soon to my grief discovered my disappointment. Several of the prisoners had leave to tarry here, but I must go two hundred miles farther down stream, to another Indian town ; the morning being extremely cold, I ap- plied to a French merchant, or trader for some old rags of clothing, for I was almost naked, but to no purpose. About ten o'clock, was ordered into a battoe, on our way down the river, with eight or nine Indians, one of which was the man wounded in the skirmish before mentioned ; at night we went on shore, the snow being much deeper than before, we cleared it away, and made a large fire; here, when the wounded Indian cast his eyes upon me, his old grudge revived, he took my blanket from me, and commanded me to dance round the fire barefoot, and sing the prisoners song, which I utterly refused ; this surprized one of my fellow prisoners, who told me they would put me to death (for he understood what they said) he therefore tried to persuade me to com- ply, but I desired him to let me alone, and was through great mercy, enabled to reject his importunity witli ab- horrence. The Indian also continued urging, saying you shall dance and sing; but apprehending my com- pliance sinful, I determined to persist in declining it at all adventures, and to leave the issue to the divine dis- posal. The Indian perceiving his orders disobeyed, was fired with indignation, and endeavored to push me into the fire, which I leapt over, and he being weak with his wounds, and not being assisted by any of his brethren, was obliged to desist : For this gracious interposure of Providence, in preserving me both from sin and danger, I desire to bless God while I live. Friday morning, was almost perished with cold. Sat- ( 25 ) who stood com- 'ough 1 ab- aying corn- it ut dis- l, was into 1 his iren, re of iiger, Sat- urday, proceeded on our way, and soon came in sight of the upper part of the inhabitants of Canada ; here I was in great hopes of some relief, not knowing the man- ner of the Indians, who do not make many stops among the French, in their return from war, till they get home: However when they came near some rapid falls of water, one of my fellow prisoners, and several Indians, to- gether with myself, were put on shore, to travel by land, which pleased me well, it being much warmer running on the snow, than lying still in the battoe ; we past by several French houses, but stopt at none ; the vessel go- ing down a rapid stream, it required haste to keep pace with her, we crossed over a point of land, and found the battoe waiting for us, as near the shore as the ice would permit: here we left St. Lawrence, and turned up Conasadauga river,* but it being frozen up, we hauled our battoo on shore, and each of us took our * The river St. Lawrence, at lake Ontario, takes its beginning through several Islands, l)y which we are in no necessity of coming within sight of Frontenac, when we go down tlie river; it is smooth water from thence to Oswegotche (or as it is called l)y the French Legalet) bnt from hence to Montreal, the water is more swift, with a number of rapid streams, though not dangerous to pass through with small boats and Jjark canoes, jjrovided the steersmen are care- ful, and acqiuiinted with the places; in transporting provision and warlike stores up stream from Cainida to lake Ontario, there is a necessity of unloading Itattoes at several of the rapid streams, and hauling them empty through shoal water near the shore, and carry- ing the loading by land to where tiie water is more slack; though there be several of those places, yet the laiitl carriage is not very liir: the land on both sides the river, appears fertile a great part of the way from the lake to Montreal; but the nearer the latter the worse, more miry and stony; the timlter is white pine, ash, inaiilc. lieach, hickory, hemlock, spruce; and from the lake altont 1 •">(> miU's down plenty ot white oak, but none about Montreal of that kind. \ (26) share of her loading on our backs, and marched toward Conasadauga, an Indian town, which was our designed port, but could not reach it that night : came to a French house, cold, weary, and hungry; here my old friend, the wounded Indian, again appeared, and r(3lated to the Frenchman, the affair of my refusing to dance, who im- mediately assisted the Indian to strip me of my flannel vest before mentioned, which was my all. Now they were resolved to compel me to dance and sing. The Frenchman was as violent as the Indian, in promoting this imposition; but the women belonging to the house, seeing the rough usage I had, took pity on me, and res- cued me out of their hands, till their heat was over, and prevailed with the Indian to excuse me from dancing ; but he insisted that I must be shaved, and then he would let me alone (I had at that time a long beard, w^hich the Indians hate) with this motion I readily com- plied, and then the Indian seemed content. Sunday, April 11th, set off towards Conasadauga, travelled about two hours, and then saw the town, over a great river, which was still frozen ; the Indians stojjped, and we were soon joined with a number of our own Company, which we had not seen for several days: the prisoners, in number eight, were ordered to lay down our packs, and be [)ainted; the wounded Indian ])ainted me, and put a belt of wampum around my neck, instead of the rope which I had wore 400 miles. Then set oft towards the town on the ice, which was four miles over; our heads were not allowed to be covered, lest our fine paint should be hid, the weather in the mean time very cold, like to freeze our ears; after we had advanced nearer to the town, the Indian women came out to meet us, and relieved their husbands of their packs. ^ ; lauga, over )ped, own : the tlown nted itead it oft ^ver ; line rery heed neet ( 27 ) As soon as we landed at Conasadauga, a large body of Indians came and encompassed us round, and or- dered the prisoners to dance and sing the Prisoner's Song, (which I was still enabled to decline) at the con- clusion of which, the Indians gave a shout, and opened the ring to let us run, and then fell on us with their fists, and knocked several down ; in the mean time, one ran before to direct us to an Indian house, which was open, and as soon as we got in, we were beat no more; my head was sore with beating, and pained me several days. The squaws were kind to us, gave us boiled corn and beans to eat, and fire to warm us, which was a great mercy, for I was both cold and hungry : this town lies about 30 miles north-west from Montreal; I staid here till the ice was gone, which was about ten days, and then was sent to Cohnewago, in company with some Indians, who when they came within hearing, gave notice by their way of shouting, that they had a prisoner, on which the whole town rose to welcome me, which was the more distressing, as there was no other prisoner in their hands ; when we came near shore, a stout Indian took hold of me, and hauled me into the water, which was knee deep, and very cold: As soon as I got ashore, the Indians gathered round me, and ordered me to dance and sing, now when I was stiff with cold and wet, and lying long in the canoe ; here I only stamped to prepare for my race, and was encompassed with about 500 Indians, who danced and simg, and at last gave a shout, and opened the circle; about 150 young lads made ready to pelt me with dirt and gravel stones, and on my setting ofV gave me a stout volley, witliout my su tiering great liurt; but an Indian seeing me run, met me, and held me fast, till the boys had stored theniselves again with dirt and small 1/ ( 28 ) stones, and let me run ; but then I fared much worse than before, for a small stone among the mud hit my right-eye, and my head and face were so covered with the dirt, that I could scarse see my way ; but discovering a door of an Indian house standing open, I run in: From this retreat I was soon hauled, in order to be pelted more; but the Indian women being more merciful inter- posed, took me into a house, ])rought me water to wash, and gave me boiled corn and beans to eat. The next day, I was brought to the centre of the town, and cried according to the Indian custom, in order to be sent to a family of Indians, 200 miles up stream, at Oswegotchy, and there to be adopted, and abused no more : To this end, I was delivered to three young men, who said I was their brother, and set forward on our way to the aforesaid town, with about 20 more Indians, but by reascn of bad weather, we were obliged to encamp on a cold, stony shore, three days, and then proceeded on; called at Conasadauga, staid there about a week, in which time, I went and viewed four houses, at a distance from the town, about a quarter of a mile from each other; in which, are represented in large paint work, the sufferings of our Saviour, with design to draw the Indians to the Papist's religion ; the work is curiously done : A little farther stand three houses near together, on the top of a high hill, which they call Mount Calvary, with three large crosses before them, which completes the whole representation: To all these houses, the priests and Indians repair, in performing their grand processions, which takes up much time.* * 'i'he paitis the Papists take to projiagato sucli a bloody and ab- surd religion as theirs, is truly amazing ! This brings to my remem- brance, the following discourse, I had with two French priests in my I ill nb- l"'y f ;' ( 29 ) Set off on our journey for Oswegotchy, against a rapid stream, and being long in it, and our provision growing short, the Indians put to shore a little before night; my lot was to get wood, others were ordered to get fires, and some to hunt; our kettle was put over the fire with some pounded Indian corn, and after it had boiled about two hours, my oldest Indinn brother, returned with a she beaver, big with young, which he soon cut to pieces, and threw into the kettle, together with the guts, and took the four young beavers, whole as they came out of the dam and put them likewise into the kettle, and when all was well boiled, gave each one of us a large dishful of the broth, of which we eat freely, and then part of the old beaver, the tail of which was divided equally among us, there being eight at our fire; the four young beavers were cut in the middle, and each of us got half of a beaver: I watclied an opportunity to hide my share (having satisfied myself belore that tender dish came to hand) which if they had seen, would have much dis- pleased them. The other Indians catched young musk rats, run a stick through their bodies, nnd roasted, with- out being skinned or gutted, and so eat them. Next captivity ; one of them asked nie, if I was a Catholic ; ajtjjreheud- iiig he meant the Homish religion, f answered no ; he rei)lied, no hon. On my relating the above to a fellow jirisoner, he said I had answered wrong, because by the word Catholic, he meant a Christ- ian : Some time atler, I was again asked l)y the other priest, if I was a Catholic, I answered yes, but not a Roman Catholic ; at which he smiled, and asked if I was n Lutheran, I replied no ; he again inquired whether I was a Calvanist, 1 told him I was : to which he said, with warmth, no bmi ! no hon ! which signilietli. it is not good I it is not good ! O ! may the zeal of Papists, in propagating super- stition and idolatry, make Protestants asluuned of their lukewanii- ness, in promoting the religion of the bil)le ! ^\ ( 30) morning hastened on our journey, which continued sev- eral days, till we came near Oswegotchy, where we landed .about three miles from the town on the contrary side of the river; here I was to be adopted, my father and mother that I had never seen before were waiting, and ordered me into an Indian house, where we were directed to sit down silent for a considerable time, the Indians appeared very sad, and my mother began to cry, and continued crying aloud for some time, and then dried up her tears, and received me for her son, and took me over the river to the Indian town ; the next day I was ordered to go to mass with them, but I refused once and again yet thoy continued their importunity several days, say- ing it was good to go to mass, but I still refused ; and seeing they could not prevail with me they seemed much displeased with their new son*. I was then sent over the river, to be employed in hard labour, as a punish- ment for not going to mass, and not allowed a sight of, or any conversation with my fellow prisoners; the old Indian man that I was ordered to work with, had a wife? and some children, he took me into the woods with him, and made signs that I must chop, giving me an axe, the Indian soon saw that I could handle the axe: Here I tried to reconcile m j'self to this employ, that they might * When I was at Oswegotchy, tlie Indians took notice that I fre- (jucntly retired alone, and supposing I had some ])ad design, threat- ened if I did not desist, they wouUl tomahawk me ; but my fellow prisoner, who understood their hmguage, told them it would be a pity to hurt me on that account, for I oidy went into a private place to prey, whicli was true; The Indians rei)lif(l. if so, it was good: but V > ,. ^Q* sus',)ii ions, took pains by watching to lind out how the .-,a /t\ . . nd hen they satisfied themselves, seemed jtleased, and did ".'t f fer t' intcirupt me any more, which was a great mercy ; as the <;n,|tuiry w(^i)'d !).a.ve in some degree, marred my converse with God. (31 ) fre- eat- low e a ice lod : the did the lod. have no occasion against me, except concerning the law of my God ; the old man began to appear kind, and his wife gave me milk and bread when we came home, and when she got fish, gave me the gills to eat, out of real kindness; but perceiving I did not like them, gave me my own choice, and behaved lovingly ! Here I saw that God could make friends of cruel enemies, as he once turned the heart of angry Esau into love and tenderness ; when we had finished our fence, which had employed us about a week, I shewed the old scjuaw my shirt (having worn it from the time I was first taken prisoner, which was about seven weeks) all in rags, dirt and lice ; she said it was not good, and brought me a new one, with ruffled sleeves, saying, that is good, which I thank- fully accepted. The next day they carried me back to the Indian town, and admitted me to converse with my fellow prisoners, who told me we were all to be sent to Montreal, which accordingly came to pass. Montreal, at our arrival here, we had our lodging first in the Jesuit's Convent, where I saw a great number of priests, and people that came to confession; after some stay, we were ordered to attend, with the Indians, at a grand council, held before the head General Vaudriel; we prisoners sat in our rank (surrounded with our fathers and brethren) but were asked no (juestions : The general had a number of officers to attend him in council, whi're a noted priest, called Picket, sat at his right hand, who understands the Indian tongue well, and does more hurt to the English, than any other of his order in C'anada, his dwelling is at Oswegotchy. Here I was informed that some measures were concerted to destroy Oswego, which they had been long preparing to execute; we in our journey met many battoes going up stream, with n ( 32) provision and men for an attack on our frontiers, which confirmed the report: The council adjourned to another (lay, and then broke up. My Indian father and mother took me with them to several of their old acquaintance, who were French, to shew them their lately adopted son ; these persons had been concerned with my father and other Indians, in destroying many English families in their younger days; and (as one standing by who understood their language said,) were boasting of their former murders ! After some days the council was again called, before which, several of the Oneida chiefs ap- peared, and offered some complaint against the French's attacking our carrying place, it being their land ; but the general laboured to make them easy, and gave them sundry presents of value, which they accepted*: After which, I knowing these Indians were acquainted with Captain Williams at the carrying place, sent a letter by them, to let my family and friends know I was yet alive, and longed for redemption; but it never came to hand. The treaty being ended, the general sent about ten gallons of red wide to the Indians, which they divided among us ; after came the presents, consisting of coat-', blankets, shirts, skins, (to make Indian shoes) cloth (to make * The French in Cunadn, well knowing the great importance of having the Indians in their interest, to promote their ambitious and unjust designs, use a variety of methods with them, among which; the following one is excellent in itself, and well worthy of imitation vi/. They are exceedingly careful to prevent spirituous liquors being sold to the Indians, and if any of the inhabitants are proved guilty of it, their teniporal interest is quite broke, and corporeal punishment in- flicted on them ; unless the general, on some particular oci..ision, orders his commissioners to deliver some to them. I may add, that knowing their inimber is small compared with the British inhabitants on this continent, nnd must (juickly fall into their hands, in case we I- I >ng ike ^ ( 33 > stockings) powder, lead, shot, and to each a bag of paint, for their own use, &c. After we prisoners had our share, my mother came to me with an interpreter, and told me I might stay in the town, at a place she had found for me, if I pleased (this was doubtless the consequence of my declining to obej her orders, in some instances that affected my conscience) this proposal I almost agreed to; but one of my fellow prisori^^rs, with whom I had before some discourse, about making our escape from the Indian town, opposed the motion, and said, 'pray do not stay, for if you do, we shall not be able to form a plan for our deliverance;' on which I told her I chose to go home with her, and soon set off by land in our way thither, to Lascheen. distant from Montreal about 9 miles, where we left our canoes, and then proceeded, without delay, on our journey; in which I saw to my sorrow, great numbers of soldiers, and much provision, in motion towards lake Ontario. After a painful and distrei^sing journey, we arrived at Oswegotchy, where we likewise saw many battoes, with provision and soldiers, daily passing by in tlieir way to Frontenac which greatly distressed me for Oswego! Hence I resolved, if possible, to give our people notice united, and entered boldly into the heart of their country with a sufHeient force ; tor that very reason, they choose to keep us con- tijuially on the det'ensive, by sending when occasion reiiuircs, large l)odies of regulars, together with great ninnl)ers of Indians, upon long and tedious marches, that we nuvy not come near their borders ; and especially by employing the latter, constantly t() waste and ravage our Frontiers, by which we are murdered by inches, and beat without a battle. By what I could learn when I was among them, they do not fear our numbers, because of our unha|tpy divisions, which they deride, and from them, strongly expect to compier us entirely, which may a gracious God in mercy j)revent ! 1 ( 34 ) n \1 m of their danger: to this end, I told two of my fellow prisoners, that it was not a time to sleep, and asked if they would go with me, to this they heartily agreed ; but we had no provision, were closely eyed by the enemy, and could not lay up a stock out of our allowance: how- ever, at this time, Mr. Picket (before mentioned) had concluded to dig a large trench around the town; I therefore went to a negro, the principal manager of this work, who could speak English, French and Indian well, and asked him, if he could get employ for two others, and myself, which he soon did; for which we were to have meat and wages. Here we had a prospect of pro- curing provision for our flight, this, I in some time effected for myself, and then asked my brethren if they were ready, who replied they were not yet, but said, Ann Bowman our fellow prisoner, had brought one hundred and thirty dollars from Bull's fort, and would give them all they had need of: I told them it was not safe to dis- close such a secret to her, but they blamed me for my fears, and applied to her for provision, letting her know our intention, who immediately informed the priest of it; on which we were apprehended, the Indians apprised of our design, and a court called; by order of which, four of us were confined under a strong guard, in a room within the fort, for several days. From hence, another and myself were sent to Cohne- wago, under a strong guard of sixty Indians to prevent my plotting any more against the French, and banish all hope of my escape; however, when we arrived at this place, it pleased that gracious God who has the hearts of all creatures in his hand, to incline the captain of the guard to shew me great kindness, in giving me liberty to walk or work where I pleased, within any small distance; on SI ( 35 ) )m which I went to work with a French smith, for six livres and five sous per week; whicli the caj)tain let me have to myself, and farther favoured me with the privilege of lodging at his mother's house an English woman, named Mary Harris, taken captive when a child, from Dearfield in New England, who told me she was my grand-mother, and was kind ; but the wages being small, and not suf- ficient to procure such clothing as I was in want of, I proceeded no farther with the French smith, but went to my uncle Peter, and told him I wanted clothes, and that it would bo bettor to let mo go to Montreal, and work there, where I could clothe myself better, than by staying with him, and that without any charge to him, who after some reasoning consented. Set off on my journey to Montreal, and on my enter- ing the city met an English smith, who took me to work with him ; after some time, we settled to work in a shop opposite the general's door, where we had the oppor- tunity of seeing a great part of the forces of Canada, both soldiers and Indians who wore commonly brought there, before their going out to war; and likewise all prisoners, by which means we got intelligence how our people were preparing for defence; but no good news from Oswego, which made me fear, knowing that great numbers of French were gone against it, and hearing of but few to defend it. Prayers were put up in all the churches of Canada, and great processions made, in order to procure success to their arms, against poor Oswego ; but our people knew little of their danger, till it was too late; certainly, if more frequent and earnest application both in private and in public was made to the God of battle, we might with greater pr()l)ability, expect success would crown our military attempts ! To my surprise. ( 3(5 ) t I ic; H !|| the dismal news came, that the Krencli had taken one of tlu' Oswego forts; in a few hours, in confirmation of this, I saw the Knglish standards, (the mehmcholy tro- phy of victory) and the French rejoicing at our down- fal, and mocking us j)oor i»risoners in our oxWv and ex- tremity, which was no great argumrnt either of hu- manity, or true greatness of mind; great joy appeared in all their face-", which they expressed hy loud shouts, firing of cannon, and returning thanks in their churches; hut our faces were covered with shame, and our hearts tilled with grief! Soon after, I saw several of the of- ficers brought in prisoners in small parties, and the sol- diers in the same manner, and confined within the walls, in a starving condition, in order to make them work, which some co!n|>lied with, hut others bravely refused; and last of all came the tradesmen, among whom was my son, who looking round saw his father, who he thought had long been dead ; this joyful sight soefVected him, that he wept! — nor could I, in seeing my s(m, re- main unconcerned! — no; the tenderness of a father's bowels upon so extraordinary an occasion, I am not able to exi)ress, and therefore must cover it with a veil of silence! — Hut he, with all my i'hiladelphia frienr they had lost in hattle) ainon>? which lit; was one : this harharoiis desij^n, which is contrary to the laws of war aiiionj? all civilized natioiiH, the French artfully c()noealer or rence, safer !(1 at ( 43 ) Plymouth which occasioned great joy, for we were rag- ged, lousy, sick, and in a manner starved; and many of the prisoners, who in all were about three hundred in number, were sick of the small-pox. My son and self, having each a blanket coat which we bought in Canada to keep us warm, and now expecting relief, gave them to two poor sick men, almost naked ! But as we were not allowed to go on shore, but removed to a king's ship, and sent to Portsmouth, where we were still confined on board, near two weeks, and then removed to the Mer- maid, to be sent to Boston ; we now repented our well meant, though rash charity, in giving our coals away, as we were not to get any more, all application to the captain for any kind of covering l)eing in vain, our joy was turned into sorrow, at the prospect of coming on a cold coast, in the beginning of winter, almost naked, which was not a little increased, by a near view of our mother country, the soil and comfort of which, we were not suffered to touch or taste^\ * On l>oard the Mernuiid man of war, being in a distressed ooniii- tion, and hearing little from the mouths of many of my countrymen, but oaths and curses (which much increased my affliction) and find- ing it ditficult to get a retired place, I crept down into the hold among the water casks, to cry to God; here the Lord was graciously pleased to meet with me, and give me a sense of his fatberly ]ov(> and care; here he enabled me, blessed be his name for ever, to look- back and view how he had led nic, and guarded me, with a watch- ful eye and strong arm, and what pains he had taken to wean me from an over-love of time things, und make me content that he should choose for me: Here I was eiuibled to see his great good- ness in all my disappointments, and tiuit afHictions were not evi- dences of God's wrath, but the contrary, to all that honestly en- deavour to seek him with faith and love; here I could say, God is worthy to be served, loved, and obeyed, thougli it be attended with many miseries in this world I What I have here mentioned, so far a !/ if i I 1 I. I t (44) September ()th, Set sail for Boston, with a fleet in convoy, at which we arrived on the 7th of November, in the evening, it being dark, and we strangers, and poor, it was difficult to get a lodging (I had no shoes, and but pieces of stockings, and the weather in the mean time very coM ' ve were indeed directed to a tav- ern, but found old tiitertainment there, the master of the house seeing a ragged and lousy company, turned us out to wander in the dark; he was suspicious of us, and feared we came from Halifax, where the small-pox then was, and told u« ^^'^ -"i.- rrdered not to receive such as came from thence : \Ve 'v '^ *nel o, young man who said he could find a lodging, for as, but still detained us by asking many q'^^siionp- or which f told him we were in no condition to answer, ull '» "u. . to a proper place, which he quickly found, wherp've v. .re ised w'ell; but as we were lousy could not expect beds. The next morning, we made application for clothing; Mr. Erwing, son-in-law to the late general Shirley, gave us relief, not only in respect of apparel, but also three dollars per man, to bear our charges to Newport. When I ]>ut on fresh clothes, I was seized with a cold fit, which was fol- lowed by a high fever, and in that condition obliged to travel on foot, as far as Providence, in our way to Rhode- Island ( our money not being sufficient to hire any car- riage, and find us what was needful for support: ) In this journey, I was exceedingly distressed. Our com- forts in this life, are often allayed with miseries, which are doubtless great mercies when suitably improved; at Newport, met with Captain Gibbs, and agreed with him as I know my heart, is neither to exalt myself, or offend any one upon earth, ])nt to glorify (lod, for his goodness and faithfulness to the meanest of his servants, and to encourage others to trust in him! i I (45 ) jne to im! for our passage to New- York, where we arrived, Novem- ber 21st, met with many friends, who expressed much satisfaction at our return, and treated us kindly particu- larly Messrs. Livingston, and Waldron. November 2Gth, 1757. Arrived at Philadelphia, to the great joy of all my friends, and particularly of my poor afflicted wife and family, who thought thoy should never see me again, till we met beyond the grave; being returned, sick and weak in body, and empty handed, not having any thing for my family's and my own sup- port, several humane and generous persons, of different denominations, in this city, without any application of mine, directly or indirectly have freely given seasonable relief; for which may God grant them blei-sings in this world, and in the world to come everlasting life, for Christ's sake ! Now, God in his great mercy, hath granted me a tem- poral salvation, and what is a thousand times better, he hath given me with it, a soul satisfying evidence of an eternal in the world to come. And now, what shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits, alas I am nonplust ! O that saints and angels might praise thee, for I am not worthy to take thy name into my mouth any more ! Yet notwithstanding, thou art pleased to accept poor endeavours, because Jesus Christ has opened the door, whereby we may come boldly to the Throne of thy Grace, praised be the Lord God Jehovah, by men and angels, throughout all eternity. But to hasten to the conclusion, suffer me with humil- ity and sorrow to observe that our enemies (seem to make a better use of a bad religion than we of a good one; they rise up long before day in winter and go through the snow in the coldest seasons, to perform their devo- n u ( 46 ) tions in the churches; which when over, they return to be ready for their work as soon as day light ai)pears. The Indians are as zealous in religion, as the French, they oblige their children to pray morning and evening particularly at Conasadauga ; are punctual in perform- ing their stated acts of devotion themselves, are still and peaceable in their own families, and among each other as neighbours. When I compared our manner of living with theirs, it made me fear that the righteous and jealous God who is wont to make judgment begin at his own house first, was about to deliver us into their hands, to be severely punished for our departure from him, how long has he waited for our return ! — O that we may therefore turn to him, before his anger break out into a flame, and there be no remedy ! Our case appears to me indeed very gloomy ; notwith- standing our enemies are inconsiderable in number, compared with us, yet they are united as one man, while we may be justly comi)ared to a house divided against itself, and therefore cannot stand long, in our present situation. May almighty God graciously incline us to look to him for deliverance, to repent of our sins, reform our lives, and unite in the vigorous and manly use of all proper means to this end. Amen. i^li (47 ) An Account of the Captivity of Richard Bard, Esquire, late of Franklin County, deceased, with his wife and family and others. Collected from his papa's by his son Archibald Bard. MY father Richard Bard, lived in York County, now Adams, and owned the mill now called Marshall's mill, in what is called Carroll's tract, where in the morning of the 18th of April, 1758, his house was invested by a party of nineteen Indians. They were discovered by a little girl called Hannah M' Bride, who was at the door, and on seeing them screamed, and run into the house. At this time, there were in the house, my father, mother, and lieutenant Thomas Potter, (brother of general Potter) who had come the evening before (beinji: a full cousin) together with a child of about 6 months old, and a bound boy. The Indians rushed into the house and one of them with a large cutlass in his hand made a blow at Potter, but he so managed it, as to wrest the sword from the Indian, and return the blow, which would have i)ut an end to his existence, had not the point struck the cieling, which turned the sword so as to cut the Indian's hand. In the meantime, Mr. Bard (my father) laid hold of a horseman's pistol that hung on a nail, and snapped it at the breast of one of the Indians, but there being tow in the pan it did not go off; at this, the In- dians seeing the pistol, ran out of the house. By this time one of the Indians at the door had shot at Potter, but the ball took him only in the little finger. The door was now shut, and secured as well as possible; l)ut find- ing the Indians to be very numerous, and having no powder or ball, and as the savages might easily burn (48) \ if I ', I down the house by reason of the thatched roof, and the quantity of mill wood piled at the back of the buildinir, added to the declarations of the Indians, that they would not be put to death, determined them to surrender; on which a party of Indians went to a field and made prisoners Samuel Hunter and Daniel M'Manimy. A lad of the name of William White coming to the mill, was also made prisoner. Having secured the prisoners, they took all the valuable effects out of the house, and set fire to the mill. They then proceeded towards the mountain, and my mother enquiring of the Indians Avho had care of her, was informed that they were of the Delaware nation. At the distance of about seventy rods from the house, contrary to all their promises they put to death Thomas Potter, and having proceeded on the mountain about three or four miles, one of the Indians sunk the spear of his tomahawk into the breast of the small child, and after repeated blows scalped it. After crossing the mountain, they passed the house of Mr. Halbert T and seeing him out, shot at him, but without effect. Thence, passing late in the evening, M'Cord's old fort, they encamped about half a mile in the gap. The second day, having passed into the Path Valley, they discovered a party of white men in pursuit of them; on which they ordered the prisoners to hasten, for should the whites come up with them, they should be all tomahawked. Having been thus hurried, they reached the top of the Tuskarora mountain, and all had sat down to rest, when an Indian, without any previous warning, sunk a tomahawk into the forehead of Samuel Hunter, who was seated by my father, and by repeated blows put an end to his existence. He was then scalped, and the Indians proceeding on their journey, encamped ( 49 ) that evening some miles on the north of Sideling Hill. The next day they marched over the Alleghany mount- ain, through what is now called Blain's gap. On the fifth day while crossing Stoncy Creek, the wind blew a hat of my father's from the head of the Indian in whose custody he was. The Indian went down the stream some distance, before he recovered it. In the mean time my father had passed the creek, but when the In- dian returned, he severely beat my father with the gun, and almost disabled him from traveling any further. And now reflecting that he could not possibly travel much further, and that if this was the case, he would be immediately put to death, he determined to attempt his escape that night. Two days before this, the half of my father's head was painted red. This denoted that a council had been held, and that an equal number were for putting him to death and for keeping him alive, and that another council was to have taken place to de- termine the question. Being encamped, my parents, who before this had not liberty to speak to one another, were permitted to assist each other in plucking a turkey, and being thus engaged the design of escaping was com- municated to my mother. After some of the Indians had laid down, and one of them was amusing the others, with dressing himself with a gown of my mother, my father was called to go for water. He took a (juart and emptying it of what water it contained, stept about six rods down to the spring. My mother perceiving this, succeeded so well in confining the attention of the In- dians to the gown, that my father had got about one hundred yards, when the Indians from one fire, cried to those of another, your man is eing scalped, to proceeding. They then took her to a town called Cususkey. On ar- riving at this place, Daniel M'Manimy was detained outside of the town, but my mother, the two boys and girls, were taken into the town, at the same time having their hair pulled, faces scratched, and beaten in an un- merciful manner. Here I shall extract from my father's papers the manner and circumstances of M'Manimy's death. This account appears to have been obtained from my mother, shortly after her return, who received it from those who had been eye witnesses of the tragical scene. The Indians formed themselves into a circle, round the prisoner, and commenced by beating him ; some with sticks, and some with tomahawks. He was then tied to a post near a large fire, and after being tor- tured sometime with burning coals, they scalped him, and put the scalp on a pole to V)leed before his foce. A gun barrel was then heated red hot, and passed over his body, and with a red hot bayonet they pierced his body with many repetitions. In this manner they con- tinued torturing him, singing and shouting, until he ex- pired. Shortly after this my mother set out from this place, leaving the two boys and girl, whom she never i \ (51 ) )r- n, A [er jus n- |x- is |er saw again, until they were liberated. She was now dis- tressed ])eyond measure; going she knew not where, without a conoforter, without a companion, and expect- j to share the fate of M'Manemy, in the next town she would reach. In this distressed situation she met a num- ber of Indians, among whom was a captive woman. To her, my mother made known her fears on which she was informed that her life was not in danger, for that belt of wampum, said she, about your neck, is a certain sign, that you are intended for an adopted relation. They soon after, arrived at a town, and being taken into the council house, two squaws entered in and one stept up, and struck my mother on the side of the head. Per- ceiving that the other was about to follow this example, she turned her head and received a second blow. The vrriors were highly displeased, such acts in a council use being contrary to usage. Here a chief took my mother by the hand, and delivered her to tw Indian men, to be in the place of a deceased sister. She was put in charge of a squaw in order to be cleanly clothed. She had remained here, with her adopted friends near a month, when her party began to think of removing to the head waters of Susquehanna a journey of about two hundred miles. This was very painful to my mother, having already traveled about two hundred miles over mountains and swamps until her feet and legs were extremely swollen and sore. 1^'ortunately on the day of their setting out, a horse was given to her by her adopted brother; but before they had traveled far, one of the horses in company died, when she was obliged to surrender hers to supply its place. Alter proceeding on her journey some miles, they were met by a number of Indians, one of whom told her not to be discouraged, ( 52) ::' m [ as a peace was about to take place shortly, when ^he would have leave to return home. To this information she was the more disposed to give credit, as it came from one who was a chief counsellor in the Delaware nation, with whom she was a prisoner. Having arrived near the end of her journey, to her great surprise, she saw a captive dead by the ro id side, having been toma- hawked and scalped. She was informed that he had endeavored to escape but was overtaken at this place. On arriving at the place of destination, having in all, travelled near five hundred miles, the fatigue which she had underj;one with cold and hunger, brought on a severe fit of sickness which lasted near two months. In this doleful situation, having no person to comfort, or sympathize with her, a blanket was her only covering;, and her bed was the cold earth, in a miserable cabin; boiled corn was her only food. She was reduced to so weak a state as to consider herself as approaching the verge of dissolution. But recovering from her sickness she met with a woman with whom she had been for- merly acfjuainted. This woman had been in captivity some years, and had an Indian husband by whom she had one child. My mother reproved her for this Init re- ceived for answer, that before she had consented, they had tied her to a stake in order to burn her. She added, that as soon as their captive women could speak the Indian tongue, they were obliged to marry some one of them, or be put to death. This information, induced her to determine, never to learn the Indian language, and she adhered to this determination all the time she remained with them, from the day of her cai)tivity to that of her releasement, a space of two years and tive months. She was treated during this time, by her 1^ 1 " ( 53 ) adopted relations with much kindness; even more than she had reason to expect. I shall now return to the narration of facts respecting my father, after he had made his escape from the Indians as before stated. It will be perceived that the following verses were composed by Richard Bard shortly before his wife's releasement, and were not intended for publi- cation, but as they contain the most correct statement that can at this day be procured on the subject, it has been thought proper to publish them, omitting all that has a relation to any thing previous to his escape: Bare six score miles now we have mark'd. But fifty doth remain. Between us and the bloody place. Where standeth fort Duquane. At three rods distance from a run, Encamp'd this night are we. But when for drink they do me send No more they do me see. Alas ! for me to go 'tis hard ^ Whilst with them is my wife, Yet 'tis the way that God ordained For me to save my life. But after me they quickly run Not doubting of their i)rize; But God turns into foolishness The wisdom of the wise. O cruel man ! in vain you strive In vain you follow me. For since the Lord gainsaith I can No longer captive be. ( 54 ) SI I m ill %\ H .1 God the device can disappoint Of wicked men and wise, So to perform they can't always Their cruel enterprise. But now although at liberty Through mercy I am set, Yet miserable is my life For want of food to eat. O dreadful sore my sufferings were Which force me to depart Whilst no provisions I had got My life for to support. O'er hills that's high and swamps that deep, I now alone must go, Travelling on I suffer much From briers poison do. Unto a hill, I now arrive, About four miles it's broad. And o'er this hill the snow doth lye Though elsewhere it is thaw'd. Much laurel is upon this hill Its leaves are fill'd with snow, So I upon my hands and knees Under the same must go. My hands thro' this excessive cold Extremely swelled are Of sutiVrings I in this place Abundantly do share. ( 55 ) But 'tis not only in the day That hardships do abound, For in the night they also do Encompass me around. In hollow logs or 'mongst the leaves At night is mine abode; No better lodgings wet or dry Throughout this lonely road. Three days I've traveled since escape But there is three days more In which I have for to lay by My foot's so very sore. Amazingly my foot is swell'd With heat is in a flame, And though I'm in this desart land Can't walk I am so lame. Not wholly from my pained foot That causes pain to me, For by not having food to eat My woes encreased be. Almost five days I now have been Without the least supply, Kxcoi)t bark buds, wliich I did pull As I did j)ass them by. Tliough I'm not able now to walk 1 crej)t upon my knees. To gather herl)s that i may eat, My stomach to ap})easo. mm mmti ii I J f 1 (56 ) But whilst I'm roving thus about, A rattle snake at speed,! I view a running unto me, This mercy is indeed. For by this snake I'm supplied When kill the same I do. How timeously this mercy came None but myself can know. This rattle snake both flesh and bone All but the head I eat, And though 'tis now, it seem'd to me Exceeding pleasant meat. When ripen'd is my heeling foot, Which mightily did ake, I with a thorne did pierce the same, And thereby ease partake. But least my foot I further hurt My breeches tear I do, And round my feet I do them tye. That 1 along might go. But when to walk I do attempt Gives me excessive pain, Yet 1 must travel witli sore foot Or die and here remain. So when a few miles I did go. Unto a hill I come Whilst on the lofty top thereof 1 thought I heard a drum ; ♦ ^ I f (57 ) And judging? people near to be On them I gave a call, But sure there was not one to hear Being weak, conceit was all. Being now eight days since I escap'd Unto a river came. Whilst wading it I sufTerod much Being so very lame. But having Juniatta cross 'd I to a mountain came. With cold I ne'er was so distress'd As I was on the same. For in a night that's very cold r there my lodging take, And as my clothes were wholly wet I tremble did and shake. Ary hand by this excessive cold Is so benum'd that I Can't move, no, not a single joint, Were it a world to buy. Then I although the night was dark Did liomewards march away, I^east I should perish witii the cold Should I for day light stay. But on my journey in this night With joy a fire I see, This was the strangest providence That ever happened me. »'' a !!> (58 ) For when I by tho same had staid Until the light appear I see a road just at my hand Which doth my spirits cheer. If I had not beheld this fire This Indian path I'd cross'd And then from all appearance I Forever had been lost. Along this path I went with haste As much as I could make, But 'twas not fast that I could go I was so very weak. Now having been nine days and nights In a most starving state Not having food of any kind Except four snakes to eat. But on the evening of this day I met with Indians three Surprised I was and really thought Tliem enemies to be; But they i)roved kind and brought me to A ])lace wliere English dwell, Fort Littleton, the {)lace by me Was known exceeding well. Tlie time since first I captive was This is tlie fmirteenth day. Five with the Indians and nine since From til em I ran away. I t 1 (59) Thanks to the Lord who did provide Food in the wilderness For me, as much as did preserve My life whilst in distress. Thanks to the Lord because that he In desarts, pathless way, Directed me so that I did At no time go astray. And now from bondage though I'm freed, Yet she that's my belov'd, Is to a land that's far remote, By Indians remov'd. Alas ! ahis ! for my poor wife That's gone to heathen lands, There to obey their very hard And their unjust commands. By thinking on your misery Increased is my wo; Yea pained is my aking heart For what you undergo. Were all things of tliis spacious globe Offered to ease my mind, Ahis! all would abortive prove Whilst Ketty is confined. The thoughts of you my loving wife Knibittors unto me, Tiie sweetest coniforls that can by A world produced be. ( 60) ;i). I I Oh now I may like to a dove In her bewildered state, Bemoan the loss of my dear wife, My true and loving mate. August 8th, 1760. Some time after my father's return home, he went to fort Pitt, which was then in the hands of the English, and a number of Indians being on the opposite side of the river, about to form a treaty, he one evening went over, to make enquiry concerning my mother. My father observed among them several who were present when he was taken prisoner, to these he discovered him- self But they professed not to know him, on which he enquired of them, if they did not recollect having been at the taking of nine persons, referring them to the time and place. They then acknowledged it, and enquired of him how he got home, &c., after which he made en- quiry concerning my mother, but they said they knew nothing of her, but promised to give him some informa- tion by the time of his return the next day. He then returned to the fort. Shortly after this, a young man, who had been taken by the Indians when a child, fol- lowed him, and advised him not to return, for that when he had left them he had heard them say, that they never had a stronger desire for any thing than to have sunk the tomahawk into his head, and that they had agreed to kill him on his return next day. After this man had requested my father not to mention any thing of his having been with him, or of the subject of their conversation, he returned to camp. I may here state that from tl)e time that my father was t.aken by the Indians, until my mother was released '> ( 61 ) i ler led he did little else than wander from place to place in quest of information respecting her, and after he was in- formed where she was, his whole mind hent upon con- triving plans for her redemption. Desiring, with this view to go again to Pittsburgh, he fell in with a brigade of waggons commanded by Mr. Irvine. With them he proceeded as far as Bedford, but finding this a tedious way of travelling, he spoke to the commanding officer of the place to get captain White E3'es, who commanded a party of Indians, to promise to accompany him to Pittsburgh. This was accordingly done, and the In- dians having agreed to take him safe to Pitt, my father set out with them, having a horse and a new rifie. They had proceeded but about two miles, when an Indian turned oft' the road and took up a scalp which that morning had been taken oft" one of the wagoners. This alarmed my father not a little ; but having i)roceeded about ten miles further, the Indians again turned off' the road, and brought several horses and a keg of whiskey which had been concealed. Shortly after this, the In- dians began to drink so as to become intoxicated. White Eyes then signified to my father that as he had ran oft' from them, he would then shoot him, and raised his gun to take aim ; but my father stepping behind a tree, ran round it while the Indian followed. This for a time gave great amusement to the Itystanders, until a young Indian ste[)t up, twisted the gun out of the hands of White Eyes, and hid it under a log. Tiie Indians became considerably intoxicated, and scattered, leaving White Eyes with my father. White Eyes then made at him with a large stick, aiming at his head, but my father threw up his arm, and received so severe a blow as to blacken it for weeks. At this time an Indian of ( 62) H 1 hi I ( another nation, who had heen sent as an express to Bedford, came hy. Captain White Eyes apply ed to him for his gun to shoot my father, but the Indian re- fused, as they were about making peace, and the killing of my father would bring on another war, (being of differ- ent nations, they were obliged to speak in English.) By this time my father finding himself in a desperate situa- tion, resolved at all events to attempt an escape; he said to captain White Eyes our horses are going away, and went towards them, expecting every minute to receive a ball in his back, but on coming up to his horse he got on him, and took to the road; he had gone but a short distance when he saw the Indian sleeping at a spring who had taken the gun out of White Eyes hand, and I have often heard him say, had it been any other of the Indians he would have shot him. Fearing a pursuit he rode as fast as his horse could go, and having travelled all night he got to Pittsburgh the next morning shortly after sun rise, and he was not there more than three hours, until the Indians were in after him; but from a fear of an injury being done my mother, in killing them, he sui)prcst his anger, and past the matter by. From here he had an op})ortunity of writing her a letter, re- questing her to inform her adopted friends, that if they would bring her in, he would pay them forty pounds. But having waited for an answer until he became im- patient he bargiiincd with an Indian to go and f>tcal her away. But the night before he was to start he declined going, saying tliat he would be killed if he went. In this situation he resolved at all hazards to go himself and bring her; for which purpose he set out and went to a place 0!i the Susquehannah, I think it was called Shamoken, not far from what is called the Big Cherry- ( 63 ) I trees. From here he set out on an Indian path, along which he had travelled until evening when he was met by a party of Indians who were bringing in my mother ; the Indians passed him by and raised the war halloo, my mother felt distressed at their situation, and my father perceiving the Indians not to be in a good humor, began to promise them their pay as he had promised by letter when they would come to Shamoken, but the In- dians told him that if he got them among the whites he would then refuse to pay them, and that they would then have no redress; finding they were thus apprehen- sive, he told them to keep him as a hostage out in the woods and send his wife into town, and he would send an order for the money to be paid them, and that if it was not done they might do with him as they pleased. This had the desired efl'ect, they got quite good humored and brought them in, on doing which the money was paid agreeable to promise. Before my father and mother left Shamoken he requested an Indian who had been an adopted brother of my mother, if ever he came down amongst the white people to call and see him. Accord- ingly, some time afterwards the Indian paid him a visit, he living then about ten miles from Chambersburg. The Indian having continued for some time, with him, went to a tavern known by the name of M'Cormack's, and there became somewhat intoxicated, when a certain Newgen, (since executed in Carlisle for stealing of horses ) having a large knife in his hand struck it into the Indian's neck, edge foremost, designing thereby to thrust it in between the bone and throat, and by drawing it forward to cut his throat, but in part he missed his aim, and only cut the forepart of the wind pipe. On this Newgen had to escape from justice; otherwise the law would have been ^Ml«a II iji (64 ) put in force against him. And it has been remarked that ever after he continued to progress in vice until his death. A physician was brought to attend the Indian, the wound was sowed up and he continued at my father's until he had recovered ; when he returned to his own people who put him to death, on the pretext of his hnv- ing as they said joined the white people. In August, 17G4, (according to the best accounts of the time,) my father and family from fear of the Tndims, having moved to my grandfather, Thomas Poe's, about three miles from his own place he took a black girl with him to his own place to make some hay, and being there at his work, a dog which he had with him be^ran to bark and run towards and from a thicket of bushes. Observing these circumstances he became alarmed and taking up his gun, told the girl to run to the house, for he believed there were Indians near. So they made to- wards the house and had not been there more than an hour, when from the loft of the house they saw a party commanded by capt. Potter, late gen. Potter, in pursuit of a party of Indians who had that morning murdered a school master of the name of Brown, with ten small children, and scalped and left for deaeing close to tiie North West corner of the fort, the Indians crept in tlie hrusii and behind the fence, so close as to shoot many l>ullet8 through tlie port lioles; in this close order they con- '1^ 'it' r V \\\ t ( 68 ) tinned until about nine o'clock, when tlie firing ceased, and captain John M' Donald hoisted a Hag, and marched toward the fort, within about sixty yards in front of the garrison, when he was met by one of the men from the fort; from whom he demanded a surrender of the fort immediately or every man, woman and child should be put to the tomahawk, when the fort agreed to capitulate, being but nineteen men, and two killed; all the men able to bear arms were to march out in front of the fort and ground their arms and march prisoners to Canada, under a guard of white men, and not to be treated as Indian prisoners, and all the women and children to go to the interior parts of the countrj^ wherever they pleased unmolested, together with four old men not able to bear arms. Immediately after the fort surrendered the Indians took possession, plundered all they could get and set tire to the fort, houses, barns and mills, and while all was in a flame a party of thirty volunteers, under the command of capt. Hawkins Boon, a very brave olficer, came up and fired on the Indians and killed one on the spot and wounded one more, the In- dians retreated a small distance and rallied again, and advanced, the volunteers retreated about half a mile and halted a tew minutes to consult; and in th(> mean- time the Indians sp-ead themselves very much in the woods, and j)ursue(l until they came up with them,at- temptid to surround them, and before they di.«covercd the Indian Hanks they were nearly in a half moon around them, and killed eleven men, cajjtain Hoon was among the slain. Several of those men fell with their wounds, and were scalped. In this affray three Indians were killed and five wounded, and while in this con- fusion two of the prisoners which had been taken in the (69 ) fort attempted to make their escape, they were overtaken by the Indiana and tomahawked. Inoon WHS Itheir IliiUlH COli- i\ the . A Narrative of the Chptii'lti/ and Sujfcrings of Bkn.iamin GiLHKRi' and his famili/ ; vho were surprised hij the Indians, and taken from their farms, on the frontiers of Pennsylvania, in the Spring of J7S0. Benjamin (Till)ert, son of Joseph (lilbert, was born at By berry, about 15 miles from the city of Pliiladelphia, ill tlie year 1711, and received his education among tlie ]»eople called (Quakers. He resided at or nenr the place of his nativity for several years; during which time of residence he mar- ried, and after the decease of his first wife, he accom- plished a second marriiigc with Elizabeth Peart, widow of Ikyan Peart, and continued in this neiglil)ourliood until the year 1775, when he removed with his family to a form situate on Mahoning creek, in Penn townshij), Northam])ton county, being the frontiers of Pennsylva- nia, not far from where fort Allen was erected. The im- provements lie carried on here were according to the usual manner of new settlements, convenience being principally attended to; his house and ])arn being of logs, to this he had added a saw mill and a conunodious stone grist-mill, which as it connnanded the (iountry for a considerable distance, condu(!ed in some measure to render his situation comfortable. This short account may not be inipr()|)er, in order to interest our feelings in the relation of the many scenes of a miction the family were reduced to, when snatched mum^ (l\ ( 70 ) from the pleasing enjoyment of the necessaries and con- veniences of life. The most flattering of our prospects* are often marked with disappointment, expressively instructing us that we are all strangers and sojourners here, as were our forefathers. This family was alarmed on the 25th day of the 4th month, 17 Indian town, Wyaloosing. The lands round these ruins have a remarkable appearance of fer- tility. In the evening they made a lodgement by the side of a large Creek. Bth Month 1st. After crossing a considerable hill in the morninar, they came to a place where two Indians lay dead. A party of Indians had taken some white people, whom they were carrying off prisoners, they rose upon the Indians in the night, killed four of them, and then effected their escape. The women were sent for- wards, and the men prisoners commanded to draw near and view the two dead bodies, which remained; (the other two being removed ) they staid to observe them a considerable time, and were then ordered to a place where a tree was blown down. Death appeared to l)e their doom; but after remaining in a state of sad sus- pense for some time, they were ordered to dig a grave; to effect which, they cut a sapling with their tomahawks, and sharpened one end, with which wooden instrument one of them broke the ground, and the others cast the earth out with their hands, the negroes being permitted to beat them severely whilst they were thus employed. After interring the bodies, they went forwards to the rest, and overtook them as they were preparing for their lodging. They were not yet released from their sapling confinement. ( 77 ) 2d. Having some of their provisions witli them, they made an early meal, and traveled the whole day. They crossed the east branch of Sus(inehanna towards even- ing, in canoes, at the place where (leneral Sullivan's army had passed it in their expedition. Their encam])- ment was on the western side of this branch of the river ; but two Indians who did not cross it, sent for Benjamin Gilbert, jun. and Jesse Gilbert's wife, and as no probable cause could be assigned why it was so, the design was considered as a very dark one, and was a grievous afllic- tion to the others. 8rf. The morning however dispelled their fears, when the}' had the satisfaction of seeing them again, and un- derstood they had not received any treatment harder than their usual fare. The horses swam the Susque- hanna, by the side of the canoe. This day the Indians in their march found a scalp, and took it along with them, as also some old corn, of which they made a sup- per. They fre(iuently killed deer, and by that means supplied the company with meat, being almost the only provision they ate, as the flour they took with them was expended. 4th. The path they travelled this morning was but little trodden, which made it difficult for those who were not acquainted with the woods to keep in it. They crossed a creek, made up a large lire to warm themselves by, and then separated into two companies, the one taking tlie westward path, with whom were Thomas Peart Joseph Gilbert, Benjamin Gill)ert, jun. and Jesse Gil- bert's wife Sarah; the others went more to the north, over rich level land. When evening came, encjuiry was made concerning the four captives who were takrn in the western path, and they were told, that "these were mti m ) r 4/ ( 78 ) killed and scalped, and you may "expect the same fate to night." Andrew Harrigar was so terrified at the threat, that he resolved upon leavinf? them, and as soon as it was dark, took a kettle witli pretence of bringing some water, and made his (,'sr;a[)e unrler favour of the night: He was sought after by the Indians as soon as they observed him to be missing^-. 5th. In the morning the Indians returned; their search for Andrew Harrigar being happily for him un- successful : The prisoners who remained, were there- fore treated with great severity on account of his escape, and were often accused for being privy to his design. Capt. Rowland Monteur, carried his resentment so far, that he threw Jesse CJilbert down, and lifted his tom- hawk to strike him, which the mother prevented, by putting her head on his forehead, beseeching him to spare her son: This so enraged him, that he turned round, kicked her over, and tied them both by their necks to a tree, where they remained until his fury was a little abated; he then loosed them, and not long after bid them pack up and go forwards. They passed through a large pine swamp, and about noon reached one of the Kittareen Towns, which Wiis desolated. Not far from this town, on the summit of a mountain, there issues a large si)ring, forming a very considerable fall, and runs very rapidly in an irregular winding stream down the mountain's sides. They left this place, and took up their lodging in a deserted wigwam covered with bark, which had formerly been part of a town of the ^hipciuagas. * Andrew Harrigar endured many hardships in tlie woods, and at length returned to the settlements, and gave the first, authentic intelligence of Benjamin Gilbert and his family, to their friends. i m I ( 79 ) ana lontic Vith, 7th, ^th. They continued tliese three days in the neighbourliood of these vilhiges, which luid been de- serted upon General Sullivan's a])i)roach. Here they lived well, having in addition to their usual bill of fare, jilenty of turnips and potatoes, which had remained in the ground, unnoticed by the army. This place was the hunting ground of the Shiixjuagas, and whenever their industry prompted them to go out hunting, they had no dilHculty to procure as many deer as they desired. Roast and boiled meat, with vegetabk^s, afforded them plentiful meals; they also caught a wild turkey, and some fish, called suckers. Their manner of catching fish was, to sharpen a stick, and watch along the rivers until a fish came near them, when they suddenly pierced him with the stick, and brought him out of the water. Here were a number of colts, some of them were taken, and the prisoners ordered to manage them, which was not easily done. 9tL When they renewed their msirch, they placed the mother upon a horse that seemed dangerous to ride, but she was preserved from any injury. In this day's journey they came to meadow ground, where they staid the night, the men being confined as before related, and the negroes lay near them for a guard. 10th. A wet swamp, that was very troublesome, lay in their road ; after which they had to pass a rugged mountain, where there was no path. The underbrush made it hard labour for the women to travel ; but no ex- cuse would avail with their severe masters, and they were compelled to keep up with the Indians, however great the fatigue: When they had passed it, they tar- ried awhile for the negroes who had lagged behind, .> ii -• ti-nriitiw 1 i t ( / U i I'!, ( 80 ) hiiviiift' sulMcient employ to attend to the colts that car- ried the ])lunder. When all the company met together, they agreed to rendezvous in an adjoining Pwamp. IMh. A long reach of savannas and low ground, ren- dered this day's route very fatiguing and ]»ainful, espe- cially to the women : Klizaheth Peart's hushand not being allowed to relieve her by carrying the child, her spirits and strength were so exhausted that she was ready to faint; the Indian under whose care she was, observing her distress, gave her a violent blow. When we compare the tem})er and customs of these peo})le, with those of our own colour, how much cause have we to be thankful for the su]>efiority we derive from thr blessings of civilization. It might truly be said, days of bitter sorrow, and wearisome nights were a})i)i)inted theunhap|)y captives. 12^/). Their provisions began to grow scant, having past the hunting grounds: The want of proper food to support them, which might render them more capable of enduring their daily fatigue, was a hsavy trial, and was much increased by their continement at night. Elizal)eth Gilbert was reduced so low, that she travelled in great i)ain all this day, riding on horse-back in the morning, but towards evening she was ordered to alight, and walk u}) a hill they had to ascend; the pain she suf- fered, togi'ther with want of food, so overcame her, that she was seized with a chill: The Jndians administered some Hour and water boiled, which afforded her some relief 1 'M/i. Last night's medicine being repeated, they con- tinued their march, and after a, long walk, were so eil'ect- ually worn down, that they halted. The pilot, .John Hustrison(>r some time before; tlx'se two men brought some Homiuony, and sugar made from the sweet maple, tiie sap being boiled to a consist- ency, and is but a little inferior to the sugar imported from tiie Islands; of this ])rovision, and an liedgediog which they found, they made a more comlbrtabh' sup- per than they had enjoyed for many days. \i)fh. In the morning the vohmteer having receive//i. Necessity induced two of the Indians to set off on horse back, into the Seneca country, in search of })rovisions. The prisoners, in the mean time, were ordered to lii^ ^ip »■ root, something resembling t)otatoes, which ( .S3 ) ^(•t off ich of ivhk'h the Indinns call \vhap])anie.«. They tarried at this place, until towards the eveninji of the •8iiccecdin; so very light, their strength daily wasted. 17///. They left this j)lace, and crossed the Genesee river, (which empties its waters into lake Ontario) on a raft of logs, l)ound together ])y hickory withes; tliis ap- peared to be a dangerous method of ferrying them over such a river, to those wiio had been unaccustomed to such conveyjmces. They fixed their station near the Genesee l)anks, and procured more of the wild potatoe roots before mentioned, for their sup])er. IS^A. One of the Indians left the com})any, taking with him the finest horse they had, and in some hours after returned with a large piece of meat, ordering tlie captives to boil it; this command they cheerfully per- formed, anxiously wat(;hingthe kettle, fresh meat ])eing a rarity which they had not eat for a long time. Tlie Indians, when it was suflieieiitly boiled, (Hstriliuted to each one a })i('ce, eating sparingly themselves. Tlie prisoners made their repast without l»read or salt, and eat with a good relisli what they HUi>i)osed to be fresh beef, but afterward understood it was horse-llesli. A shrill lialloo which they heard, gave the prisoners some uneasiness; one ot" the Indians immediately rode to examine the caut-c and found it was eapt. Rowland Monteur, and liis brother .John's wife, with some other Indians, who were seeking them with provision. The reiiainder of the company soon reached them, and they divided some bread, wliieh they had bntught, into hmall pieces, according to the number of the company. .), .. f '' 4 ( 'S4 ) Here is a large extent of rich furming land, remark- able of its levelness and beautiful meadows. Thecountry is so flat, that there are no falls in the rivers, and the waters run slow and deep; and whenever showers de- scend, they continue a long time muddy. The captain and his company had brought with them cakes of hommony and Indian corn ; of this they made a good meal. He appeared pleased to see the prisoners, having ))een absent from them several days, and ordered them all round to shake hands with him. From him they received information respecting Joseph Gilbert and Thomas Peart, who were s(')):irate(l from the others on the 4tli instant, that they had arrived at the Indian set- tlements, some time, in safety. The company staid the night at this })lace. One of the In})er, the Indians set- ting down to eat tirst, and when they liad concluded their meal, they wiped th(> spoon on the soal of their in«)ckasons, and then gave it to the captives: hunger alone could ])rGvail on any one to eat alter such tilth and nastiness. 2U'A. Eli/abeth (Jilbcrt, the mother, being obliged to ride ulonc, missed the path, for which the Indians r<'- peatedly str L iier. Th* ir route still continued through rid. meadows. After wandering for a time out of the direct ])ath, they came to an Indian town, and o])tained the necessary information to pursue their journev ; the Indians ran out of their huts to see the prisoners, and ( 85 ) iiark- antry i the -s de- theni made doners, rdercd n him ^'I't and nors on ian i>et- One of 1110 near the dis- inploy- rd task; ans set- IncUided of their lumber Ich tilth Lhged to hians re- Ithroupih it of the l)i)taini'd liey ; tlie lorH, and to partake of the plunder, hut no part of it suited them. Being directed to travel the path back aij^ain, for a short distance, they did so, and then struck into another, and went on until night, by which time they were very hungry, not having eat since morning; the kettle was again set on the fire, for hommony, this being their only food. 21s/. The report of a morning-gun from Niagara, which they heard, contributed to raise their hopes, they rejoiced at being so near. An Indian was disj)atched on horse-back, to procure {)rovisions from the fort. Elizabeth Gilbert could not walk as fast as the rest, she was therefore sent forwards on foot, but was soon overtaken, and left behind, the rest being obliged by the Indians to go on without regarding her. She would have been greatly per})lexed, when she came to a divi- si(m path, had not her husband lain a branch across the path which would have led her wrong : an atlecting in- stance of both ingenuity and tenderness. She met sev- eral Indians, who passed by without speaking to her. An Indian belonging to the couipany, who was on the horse Elizabeth Gilbert had rode, overtook her, and, as he went on slowly conversing with her, endeavoured to alarm her, by saying that she would be left behind, and perish in the woods; yet, notwithstanding this, his heart was so softened before he had gone any great dis- tance from her, that he alighted from the horse and left him, that she might be al)le to reach the rest of theeom- l)any. The more seriously she considered this, the more it appeared to her, to be a convincing instance of the overruling protection of him, who can "turn the heart of man, as the husbandman turneth the water course in his field." ( 86) 22d. As the Indians approjiched nearer their habita- tions, they frequently repeated their halloos, and after some time they received an answer in the same manner, which alarmed the company much; but they soon dis- covered it to proceed from a party of whites and Indians, who were on some expedition, thoup^h their pretence was, thai they were for New- York. Not long after part- ing with these, the ca})tain's wife came to tliem;she was daughter to Siangorochti, king of the Senecas, but her mother being a C'ayuga, she was ranked among the na- tion, the children generally reckoning their descent from the mother's side. This princess was attended by tlie captain's brother John, one other Indian, and a white prisoner who had been taken at W3'oming, by Rowland Montour; she was dressed altogether in the Indian man- ner, shining with gold lace and silver baubles. They brought with them from the fort a supply of i)rovisions. The ('a})tain being at a distance behind, when his wife ■came, the company waited for him. After the custom- ary salutations, he addressed himself to his wife, telling her that Uebecca was her daughter, and that she must not be induced, b; ny consideration, to part with her; whereupon she took a silver ring off her finger, and put it uj)on Itebecca, by which she was adopted as her daughter. They feasted upon the ]>rovisions that were brought, for they had been for sev' ral days before pinched with hunger, what sustenance they could procure not being sufficient to support nature. 2'](i Their spirits were in some degree revived, by the enjoyment of [)lenty, added to the plcusing ho|>f ol" some favourable event procuring their rel'^asement, as they were not far distant from Niagara. I ii' habita- md after ; manner, soon (lis- Indians, pretence fter part- ;she was but her the na- mi from '■ by tlie a white towland in man- They visions, lis wife ;ust()m- telling e must ;h lier; nd put lis iier ■oujjfht, 1 with being ed, by ofx- of 'nt, as ( ^7 ) Tiie Indians proceedpri r.». +u • • "ed whooping i'n t^f^trnZ/T""'' """ ™"«»- day's rout., they met •, nTl „ *" ' """"""• ^n this «™.ncl,,.,„d put several que ;-ot,K' '" '" "" "'^ gave then, the best answer ife' ",,",'"' '" '^''i^'' ^^ hat from him and went o» ' ""^ """> *°»k his wp;;i:;;;:rt ;;;ro^t,re r ^■^-'■•'■■•- •-' ^-^i- 'he .-aptives a blow. Not lon^!, '!; '■""'' '*"■"* ^""h of ;;'"»■" ""til the otl,ers h d "o oulof?""' "'^'^ *- the mother was ordered to ,^1"'°^ 'he.r sight, when go by l„.r,elf, she was mueh ?' ""' '"^ *''« had to take, as there was ^o Tth Z' T, "'"' '■°"-''» ''"■e-'led. In this diiemm. «b^ "',"'' '''^' ™"''' be straight forward as 2 iM,'. '''7'"*"'ed to keep as t;"^e,she had the sa,': 1 ; "'^ ^''r, """" '?»« "f The pilot u,en n,ade a shor I: .r" •■"^""■' *''« "'hers, hind nnVht eome up and 1^ ^ ^ "'"■"' "'''" ""ere be- -»"d. giving eae" 'a ' 11' :•:';'"'" ';-ded son,e ru^ ;:'""" they did ..„, ;„ ie?r'* /'■'' '"'" "W folks, Here the eap.ain, who n d t ^"f' "' "^'^ ""'ice. Al>ner, Jes.se, Kc,,,.,,, ,,7. " « <=' "e d.reetion, painted ■'^esonted eael, with ",1 or' ''"'"■'■'• •"'"• -'I '>e- being received in o f ™ r'"','"'"' '"^ " '"^en of fr-; "■emallthdrhatsand ,"■,;""""•'''' ""■>• ""* l;e l.risoners were rele.,,^ r ' ';-''™'"^ Hebeeea's. .>"" heretofore been comt |1 ?' '"" '"""'y '<«"'» they "' "'e treatn,ent theyT^^ '," ''"{• '""' "-as it not he ln,lian .owns, .ZZt^^T"'"'" ">'^-"'><^l'i«, ">e>rsitua,ionwo,,d v '' , J 1"" "'' " ^I'aration" '»'■ "f their «n-nds, a i in! from'th 7''''^• ''"' ">« '- ngirom the dreadful y,lls of the ( 88 ) Indians, as they approached the hamlets, is easier con- ceived than described, for they were no strangers to the customary cruelty exercised upon captives on entering their towns. The Indians, men, women, and children collect together, bringing clubs and stones, in order to beat them, which they usually do with great severity, by way of revenge for their relations who have been slain; this is performed immediately upon their enter- ing the village where the warriors reside: This treat- ment cannot be avoided, and the blows, however cruel, must be borne without complaint, and the })risoners sire sorely beaten, until their enemies are wearied with the cruel sport. Their sufferings were in this case very great, they received several wounds, and two of the women who were on iiorseback, were much bruised by falling from their horses, which were frightened by the Indians. Elizabeth, the mother, took shelter by the side of one of them, but upon his observing that she met with some favour upon his account, he sent her away; she then received several violent blows, so that she was almost disabled. The blood trickled from their heads, in a stream, their hair being cropt close, and the cloths they had on, in rags, made their situation truly piteous: Whilst they were inflicting this revenge upon the ci.p- tives, the king came, and put a stop to any further cruelty, by telling them " It was suflicient," which they immediately attended to. Benjamin Gilbert, and Elizabeth his wife, Jesse (iii- bert, and his wife, wert ordered to Captain Rowland Monteur's house, the women belonging to it, were kind to them, and gave them something to eat; Sarah (lil- bert, .Jesse's wife, was taken I'rom them by three women, in order to be placed in the family she was to be adopted by. 1 i 1 .1 [e (iii- Iwland kiiul Ih Clil- id by. ( 80 ) Two officers from Niagara fort, captains Dase, and Powel, came to see the prisoners, and prevent ( as they were informed ) any abuse that mifrht be given them, Benjamin (iilbert informed these t^fficers, that he was appn^liensive they were in great danger of being mur- dered, upon wliich they promised him they would send a boat, tlie next day, to bring them to Niagara. 24///. Notwithstanding the kind intention of the of- ficers, they oid not derive the expected advantage from it, for the Indians insisted on th< '- going to the fort on foot, although the bruises they had received the day be- fore, from the many severe blows given them, rendered their journey on foot very distressing; but capt. Mon- teur, obstinately persisting, they dare not long remon- strate, or refuse. When they left the Indian town, several issued from their huts after them with sticks in their hands, yelling and screetching in a most dismal manner; but through tlie interposition of four Indian women, who had come with the captives, to prevent any further abuse they might receive, they were j)reserved. One of them walk- ing between Benjamin Gilbert and his wife, led them, and desired Jesse to keep as near them as he could, the other three walked behind, and prevaile O / -(S« Photogrdphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 >> ( 92) hi If h k' R' found that she was among tlie Del ji wares, they went to tliem, and endeavoured to agree upon terms for her re- leasement; the Indians brought her to the fort the next day, but would not give her up to her relations. '2\)th. As the cabbins of the Indians were but two miles from the fort, they went thither, and Jesse and the officers used every argument in their power to prevail upon them, representing how hard it was to part these two young pe<)i)le;at length they consented to bring her in next day, with their whole tribe, for a final rele.ise. ?)Oth. They accordingly came, but started so many objections, that she was obliged to return with them. 'Mst. Early next morning, Capt. Ilobeson generously undertook to procure her liberty, which, after much at- tention and solicitude, he, together with Lieutenant Hillyard, happily accomplished. They made the In- dians several small presents, and gave them thirty pounds as a ransom. When >Sarah (lil])ort had obtained her liberty, she altered her dress more in cliaracter for her sex, than she had been able to do whilst amongst the Indians, and went to her husband and parents at Col. Johnson's, where she was joyfully received. (-ol. Jt)hns(m's housekeeper continued her kind at- tentions to them, during their stay here, and procured clothing for them from the king's stores. iUh Montb l.s7. About this time the Senecas, among whom Elizabeth I'eart was captive, brought her with them to the fort; as soon as the mother heard of it, she went to her, and had some conversation with her, but could not learn where she was to be sent to; she then enquired of the Inter])reter, and pressed on his friend- ship, to learn what was to become of her daughter; this ( 93 ) request he complied with, and informed her that she was to he given away to anotlier family of the Senecas, and adopted among them, in the place of a deceased re- lation. Capt. Powel interested himself in her case like- wise, and offered to purchase her of them, hut the Indians, refused to give her up; and as the mother anrl daughter expected they should see each other no more their parting was very affecting. The Indian woman who had adopted Rebecca as her daughter, came also to the fort, and P]lizabeth Gilbert made use of this opportunity to enciuire concerning her daughter, the Interpreter informed her, there was no probability of obtaining the enlargement of her child, as the Indians would not part with her: All she could do, was, to reconmiend her to their notice, as very weakly, and of consequence not a])le to endure much fatigue. 2(1 and otl. Not many days after their arrival at Niagara, a vessel came up Lake Ontario to the fort, with orders for the prisoners togo to Montreal. In this vessel came one Capt. Brant, an Indian chief, higli in rank amongst tliem. Elizabetli (iill)ert immediately applied herself to solicit and interest him in behalf of her chil- dren who yet remained in captivity; he readily promised her to use his endeavours to procure their liberty. A short time before they sailed for Montreal, they received accounts of Abner and Elizabeth (Jili)ert the younger, but it was also uiKb^stood that tlieir i)Ossessors were not disposed to give them up. As the i)rospect of obtain- ing the release of their children was so very discourage- ing, it was no alleviation to their distress, to be removed to Montreal, where, in all ju*ol»ability, they would sel- dom l)e able to gain any information respecting them; on which account, they were very solicitous to stay at ii ( y4 ) i I Niagara, but the Colonel said they could not remain there, unless the son would enter into the King's service: this could not be (ronsented to, therefore they chose to submit to every calamity which might be permitted to befal them, and confide in the great controller of events. Here they l)ecame acquainted with one Jesse Pawling, from Pennsylvania, who was an officer among the British, and behaved with kindness and respect to the prisoners, which induced them to request his attention also to that part of the family remaining in captivity; it appeared to them of some consequence to gain an additional friend. The Col. also gave his promise to exert himself on their behalf. After continuing ten days at Col. Johnson's, they took boat in the forenoon of the 2d. being the sixth day of the week, and crossed tiie river Niagara, in order to go on board the vessel (whicn lay in Lake Ontario ) for Montreal. The officers procured necessaries for their voyage in great plenty, and they were also furnished with orders to draw more at certain places, as they might have occasion : These civilities may appear to many, to be too trivial to be mentioned in this narrative, but those who have been in cc^ual distress, will not be in- sensible to tlieir value. 4th. The vessel sailed down the lake, on the sixth day of the week, and on first-day following, being the fourth day of the sixth month, 17'■ ' constitution, having nothing else than hommony and but short allowance even of that, insomuch that when his appetite increased, he could not procure food suffi- cient to recruit his strength. The company of his brother Thomas Peart who visited him, was a great comfort, and as the town he lived at was but the distance of eighteen miles, they had frequent opportunities of con- doling with each other in their distress. The Indian men being absent on one of their war ex- cursions, and the women emi)loyed in gathering the corn, left Benjamin Peart much leisure to rellect in soli- tude. Towards the beginning of the winter season the men returned, and built themselves a log house for thegranary, and then removed about twenty miles from their settle- ment into the hunting country, and procured a great variety of game, which they usually eat without bread or salt. As he had been with the Indians for several months, their language became more familiar to him. Hunting and feasting after their manner being their only employ, they soon cleared the place where they set- tle'l of the game, which made a second removal neces- sary, and they are so accustomed to this wandering life, that it becomes their choice. They fixed up a log hut in this second hunting place, and continued until the second month, when they re- turned to their first settlement, though their stay was but a few days, and then back again to their log hut. A heavy rain falling melted some of the snow which had covered the ground about two feet deep. The whole family concluded upon a journey to Nia- gara fort by land, which was completed in seven days. At the fort he had the satisfaction of conversing with ( 107 ) his brother Thomas Peart, and the same day his wife also came from Buffaloe creek, with the Senecas to the fort; this happy meeting, after an absence often months, drew tears of joy from them. He made an inquiry after his child, as he had neither heard from it or the mother since their separation. The Indians not approving of their conversing much together, as they imagined they would remember tlieir former situation, and become less contented with their present manner of life, they sepa- rated them again the same day, and took Benjamin's wife about four miles distance; but the party with whom he came, permitted him to stay here several nights, and when the Indians had completed their purpose of traf- fic they returned, taking him some miles ))ack with them to one of their towns; but upon his telling them he was desirous of returning to the fort to procure some- thing he had l)efore forgot, in order for his journey, he was permitted. As he staid the night, his adoj)ted brother the Indian came for him, but upon his complaining that he was so lame as to prevent his travelling with them they suffered him to remain behind. He continued at the fort about two months before the Indians came back again, and as he laboured for the white people, he had an opportunity of procuring salt provision from the king's stores, which had been for a long time a dainty to him. When one of the Indians (a second adopted brother) canie for him, Benjamin went with him to capt. Powol, who with earnest solicitations and some presents pre- vailed upon the Indian to suffer him to stay until he re- turned from his war expedition; but this was the last he ever made, as he lost his life on the frontiers of New York. ( 108) 1(1 if Jr H<« After this another captain (a third adopted hrother) came to the fort, and when Benjamin Peart saw him, he appled to adjutant general Wilkinson, to intercede for his release, who accordinjjjly waited upon col. Johnson and other officers, to prevail with them to exert themselves on his behalf; they concluded to hold a council with the Indians for this purpose, who after some delil)era- tion surrendered him up to col. Johnson, for which he gave them a valuable compensation. Benjamin Peart after his release was employed in col. Johson's service, and continued with him for several months. His child had been released for some lime, and his wife by earnest entreaty and plea of sickness, had prevailed with the Indians to permit her to stay at the fort, which proved a great consolation and comfort after so long a separation. About the middle of the eighth month, there was pre- paration made for their proceeding to Montreal, as by this time there were six of the prisoners ready to go in a ship which lay in lake Ontario, whose names were Jos- eph Gilbert, Benjamin and P]lizabeth Gilbert the younger. These went on board the vessel to Carlton Island, which is as far as the large vessels they use in the lake can proceed ; remainder of the way ( on account of the fre- quent shoals) they are obliged to go in smaller boats. The commanding officer at Niaga )cured a suit- able supply of provision, and furni&ncu them with or- ders to draw more at the several garrisons, as occasion veciuired. In two days they arrived at th j upper end of Carlton Island, and went to the commander in chief to shew their pass, and obtain what they were in need of. Arter- wari.ls they continued on to the garrison of Oswagrcchy by I ( 109 ) the side of the river St. Laurence, in an open boat rowed by four Frenchmen, this class of people being chiefly employed in laborious services. The stream was so rapid and full ot rocks, that the prisoners were too much alarmed to remain in the boat, and concluded to go on shore until they passed the dan- ger; but the Frenchmen, who had been accustomed to these wild and violent rapids, (the longest of which is known by the name of the long Sou ) kept on board. This surprising scene continued for the distance of six miles, and they viewed it with a degree of horror, their heads becoming almost giddy with the prospect. When the boats had shot the falls, they again went on board and continued down the river to Cour de Lac. No great distance below this they an^^ored, and landed at the place where their father intered, shedding many tears of filial affection to ius memory. Tiiey afterwards applied to the commanding officer of the garrison for provisions and other necessaries; they then bid adieu to this solemn spot of sorrow, and ])roceeded to Lasheen, which they reached the twenty-fourth day of the eighth month, having been eight days on their voyage. After refreshing themselves at this garrison, they set forward on foot for Montreal, which they reached the same day. They went to the Brigadier general and showed him their passport, and as soon as tit liberty waited on their mother at Adam Scott's, as has been al- ready related. The situation of Elizabeth Peart wife of Benjamin, and her child is next to be related. After she and the child were parted from her husband, Abigail Dodson and the child were taken several miles in the night to a little hut, where they staid till morn- ^^1 ( 110) ing, and the day following were taken within eight miles of Niagara, where she was adopted into one of the fami- lies of Senecas ; the ceremony of adoption to her was tedious and distrensing; they obliged her to sit down with a young man an Indian, and the eldest chieftain of the family repeated a jargon of words, to her unintelli- gible, but which she considered as some form amongst them of marriage, and th^s apprehension introduced the most violent agitations, as she was determined, at all events, to oppose any step of this nature; but after the old Indian concluded his speech she was relieved from the dreadful eml)arra8sment she had been under, as she was led away by another Indian. Abigail Dodson was given the same day to one of the families of the Cayuga nation, so that Elizabeth Peart saw her no more. The man who led Elizabeth from the company took her into the family for whom they adopted her, and in- troduced her to her parents, brothers and sisters in the Indian style, who received her very kindly, and made a grevious lamentation over her according to custom. After she had been with them two days, the whole family left her halvltation and went about two miles to fort Slusher, where they staid several days : this fort is about one mile from Niagara falls. As she was much indisposed, the Indians were detained several days for her ; but as they cared little for her, she was obliged to lie on the damp ground, which prevented her speedy recovery. As soon as her disorder abated of its violence, they set olf in a bark ciuioe which they had provided intending for buffaloe creek; and as they went slowly, they had an opportunity of taking some fish. ' ^, / . ( 111 ) When they arrived at the place of their intended set- tlement, they went on shore and built an house. A few days after they came to this new settlement, they returned with Elizabeth to fort Slusher, when she was told her child must be taken away from her; this was truly afflicting, but all remonstrances were in vain. From fort Slusher she travelled on foot, carrying her child to Niagara, it being eighteen miles, and in sultry weather, rendered it a painful addition to the thoughts of parting with her tender offspring. The intent of their journey was to obtain provisions, and their stay at the fort was of several days continuance. Capt. Powel af- forded her an asylum in his house. The Indians took the child from her and went with it across the river to adopt it into the family they had as- signed for it, notwithstanding captain Powel, at his wife's request, interceded that it might not be removed from its mother; but as it was so young, they returned it to the mother after its adoption, until it should be conv^- ient to send it to the family under whose protection it was to be placed. Obtaining the provision and other necessaries they came to Niagara to trade for, they returned to fort Slusher on foot, from whence they embarked in their canoes. It being near the time of planting, they used much ex- pedition in this journey. The labour and drudgery in a famil}' falling to the shjire of the women, Elizabeth had to assist the squaw in preparing the ground and planting corn. Their provision being scant they suffered much, and as their dependence for a suflicient supply until the gp.thering their crop, was on what they should receive ( 112 ) from the fort, they were under the necessity of making a second journey thither. They were two days on the road at this time. A small distance before they came to the fort they took her child from her, and sent it to its destined family, and it was several months before she had an opportunity of seeing it again. After being taken from her husband, to lose her darling infant, was a severe stroke: she lamented her condition and wept sorely, for which one of the Indians inhumanly struck her. Her Indian father seemed a little moved to behold her so distressed ; and in order to console her, assured her they would bring it back again, but she saw it not until the spring following. After they had disposed of their peltries, they returned to their habitation by the same route which they had come. With a heart oppressed with sorrow, Elizabeth trod back her steps, mourning for her lost infant, for this idea presented itself continually to her mind ; but as she experiened how fruitless, nay how dangerous, solicita- tions in behalf of her child were, she dried her tears and pined in secret. Soon after they had reached their own habitation Elizabeth Peart was again afflicted with sickness. At the first they sliewed some attention to her complaints, but as she did not speedily recover so as to be able to work, they discontinued every attention, and built a small hut by the side of the corn field, placing her in it to mind the corn. In this lonely condition she saw a white man, who had been made prisoner among the Indians. He informed her that her child was released and with the white people. This information revived her drooping spirits, and a short time after she recovered v> ■ ( 113 ) of her indisposition, but her employment still continued of attending the corn until it was ripe for gathering, which she assisted in. When the harvest was over, they permitted her to return and live with them. A time of plenty now commenced, and they lived as if they had sufficient to last the year through, faring plentiously every day. A drunken Indian came to the cabin one day, and the old Indian woman complaining to him of Elizabeth, his behaviour exceedingly terrified her; he stormed like a fury, and at length struck her a violent blow which laid her on the ground ; he then began to pull her about and abuse her much, when another of the women interposed, and rescued her from further suffering. Such is the shocking effect of spirituous liquor on these people, it totally deprives them both of sense and humanity. A tedious winter prevented them from leaving their habitation, and deprived her of the pleasure of hearing often from her friends, who were very much scattered ; but a prisoner, who had lately seen her husband, in- formed her of his being much indisposed at the Genesee river, which was ujjwards of one hundred miles distance. On receiving this intelligence, she stood in need of much consolation, but had no source of comfort, except in her own bosom. Near the return of spring their provision failing, they were compelled to go off to the fort for a fresh supply, having but a small portion of corn which they allow- anced out once each day. Through snow and severe frost they went for Niagara, suffering much from the excessive cold. And when they came within a few miles of the fort, whicli they were four days in accomplishing, they struck up a small ( 114 ) If I I f I 3 wigwam for some of the family with the prisoners to live in, until the return of the warriors from the fort. As soon as capt. Powell's wife heard that the young child's mother had come with the Indians, she desired to see her, claiming some relationship in the Indian way, as she had also been a prisoner among them. They granted her request, and Elizabeth was accordingly in- troduced, and informed that her husband was returned to the fort, and there was some expectation of his release. The same day Benjamin Peart came to see his wife, but could not be permitted to continue with her, as the Indians insisted on her going back with them to their cabbin, which, as has been related, was some miles distant. Elizabeth Peart was not allowed for some days to go from the cabbin, but a white family who had bought her child from Indians to whom it had been presented, offered the party with whom Elizabeth was confined a bottle of rum if they would bring her across the river to her child, which they did, and delighted the fond mother with this happy meeting, as she had not seen it for the space of eight months. She was permitted to stay with the family where her child was for two days, when she returned with the In- dians to their cabbin. After some time she obtained a further permission to go to the fort, where she had some needle work from the white people, which afforded her a plea for often visiting it. At length capt. Powell's wife prevailed with them to suffer her to continue a few days at her house, and work for her family which was granted. At the expiration of the time, upon the com- ing of the Indians for her to return with them, she pleaded indisposition, and by this means they were repeatedly dissuaded from taking her with them. ( 115 ) As the time of planting drew nigh, she made use of a little address to retard her departure ; having a small swelling on her neck she applied a poultice, which led the Indians into a belief that it was improper to remove her, and they consented to come again for her in two weeks. Her child was given up to her soon after her arrival at the fort, where she lodged at capt. Powell's and her husband came fre« ^g^i'qw^gri i»>ii|u- ( 132 ) Thomas was compelled to carry a heavy load of the plunder which the Indians had seized at their farm. When separated from the rest, they were usHured they should meet together again in four days. The first day's travel was in an exceeding disagree- able path, across several deep brooks, through which Thomas had to carry Sarah and Benjamin Gilbert, jun. This task was a very hard one, as he had been much re- duced for want of suflicient nourishment. The first night they lodged by the banks of Cayuga creek, the captives being tied as usual. The next morn- ing they took a venison, and this, with. some decayed corn which they gathered from the deserted fields, served them for sustenance. Tliis day's journey was by the side of Cayuga creek, until they came to a steej) hill, which they ascended with difliculty. When night came on, they sought a wigwam which had been deserted j)r«!cipitately on general Sullivan's march against the inhabitants of these i)arts. The land in this neighbourhood is excellent for cul- tivation, affording very good i)asture. Thomas Peart assured the Indians, that he, with the other ca})tives, would not leave them, and tlierelbre re- quested the favour to be freed from their confinement at night; but one of them 'checked his recjuest, by say- ing he could not sleep if the cai)tives were suffered to be untied. Their meat being all exhausted, Thomas and three Indians went near three miles to gather more decayed corn ; and this, mouldy as it was, they were obliged to eat, it being their only food, excepting a few winter tur- nii)s which they met with. They went forwards a con- siderable distance by the side of Cayuga creek, and then \ I ■ ( 133 ) the re- lient pay- I) be liree [yed to Itur- 3on- Ihen with much difficulty crossed it; immediatel}' afterwards they ascended an uncommon miry hill, covered with springs. Goinjiover this mountain they missed the path, and were obliged to wade very heavily through the water and mire. In the close of the daj' they came to a fine mea(h)w, where they agreed to continue that niglit, having no other provisions than mouldy Indian corn they acci- dently met with in the Indian plantations, wliich had been cut down and left on the ground by general Sul- livan's army. Next morning they set forwards, walking leisurely on, so thattlie company who went by the other path might overtake them, and frecjuently stopped for them. When night approached, they came to a large creek where some Indians were, who had l)egun to prepare the ground for i)lanting corn. At this ]»lace they staid two nights, and being to indolent to procure game by hunting, their diet was still very poor, and their strength much exhausted, so tliat they became impatient of wait- ing for the others, which was their intention when they first stopped. After travelling till near noon, they made a short stay, stripping the ])ark off a tree, and then painted, in their Indian manner, themselves and the jjrisoners on tlie body of the tree; this done, they set up a stick with a s})lit at tli(^ toj), in whicli thi-y i)hi('(Ml a small bush of leaves, and leaned the stick so that the shadow of the leaves should fall to the point of the stick where it was fixed in the ground; by wliich means the others would be directed in the time of day when they left the place. Here they separated the prisoners again, those to whom Thomas Peart and Joseph Gilbert were alloted "tm m mjm ■!■■ ■ ■ — Iltt {■ ( 134 ) went westward out of the path, but Sarah Gilbert and Benjamin Gilbert jun. with one Indian, continued in the path. This was very distressing to Sarah to be torn from her relations and dei)rived of all the comforts and even necessaries of life. These two, with the Indian who had the care of them, after they had parted with the other two and travelled forward a few miles, came to some Indians by the siy." They im- mediately procured some victuals, and set it before them, but Joseph Gilbert's wounds had taken away his appe- tite. ( 137 ) An officer, who was of the French families of Canada, came to them, and broujj;ht a negro with him to inter- pret. After questioning them, he concluded to write to col. Johnson, at Niagara, relative to the prisoners. The Indians advised them to be contented with their present situation, and marry amongst them, giving every assurance that they should be treated with the utmost respect ; but these conditions were inadmissable. After this Joseph Gilbert was taken from his })rother, as related in the narrative of his sulferings. Thomas Peart continued at the village that night, and the next day was given to the care of a young Indian, who went with him about two miles, where several In- dians were collected, dressed in horrid masks, in order, as he supposed, to make sport of his fears, if he dis- covered any ; he therefore guarded against being sur- prised, and when they observed him not to be intimi- dated, they permitted him to return again. Not long after his arrival at the village, capt. Rowland Monteur came in, who gave Thomas Peart some account how the others of the family had suffered, and told him that he had almost killed liis mother and Jesse, on account of Andrew Harrigar's making his escape. He had come in before the others, in order to procure some provisions for the company, who were in groat need of it. A\'hen the Captain returned, Thomas Peart accom- panied him part of the way, and me Ca})tain advised him to be cheerful and contented, and wtirk fiiithful for tlie friend, for so he styled the Indian under whose care Thomas Peart was placed, promising him that if he com- plied, lie should shortly go to Niagara. They emjdoyed him in choi)i)ing for several days, having i)revious to this taken the string from his neck, whicli they had carefully secured him with every nij^ht. mfmmmmmmm \ l! ( 138 ) The plantation on which they intended to fix for a summer residence, and to plant their crop, of corn, was several miles down the Genesee or little river. Prior to their removing with the family, some of the men went thither and built a b': aut, which was expeditiously performed, as they execraed it in about two days, when they returned to their old habitation. Thomas Peart was the next day given to the chiet Indian, who endeavoured to quiet his ap]>rehensions, assuring him he shouIJ (li ^■ .'. ith kind treatment. The Indian manner of i^ '' rem.irkably dirty and lousy; and although the> tluiriscivcf disregard tiicir filth, yet it was -..vtremtV inortir \ to the prisoners to be deprived of the advari >"...^ i, '^Jennliness: and this was by no means among the nukti^;; of smaller difficulties. As Thomas Peart had l)oen accustomed to industry, and when first among the Indians was constantly ex- erting himself, either in tlioir active diversions or useful labours, they were much delighted with him. When they had concluded ujxjn sending him to the family he was to reside with, they daubed liim afresh with tlieir red paint. He was tlien taken about seven miles, where he was adopted into the family, and styled ''OclinusM," or Uncle. When the ceremon}' of adoption was per- formed, a nunil)er of tlie relatives were summoned together, and the head of them took Thomas Peart into the midst of the ass^ ^ibly, and made a long iuirrangue in the Indian language. After this he was taken into the house, where {he women wei)t aloud for joy, tliat the place of a deceased relation was again supplied. The old man, wliose jilaee Thomas Peart was to fill, had never been considered by his family as possessed of ( 130 ) any merit; and, strange as it may appear, tlie person adopted, always holds in their estimation the merits or demerits of the deceased, and the most careful conduct can never overcome this prejudice. As soon as the ceremony of adoption at this place was finished, he was taken hy the family to Nundow, a town on the Genesee river. The head of tliis faniily was chief or king of the Senecas. But before Thomas was fully received into the family, there was a second lamentation. Their i)rovisions, notwithstanding it was a season of great plenty, was often deer's guts, dried with the dung, and all 1)oile(l together, which they consider strong and wholesome food. They never throw away any })nrt of the game they take. Tliomas Peart's dress was entirely in the Indian st} le, painted and ornamented like one of themselves, though in a meaner manner, as they did not liold him high in estimation after his adoption. Greatly discontented, he often retired into tlie Avoods, and reflected upon his unhappy situation, without ho])es of returning to his relations, or ever being rescued from ('!ij)tivity. He continued in this solitary seclusion about five weeks, when tiieir corn was mostly consumed; and as their dei)endence for a fresh su)>ply was on Niagara fort, they concluded to go thither, but at first they would not consent tiuit Thomas should acci)mj)iiny them ; but he was so urgent, they at length consented, and the next day they had an Indian dance i)r('i) iiatory to their expedition. In the route Thomas Peart got a deer, which was an acceptable ac(iuisition, as they had l)een for some (hiys T \ i i II' ( 140 ) without any meat, and their corn was likewise expended. When they came within two miles of the fort they halted, and staid there until morning. A white prisoner, who came from the fort, gave Thomns Peart a ])articular relation of his fellow cap- tives: this was the first account he had of them since their separation at the Indian towns. As soon as he came to the fort, he applied to some of the officers, re- questing their exertions to procure Thomas's liberty, if possible; but he was disappointed, as nothing could be then done to serve him. He eat some salt provisions, which, as he had tasted but little salt since his captivity, (although pleasing to his i)alate) affected his stomach, it being difficult for him to digest. As he was to return with the Indians in about a week, it was very distressing, bein:.f much disgusted with the fare he met among them. They returned by way of fort Slusher, and then along lake Erie, up Buffalo creek, taking some fish as they went. They passed by the place where Elizabeth Peart and Rebecca Gilbert were, but he had not an oppor- tunity of seeing them. The Stores they took home with them, consisted of rum, salt and ammunition. Lake Erie is a))Out three hundred miles long from east to west, and about forty in breadth. It receives its supply of waters from lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, ])y a north-west passage, called the straights of Detroit. A very long narrow piece of land lies on its north side, which projects remarkably' into the lake, and has been noticed by most travellers and is known by^ the name of long point. There are several islands in it * ( 141 ) whicli, with the banks of the lake, were more infested with different kinds of snakes, i)articularly the rattle- snake, than other phices. The navifiation of this hike is allowed to be more dangerous that the others, on account of the higli lands projecting into it; so that when sudden storms arise, boats are frequently lost, as there are but few places to land, and seldom a possibility of finding a shelter near tlie craggy precipices. The waters of Erie pass through a north east com- munication into the river Niagara, wliich, by a northerly course of near thirty-six miles, falls into lake Ontario. At the discharge of this river into lake Ontario, on the east side, stands fort Niagara; and at the entrance from lake P>ie lies Erie fort; between these two forts are tho!-e extraordinary falls which claim the attention of the curious, and are amongst the most remarkable works of nature. This stupendous cataract is supplied by the waters of the several lakes, and their distant springs; which, after traversing many hundred miles, rash astonishingly down a most horrid precipice, and which, by a small island, is separated into two large columns, and each near one hundred and forty feet perpendicuhir, and in a strong, rai)id, inconceivable foam and roar, extends near nine miles further; having in this distance a de- scent nearly equal to the first. The straight of Niagara is esteemed dangerous for a mile or upwards above the falls. The water of the falls raises a very heavy mist, somewhat resembling a con- tinuation of the river, and this decei)tion, together with the rapidity of the current, frequently hurries the ducks and geese down this dreadful ])recipice. t ■■H / r i li 1 I: i * • Hi Cf Ml ( 142 ) This vast body of water, after passing through the straight of Niagara, is received by lake Ontario, or Cat- araqui, which is nearly of an oval form. Its greatest length is from north-east to south-west, and is generally allowed to be six hundred miles in circumference. And although the least of the five great lakes of Canada is much the safest for shipping, as the channel is less ob- structed by rocks or islands, than the other lakes. The south side is the most commodious for batteaux and canoes, having a moderately slielving bank and shore on that side ; the other is more rocky. Many of the rivers which fall into it, are barred in their entrances by broken hills, but the vallies are un- commonly fertile. On the south the most considerable rivers which fall into this lake, are, the great and little Seneca. The falls of these rivers, render them not navigable near the lake; but after the carrying-places are passed they run slow and deep. In onler to keep up the communication between the difierent parts of Canada, there is a portage from the landing l)elo\v Niagara falls, to the landing above, up three steep hills, along which, the road for a'oout eight or nine miles, has been made as easy for carts as it pos- sibly could ; ( thence to lake Erie is al)0ut eighteen miles) but the stream is so swift here, that it is almost impos- sible to stem it for a mile or two in a ship with the still- est gale; though batteaux and canoes pass along with- out much danger, as the current is less rapid near the shore. On the north-east it empties itself into the river Cataraqui. From this short digressive account of the lakes, wo may return to the situation of the prisoner, and the In- dian familv. / ( 143 ) When they had consumed their last year's stock of corn, they lived very low, and were reduced to great necessity, digging what wild e?culent roots they could find; this was so different from what he had been ac- customed to, that he could not bear it with that cheer- fulness witli which the Indians met such difliculties. His i)ainful reflections, and the want of necessaries, re- duced him exceeding low. Whilst in this distress, he happily obtained the use of a testament from a white woman, who had been taken captive, and afterwards married amongst them. With this solacing companion, he fre(|uently retired into the woods, and employed himself in reading and meditating upon the Instruction couched in it. The Indians directed a white girl to inform him, that they intended a hunt of twenty days, and were desirous he should attend them; to this he agreed, and the whole family accompanied the hunters. They j)assed by the town where Joseph Gill)ert was, who informed his brother that he was goini to Niagara; Thomas Peart replied he had already been there, and then informed him how the others of their relations were dis[)ersed. On their way up the (Jenesee river, whtre they in- tended to hunt, they took a deer. The fourth day, as Thomas Peart was beating for game, he lost hiscompany; butat length came to some Indians who directed him. ^^'hen he vinnv to tiif family, much fatigued, and told them he had been lost, they were very much delighted at tlie perplexing situation he had been in. The next day they moved further, hvniting as they went, and in the evening fixed their (quarters, where they staid two nights. i m « : 1 ■ r \ H «':^ r li ( l-t4 ) Thomas Peart, not endeavouring to please them they took uml)rage at his neglect. This, added to a fit of the ague, induced th^m to leave him in the woods, he being so weak he could not keep up with them, and was obliged to follow by their tracks in the leaves. Their provisions soon began to waste, and it was not long before it was entirely consumed; and as they took no game, they were under the necessity of eating wild cherries. The prospect appeared very gloomy to our captive, to be thus distressed with hunger, and to be from home near one hundred miles with the whole family. But this situation, though so alarming to him, did not ap- pear to reach their Stoic insensibility. In this extremity one of the Indians killed a fine elk, which was a long wished for and delightful supply; but as the weather was very warm, and they had no salt, it soon became putrid, and filled with maggots, which they, notwith- standing, eat without reserve. After they had been out upwards of thirty days, the Indians changed their course, towards their own habita- tion, making but little progress forwards, as they kept hunting as they went. And as Thomas had long been uneasy, and desirous to return, not expecting to have been absent more than twenty days, they gave him some directions and a small share of provisions; he then left them after an unsuccessful hunt of forty days. And, although weak and unfit for the journey, he set off in the morning, and kept as near a north-west course as he could, going ns fast as his strength would permit over large creeks, swamps and rugged hills; and when night came on, made up a small fire, and being exceedingly fatigued, laid himself down on the ground, and slept ;■ i ( 145 ) very soundly. In the morning he continued his jour- ney. When he considered the great distance througli the is in the Indian towns, and the difficulty of procur- ing game to subsist on, it dejected him greatly. His spirits were so depressed, that when the fire was extin- guished in the night, he even heard the wild betists walking and howling around him, without regarding them, as with all his exertions and assiduity, he had but small hope of ever reaching the towns, but i)rovi- dentially he succeeded. On the journey he eat a land tortoise, some roots and wild cherries. When he reached the town, the Indians were pleased with his return, and inquired the reason of his coming ae, and where he had left the family he went with; ^h he fullv informed them of. This being the time for feasting on their new crop of corn, and they having plenty of pumpkins and sipinshes, gave an agreeable prospect of a short season of health, and frequent, thougli simple, feasts. About ten days after this, the family returned ; they soon inquired if Thomas Peart had reached home, and upon being informed that he had, replied that it was not expected he ever could. The Indians concluding to make a Avar excursion, asked Thomas to go with them; but he determinately refused them, and was therefore left at home with the family; and not long after had permission to visit his brother Benjamin Peart, who was then about fifteen or eighteen miles distant, down the Genesee river. Benjamin Peart was at that time very much indis- posed. Thomas, therefore, staid with him several days, ( 140 ) and, when he recovered a little strengtli, left him, and returned to his old habitation. He was thoroughly acquainted with the customs, man- ners and dispositions of the Indians, and ol)serving that they treated him just as they had done tlic old worth- less Indian in wliose i)liice he was adopted, he having been considered a perquisite of the squaws ; he there- fore concluded he would only fill his predecessor's sta- tion, and used no endeavors to please them, us his busi- ness was to cut wood for the family ; notwitlistanding he miglit easily have procured a suilicient store yet he was not so disposed, but often refused, and even left it for the squaws sometimes to do themselves, not doul)ting if he was diligent and careful, they would be less willing to give him his liberty. Joseph Gilbert came to see him, and, as has been men- tioned, informed him of the decease of their father. Some time in tlie fall, the king ( whose l)rother Thomas was called) died, and he was directed to hew l^oards and make a collin for him; when it was completed, they smeared it with red paint. Tlie women, whose atten- tion to tliis is always insisted on amongst the Indians, kept the cori)se for several days, when they j)repared a grave, and interred him, it being considered amongst this tribe, disgraceful for a man to take any notice of this solenni and interesting scene. A number of squaws collected upon this occasion, and there was great mourn- ing, which they continued for several days at stated times. As the place of interment, as well as that ap- pointed for weeping, was near the hut Thomas Peart resided at, he had an opportunity of indulging his curiosity, through the openings of the logs, without giv- ing oU'ence. I' u ( 147 ) Soon after this, one of the women who was called Thomas's sister, desired him to accompany her about fifty miles towards Niagara. Some others of the family went with them, and in their wa}^ they took a deer and other game. They were from home on this journey about six days, during the time, there fell a very heavy snow, which made their journey toilsome. The women were sent homeward before the rest, to i)repare something against they came. When they had loitered at home a few days, they set about gathering their winter store of hickory nuts. From some of them they extracted an oil, which they eat with bread or meat, at their pleasure. Frequently before they set oil' on their hunting par- ties, they made an Indian frolick ; when, commonly, all the company become extravagantly intoxicated. And when they intend t<} go off this winter, they tirst give the ])reparatory entertainment. After they were gone, Thomas Peart and the mistress of the family disagreeing, she insisted onhis joining the hunters, and living on the game, that she might save more corn. He i)lead the coldness of tiie senson, and his Avant of clothing, but it would not avail; he was therefore turned out, and ui)on linding the hunters, he built them a iiut, where they staid for some weeks, taking the game, and eating wild meat without corn, as the sui)|)ly they had raised was short. When they were weary of their emjjloy, they moved to their old hut, and lived in their idle manner for a longtime. Tliey then again returned to their hut, and staid aljout ten days, and took several deer. ( 148) i A few (lays after their return from hunting, they ac- quainted Thomas that they should set off for Niagara; which was truly grateful to him. There was fifteen of them on this visit. The old woman gave Thomas Peart a strict charge to return. Altliough tlie prospect of seeing or hearing from his relations was delightful, yet the journey was excessively painful ; the snow covering the ground to a considerable depth, the cold increased, and they had to wade through several deep creeks, the water often freezing to their legs ; and Thomas Peart, as well us the rest, were uncloathed, excepting a blanket and })air of leggings. In live days tliey came to fort Slusher, and at the treats they there received, were most of them drunk for the day. Next morning they wont to Niagara, where he im- mediately made ai^plication to the British officers to solicit liis release. Capt. Powell informed col. Johnson, who recpiested it of the Indians; they required some time to deliberate upon the subject, not willing to dis- oblige the Colonel, they at length concluded to comply with his reipiest; telling liini, that however hard it might be to part with their own llesh, yet, to please him, they consented to it hoping he would make them some present. Col. Johnson then directed him to his own house, and desired him to clean himself, and sent cloaths for him to dress with. Here lie had plenty of salt provisions, and every necessary of life. This, with the happy re- gaining of his liberty, gave a new spring to his spirits, and for a few days, he scarcely knew how to enjoy sufficiently, this almost unlooked for change. When recruited, he went to work for col. Johnson, and a few weeks after had the satisfaction of his brother ( 149 ) 1 lor Benjamin Peart's company; who, though not released, yet was permitted to stay at the fort, and worked with his brother until spring; when capt. Powell, lieutenant Johnson, and Thomas Peart went up Buffalo creek, with two boats loaded with provisions, and a proportion of planting corn together with hoes, to be distributed among the Indians. In this exj)edition Thomas had the satisfaction of see- ing and conversing with his sister Rebecca, which was the first of their meeting together, after a separation of a year. At the distribution of the corn and hoes, the Indians met and made a general feast; after which, they dis- persed; and the ollicers, when they had conipleated their business, returned to Niagara, after an absence of eight or nine days. Thomjis Peart was settled at col. Johnson's, to work for him at two shillings and six pence per day, till the eighth month, when six of the captives were sent to Montreal, and Thomas also had permission to go, but he chose rather to stny, to afford his assistance to his sister Rebecca Gilbert, and his cousin lienjamin Cjlilbert, jun. who yet remained in captivity; exerting liimself us strenuously as i)0ssible on their behalf. In the fall he went up again to Buffalo Creek, where he saw his sister and cousin a second time, and assured his sist(n- that the Col. intended to insist on her being released: This encouraged her to hope. The Indians are too indolent to employ sulhcient pains to preserve their grain in the winter; therefore, those who plant near the fort generally send the greater part to the Knglisli to i)reserve for tliem, and take it back as tliey want it: Therefore, wiuit this Neiglibour- 10 ( 150 ) I if hood had more than for a short supply, they carried with them in their boats to the fort. In the winter, Thomas Peart undertook to chop wood for the British Officers, and built himself a hut about two miles from the fort, in which he lodged at night. A drunken Indian came to his cabbin one evening with his knife in his hand, with an intention of mischief; but, ])eing debilitated with liquor, Thomas Peart easily wrested his knife from him. A wolf came one night up to the door of his cabbin, which he discovered next morning, by the tracks in the snow ; and, a few nights after, paid a second visit, when he fired at him, and, by the blood on the snow, sup- posed he had mortally wounded him. Next spring, Thomas went with the officers again up Buflalo creek, when he afresh animated his sister, by informing her that general Ilaldimand had given orders to the officers, to procure their liberty. As they returned by fort Erie, their boats were in danger from tlie ice in the lake and river. It continues in these parts until late in the Spring; sometimes as late as the lil'th month; and, as soon as melted, the vegetation is astonisliingly (piick. About two weeks after they returned, Thomas Peart went back again with some officers, who were going to the Indians. After a tour of fifteen days, he came again to tlie fort, where he stayed for several weeks, and received several letters from his relations, at Montreal, by some officers who were on their way to Cataraguors, on Lake Erie, about eiglity miles from Niagara; who, in their way, saw Rebecca and lienjamin Gilbert, jun. with a number of Indians, going for Niagara. Thomas Peart made as f R 'I ( 151 ) quick dispatch as possible, to meet them, delighted with the prospect of their obtaining their Liberty. They took a porcupine, whicli is somewhat larger than a rackoon, and covered reniarkal)ly with quills of bone, about eight or nine inches long, which they can discharge with much force, as to penetrate through a man's hand at a considerable distance. A few days after he returned from this expedition, the captives were delivered up : These two had been with the Indians upwards of two years. In a short time after their release, Thomas Peart i)ro- cured permission for tliem and himself to proceed to Montreal, and was furnished with a pass, containing an order to obtain what provisions they might be in want of in their passage. The second day of the sixth month, 1782, they went on board the ship limner, and proceeded towards Mon- treal. When they came against the place where their father was interred, tiiose whom they were with, gave Thomas and Rebecca notice, though they did not land, but pursued tlieir voyage; and, after being seven days on the water, they reached fort Lasheen, where they staid that night, and the next day went to Montreal to their relations: Soon after which, a letter was received from the before mentioned Benjamin Gilbert, then at Castleton, acquainting them of his being so far on his way to Montreal, in order to give them assistance in getting home, and recjuesting that i)ermission niight be obtained for his coming in; which, Klizal>eth immedi- ately ap})lyed to the oflicers for: who with great cheer- fulness, wrote in her behalf to general Haldimand, at (Quebec, who readily granted her recjuest, together with other favours to Elizabeth, worthy of lier grateful re- i? I ill It ( 152 ) membrance; by which means, Benjamin's arrival at Montreal was soon effected, where he had the pleasure once more of seeing and conversing with his relations and nearest connexions, to their great joy and satisfac- tion, after an absence of near three years ; during which time, they had but little if any certain account of each other. After some time spent in inquiring after their relatives and friends, and conversing on the once unthought of and strange scenes of life they had passed through since their separation, it became necessary to prepare for their journey homewards, which was accordingly done, and in about live weeks from the time of Benjamin's arrival, they took leave of the friends and acquaintances they had madeduring their residence there; w^hose hospitable and kind treatment, merits their grateful and sincere acknowledgements, and most ardent desires for their welfare in every scene. And on the twenty second day of the eighth month, 1782, attended by a great number of the inhabitants, they embarked in boats prepared for them, and took their departure. Having crossed the river, and carriages being provided, they proceeded on their journey without much delay, until they came to iSt. John's, where they went on board a sloop; but tlie winds being unfavourable, rendered their passage in the lake somewhat tedious. They did not arrive at Crown Point, until about two weeks after their dei)arture from Montreal. They con- tinued here several days, and from thence went in open boats to East-Bay in about two days, where they landed and staid all night, and were next day delivered up to the officers of Vermpnt. Here some of the company staid two nights, on account of Benjamin Pearl's child ( l'^>3 ) being very ill ; ])y which time it so recovered, that they proceeded on to Castleton, where those that went before had halted, and near that place stayed all night, and in the morning Elizabeth the mother having engaged to do an errand tor a friend, was under a necessity of riding about thirty-five miles, which occasioned her to be absent two nights from the family, who were at capt. Willard's; at which place Benjamin provided horses and waggons for the remainder of the journey, together with some provisions. Here tliey were civilly treated, and generously entertained free of expence. Tlie family then proceeded on, and met their mother at the house of capt. Lonson, where they staid that night, and until noon next day, and were also kindly treated by him. Continuing their journe}', they met with John Braca- nage (who, together with ca})t. Lanson, were passengers with them to East-Bay ) he gave them an invitation to his house, whicli they accepted, and arrived about noon the next day, and continued with him two nights, and were respectfully entertained. Having prepared for prosecuting tlu'ir journey, he proceeded on for the North-River, where they met with Lot Trip and William Knowles, who kindly conducted the women to the house of David Sands, where they lodged that night. The rest of the family catne to them in the morning, jmd several of them attended friends Meeting, not having tlie like o])i)ortunity for several years before. In the afternoon they pursued tlieir journey, the ))e- fore mentioned Lot Trip and William Knowles accom- panying them, and being in a waggon, kindly took Elizabeth and her younger daughter i)assengers with them, which i)rovcd a considerable relief * t ■ ^•1 It: if I. w !'■ ,'l . (, i ( 154 ) In a few days they came into Pennsylvania, where they met with some of their relations and former ac- quaintances and friends, who were unitedly rejoiced at the happy event of once more seeing and conversing with them. The next day, being the twenty-eighth day of the ninth month, 1782, they arrived at Byberry, the place of their nativity, and the residence of their nearest con- nexions and friends, where Elizabeth and her children were once more favoured with the agreeable opportunity of seeing and conversating with her ancient mother, to- gether with their other nearest relatives and friends, to their mutual joy and satisfaction ; under which happy circumstance we now leave them. Thouglds aUud'mg in and in jmrt occasioned by the Captirity and Sufferings of Bkn.iamin Gilhert and his family. AS from the forest issues the fell boar, So human ravagers, in deserts bred. On the defenceless, peaceful hamlet pour Wild waste o'er all, and sudden ruin spread I Here undisguis'd, war's brutal spirit see, In venom'd nature to the root laid bare. In which (triekt up in webs of policy) Professing christians vindicate their share. Pompt)us proli'ssion, vaunting in a name, Floats lightly on an ostentatious show, Nor dips sincere, in resignation's stream. To bring memorials from the depths below. I ( 155 ) Sophisticated dogmas of the schools, The flatulent, unwholesome food of strife, With zeal pedantic, for tradition's rules. Still crucify the principle of life. The woes of this probationary state. Through life so mingled and diversified, Derive their chief malignity and weight. From murmuring discontent and captious pride. Transient is human life, all flesh as grass, The goodliness of man but as a flower. Fine gold must through the fervid furnace pass ; Through death we immortality explore : Through judgment must deliverance be known, From vile afl'ections, and their wrathful sting; True peace pertains to righteousness alone, That flows, through faith, from life's eternal spring ! Should man (to glory call'd, and endless bliss) Bewail his momentary adverse doom ? Or in deep thankful resignation kiss The rod that prompts him on his journey home ? Unsearchable the providence of God, By boasted wisdom of the son of dust ; Lo ! virtue feels opj)ression's iron rod, And impious spirits triumph o'er the just? Shall hence a self-conceited reptile dare Th' omniscient ruler's etpiity arrain ? Say here thy wrath is lit, thy bounty there, Good to promote, and evil to restrain ? Believing souls nnfeigiiedly can say, Not mine, but thy all-perfect will be done ; If l)est this bitter cup should pass away, Or be endur'd, to thee, not me, is known. k^l 11 ( 156 ) Deep tribulation in the hnml)ly wise, Through patience to rei)aring to leave the town, when captain Mercer, who had his right arm broke in the town; his company was chieily compt)sed of traders, ( 164 ) ■ i '1 ' I U ' who persuaded their captain that there would not one living man of us ever get home, and if he, capt. Mercer would go with them they would take him a near cut, accordingly all his company went with him but sergeant Brown, and twelve men; the captain however, and his men, unfortunately fell in with the Indians tliat lieu- tenant Hoge had been fighting with that morning ; they fell upon his company and broke it, killing about twenty men; captain Mercer liavinga horse, Thomas IJurke, en- sign Scott and he, drove to the road that he had gone along; there the captains arm broke loose, and he was forced to stop and dress it, he liecame faint, in the mean time they espied an Indian coming from following us, Burke and Scott mounted Mercer's horse and rode off, leaving him to his fate, but Mercer lay down behind a log, it hapjjcning to be thick of weeds, the Indian came about six feet from him, and seeing Burke and Scott riding, he gave out a halloo and ran after, in a short time Mercer heard two guns go off: he then went down through a long plumb bottom, and lay there until night, when he made the best of his way. It was at the time of the plumbs being ripe, but that did not last long enough, for the captain had a month to struggle with, before he got home, all the food he got after the plumbs were done was one rattle snake, and to eat it raw. On the north side of the Alleghany mountain, he saw one day what he thought to be an Indian, and the other saw him, both took trees and stood a long time; at last the ca])tain thought he would go forward and n /^et his fate, but when he came near, he found it to be one of his own men: both rejoiced to meet, and both in tliat situation scarcely able to walk, they ])ushed over the mountain, and were not far from Franks town, when the soldier ( 165 ) kvith, nibs On one saw tlie Hate, k)wn tion lain, Idler lay down unable to go any further, with an intention never more to rise. The captain went about seven miles when he also lay down giving up all hopes of ever get- ting home. At this time there was a company of Chero- kee Indians in kings pay, and being at fort Littleton captain Hamilton sent some of them to search along the foot of the Alleghany mountain to see if there was any signs of Indians on the route, and these Indians came upon captain Mercer, able to rise, they gave him food, and he told them of the other, they took the captains track and found him, and brought him to fort Littleton, carrying him on a bier of their own making. We took fourteen scalps in this expedition. As for our retreating from the Kittaning, we met with no opposition, only a few Indians on the side of the town fired on us, they shot about two hundred yards, and shot Andrew Douglas through both ancles. We had no more injury done until we came to this side of the Alleghany mountain, when one Samuel Chambers hav- ing left liis coat at the Clear-Fields, desired leave of col. Armstrong to go back for his coat, and to bring three horses which had given out; col. Armstrong advised against it, l)ut Chambers persisted in going, and so went ))ack; when he came to the top of tlie mountain, a party of Indians fired on him but missed him ; Cliambers tlien steered towards Big Island, the Indians pursued and the third day killed him in French Margaret's Island. So the Indians told old capt. Patterson. The next was general Bofjuet, the second war, wlien tlie Indians tliought they were able to kill and take us all themselves, the French being l)ound by tlie hist treaty of i>eace not to supply the Indians with pow- der and lead, the Indians not knowing this until they 11 ( 106 ) .! !l were in need of ammunition. They however did much mischief, fought Boquet at busliy run, but were defeated. At this time Boquet went down the Ohio seventy five miles below fort Pitt, and sent one David Owens, who had been married to an Indian woman, and had by her three children, when taking a thought that he would ad- vance himself, killed and scalped his wife and children and brought their scalps to Philadelphia, he received no reward only was made ambassador l)etwcen general Bo- quet and the Indians. When Owens was sent to let the Indians know they might have peace, they made a prisoner of him, for the murder he had committed, two of his wife's brothers being there; Owens gave them to know, if they killed him they would never get peace. The Indians held council three days ui)on him, thc}'' then let him go and came up themselves, agreeable to the invitation which was sent to them, and agreed to give up the prisoners: So ended that campaign. In this second war, on the fifth day of July, 1703, the Indians came to Juniata, it being harvest time and the white jieople were come back to reap their crops, they came first to the house of William White, it was on the sabbath day the reai)ers were all in the house, the In- dians crept up nigh to the door and shot the ])eople lay- ing on the floor, killed William White, and all his family that were there excepting one boy, who when he heard the guns leaped out of the window and made his escaj)e. This same-party went to Robert Campbell's on the Tuscarora creek, suri)rised them in the same way, shot them on the Hoor where they were resting themselves; one (Jeorge Dodds being there harvesting, had just risen, and gone into tlie room and lay down on the bed, set- ( 167 ) rd |e. he ting his gun beside him. When the Indians fired, one of them sprung into the house with his tomahawk in his hand, running up to where a man was standing in the corner ; Dodds fired at the Indian not six feet from him, the Indian gave a halloo and ran out as fast as he oould : there being an open in the loft above the bed, Dodds sprung up there and went out by the chimney making his escape, and came to Shearman's valley; he came to William Dickson's and told what had happened, there l)eing a young man there which V)roughtthe news to us, who were harvesting at Edward Elliott's ; other intelli- gence we got in the night, John (Jraham, John Christy and James Christy, were alarmed in the evening by guns firing at William Anderson's where the old man was killed with his bible in his hand, su})i>()sed he was about worship; his son also was killed and a girl that had been brought up from a child by the old people ; Ch-aham and the Christys came about midnight, we hearing the In- dians had gone so far up the Tuscarora valley, and know- ing Collins's family and James Scott's was there about their harvest, twelve of us concluded to go over iiigham's gap and give those word that were there; when we came to Collins's we saw that the Indians had been there, had broke a wheel, emptied a bed, and taken Hour of which they made some water gruel, we counted thirteen spoons made of bark; we followed the tracks down to James Scott's, where we found the Indians had killed some fowls, we pursued on to (Iraham's, there the house was on fire, and burned down to the joists; we divided our men into two })arties, six in each, my brother with his party came in behind the barn, and myself with the other i)arty came down through an oats field, 1 was to siioot first, the Indians had hung a coat upon a post, on r (168) M the other side of the fire from us, I looked at it, and saw it immovable, and therefore walked down to it and found that the Indians had just left it; they had killed four hogs and had eaten at pleasure ; our company took their tracks, and found that two companies had met at Gra- ham's and had gone over the Tuscarora mountain. We took the run gap the two roads meeting at Nicholson's, they were there first heard us coming and lay in ambush for us; they had the first fire being twenty-five in num- ber, and only twelve * of us ; they killed five, and wounded myself. They then went to Alexander Logan's, where they emptied some beds, and passed on to George M'- Cord's. * The names of the twelve were William Bobison who acted as captain, Robert h'obison, the relator of this narrative, Thomas liobi- son, being three brothers, John Graham, Charles Elliott, William Christy, James Christ i/, David Miller, John Elliott, Edward M^Con- nel, William M'^Alister, and John Nicholson, the persons killed were William Robison, he was shot in the belly with buck shot and got about half a mile from the ground ; John Elliott, then a boy of about seventeen years of age, having emptied his gun, was pursued by an Indian with his tomakawk, who was within a few perches of him, when Elliott had poured some powder into his gun by random, out of his powder horn, and having a bidlet in his mouth, put it in the muzzle, but had no time to ram it down ; he turned and fired at his pursuer, who clapped his hand on his stomach and cried oeh I turned and fled, Elliott had run but a few perches farther, when he over- took William Robison, weltering in his blood, in his last agonies, he requested I'^lliott to carry him off, who excused himself, by telling him of his inability to do so, and also of the danger they were in, he said he knew it, but desired him to take his gun with him, and peace or war, if ever he had an opportunity of an Indian, to shoot him for his sake. Elliott brought away the gun, and Robison was not found by the Indians. Thomas Robison stood on the ground until the wliole of his peo- ple were fled, nor did the Indians ofl'er to pursue, until the last man )^ ( 169 ) ). A party of forty men came from CJarlisle, in order to bury the dead at Juniata, when they saw the dead at Buffaloe creek they returned home ; then a party of men came with captain Dunning, but before they came Alexander Logan, his son John, Charles Coyle, William Hamilton, with Bartholomew Davis, followed the Indians to George M'Cord's, where they were in the barn; Logan, and these with him were all killed, except left the field ; Thomas having fired and charged a second time, the Indians were prepared for him, and when he took aim past the tree, a number fired at him at the same time ; one of his arms was broke he took his gun in the other and fled, going up a hill he came to a high log, and clapped his hand in which was his gun on the log to assist in leaping over it, while in the attitude of stooping, a bullett entered his side, going in a triangular course through his body, he sunk down across the log ; the Indians sunk the cock of his gun into his brains, and mangled him very much. John Graham was .seen by David Miller sitting on a log, not far from the place of attack, with his hands on his face, and the blood running through his fingers. Charles Elliott and Edward M'Connell took a circle round where the Indians were laying, and made the best of their way to Buffalo creek, but they were pursued by the Indians, and where they crossed the creek, there was a high bank, and as they were endeavouring to ascend the bank they were both shot, and fell back into the water. Thus ended this unfortunate affair to those engaged, but at the same time it appears as if there had been a hand of Providence in the whole transaction ; for there is every reason to believe, that spies had l>een viewing the place the night before, and the Indians were within three (pmrters of a mile of the place from which the men had started, where there would have been from twenty to thirty men, perhaps in the field a reaping, and all the guns that could be de- ])eiided on were in this small company except one, so that they might have become an easy prey, and instead of those five brave men, who lost their lives, three times that number might have suffered. The two Christys were out about a week, before they could make their escape, the Indians one night passed so nigh to them, that they could have touched them with their guns. Editor, ( 170 ) Davis, who made his escape. The Indians then returned to Logan's house, where captain Dunning and his party came on them and they fired some time at each other; Dunning had one man wounded. I forgot to give you an account of a murder done at our own fort in Shearman's valley in July 1756, the Indians waylaid the fort in harvest time and kept quiet until the reapers were gone; James Wilson remaining sometime l)ehind the rest, and I not being gone to my business, which was hunting deer, for the use of the company, Wilson standing at the fort gate, I desired liberty to shoot his gun at a mark, upon which he gave me his gun, and I shot ; the Indians on the upper side of the fort, thinking they were discovered, rushed on a daughter of Robert Miller, and instantly killed her, and shot at James Simmeson, they then made the best of it that they could, and killed the wife of James Wilson* and the widow Gibson, and took Hugh Gibson and Betsey Henry prisoners; the reapers'being forty in num- ber returned to the fort and the Indians made off. Sir, having gone through all I can remember, you will please to take out what will answer your purpose. I shall relate an affair told me by James M'Clung, a man whom I can confide in for truth, it being in his neighborhood; an Indian came to a tavern, called for a gill of whiskey, drank some out of it ; when there came another Indian in, he called for a gill also, and set it on the table, without drinking any of it, and took out the first Indian, discoursing with him for some time; the first Indian then stripped himself naked, and lay down on the floor, and stretched himself, the other Indian * While the Indian was scalping Mrs Wilson, the relator shot at and wounded him but he made his escape. Euitor. ' \ ' V ( 171 ) stood at the door, and when he was ready, he stepped forward with his knife in his hand and stabbed the Indian who was lying to the heart; the other received the stab, jumped to his feet, drank both the gills of whiskey off, and dropped down dead; the white people made a prisoner of the other Indian, and sent to the head of the nation, two of them came and examined the Indian, who was a i)risoner, and told them to let him go, he had done right. Sir, yours, ttc, ROBERT ROBISON. An account of Samuel BelVs encounter with three Indians. Among the many achievements against the Indians in our Avars with them, few exceed that i)erformed in our own neighbourhood, by Samuel Bell, formerly owner of the noted farm on the stoney ridge, five miles below Carlisle, which was as follows: Sometime after Braddock's defeat, he and his brother James Bell, agreed to go into Shearman's valley to hunt for deer, and were to meet on Croghan's, now Sterrett's gap on tlie Blue mountain, by some means or other they did not meet, and Samuel slept all night in a waste cabbin belonging to Mr. Patton on Shearman's creek: in the morning he had not travelled far before he spied three Indians, who at the same time saw him, they all fired at each other, he wounded one of tlie Indians, but received no damage, except through his clothes by the balls, several shots were fired on both sides, for each took a tree ; he took out his tomahawk and stuck it into •1 i\ ( 172) the tree behind which he stood, so that should they ap- proach he might be prepared, the tree was grazed with the Indians balls, and he had thoughts of making his escape by flight, but on reflection had doubts of his being able to out run them. After some time the two Indians took the wounded one and put him over the fence, and one took one course and the other another, taking a compass so that Bell could no longer secure himself by the tree, but by trying to ensnare him they had to expose themselves, by which means he had the good fortune shoot one of them dead, the other ran and took the dead Indian on his back, one leg over each shoulder: by this time Bell's gun was again loaded, he then ran after the Indian until he came within about four yards of him, fired, and shot through the dead In- dian, and lodged his ball in the other, who dropped the dead man and ran off"; in his return coming past the fence where the wounded Indian was, he dispatched him, but did not know he had killed the third Indian until his bones were found afterwards. The folloiving Narrative, we had from one of the men who icas at the battle of Muncey, on whose veracity loe can depend. In the year 1755, Peter Shaver, John Savage, and two other men were killed at the mouth of Shaver's creek on Juniata by the Indians. February 1756, a party of In- dians from Shemoken came to Juniata, the first place they came on the river was at Hugh Mitcheltree's, who was gone to Carlisle, and had got a young man of the ( 173) name of Edward Nicholoiis to stay with his wife until he would return, the Indians killed them both. The same party of Indians went up the river where the Lu- kens's now lives ; William Wilcox at the time lived on the opposite side of the river, whose wife and eldest son had come over the river on some business ; the Indians came while they were there and killed old Edward Nicholous and his wife; and took Joseph Nicholous and Thomas and Catharine Nicholous and John Wilcox, James Armstrong's wife and two children prisoners. An Indian named James Cotties who wished to be captain of this party, when they did not choose him he would not go with them. He and a boy went to Shear- man's creek and killed William Sheridan and his family thirteen in number, they then went down the creek to where three old persons lived, two men and a woman of the name of French, which they also killed, of which he often boasted afterwards that he and the boy took more scalps than the whole party. In the year 1757 the same Cotties went to Hunter's fort, seven miles above Harrisburg and killed a young man of the name of William Martin, under a chesnut tree gathering ches- nuts. After the war was over he came to Hunter's fort again and made his boast what a good friend he had been to the white people in the time of the war. At the same time another Indian who had been friendly to the in- habitants the time of the war named Hambus, said he was a liar, for that he had done all the mischief he could, upon which the two Indians began to fight, but the white people parted them. Hambus told him that he had killed Martin within sight of the spot where they now stood. The same day Cotties got drunk and fell t i] ( 174 ) ;' asleo]) on a bench; when Hambus saw that he was nsleep he struck his tomahawk into his head and killed him. In September 1768, about one hundred of us went to take the Indian town at the great island, and went up to fort Augusta where we sent a man forward to see whether Andrew IMenture was there, but lie was not; he asked where he was and was told he had gone to the plantation. We had a})|ir('hended that IMenture knew of our coming and had gone to inform the Indians at the town called (Jreat Island, or Monsey town, but when we got to the fort the onicers that lay there wanted to persuade us not to go over, as the Monsey Indians were friendly to the white i>(.'0} le. liut as this was contra- dicted ]>y somi' we concluded to go. When we had crossed the river we saw Menture coming down in a canoe with a hog and some corn which he had brought from his jtlantation. When he came near we called to him, upon which he landed and eniiuired our business, we told him, and asked his advice wliether it was proper to proceed or not. He said they were bad Indians, and that we might use them as we pleased. We went that night to Menture's })lantation and next morning crossed the Monsey hill, and discovered fires, where the Indians lay the night before. Here we consulted whether to pro- ceed or not; at length William I^atterson turned back, and we all followed. When arrived at the top of the Monsey hill, we met witii a party of Indians which we engaged, had two men killed, and four wounded, two of which died that night. We then went and secreted the dead bodies in a small stream to prevent their being dis- «'overed by the enemy. By that time it was night, and we went on about twenty perches, wh(>re the Indians lired on us from behind the point of a hill. About twelve of us %i ( IT'") ) ran U]) the liill where we hoard tliem running l)ut could not see them. We tlien came back to where they had fired on us at first, and found that the rest of our i)arty were gone. We heard somebody coming after, stopped to see who it was, George Allen and two or three n)ore of our men came up to us. We cliose Allen to i)ilot us into the path, which he undertook to do; but after (ravel- ling along the side of ^lonscy hill, with much difiiculty, until midnight, I told him we were going the wrong road; he told me if I knew the road better to go l)cfore. We then directed, our course southward until near day break, when we came to a path, which Allen informed us led from the Great Island, and crost the north branch at Iskepeck falls: in this })ath we travelled initil day light, when we saw a smoke, and i)roceedingten or twelve })erches we saw some Indians sitting al)OUt afire; I then turned to the right into the woods, and some of our men followed me and sonte went on in the path till the In- dians saw them, and sctized their guns; we tlien raised our gunsto fire, but the Indians cried dontshoot brothers, dont shOot; we answered we will not if you do not; wo then went up to them and asked where tbey bad been; they said they had been at the Moravian town buying goods; we told them wo had an ( ngagement tb(» evening before with some of their people; they said it was im- possible, as there were no Indians at the(ireat Island but a few old men and boys, tb(> rest having all gone out a hunting;! told them J knew better; that they were gone to Tuscarora and Shearman's valley to kill the white })eoj)le; that wo had l>ecn waylaid iit HntfalcK! creek by them, and had live men killed and one wounded ; that .lames Patterson's shot i)ouch and j)owder born bad been found near the place, and hewasatireat Island ( 176 ) ^ I! K' Indian, and thoy must come with us. The three In- dians began to tremble, and leaving the victuals they were preparing, proceeded with us. After we had travelled a short distance, I asked George Allen what we should do with the prisoners, he said we would take them to the fort and deliver them up to the commander ; I told him if we do that perliaps they will let them go, or send them to Philadelphia, where tliey would be used better than ourselves by the Quakers; and you know what a defeat I got a few weeks ago at Bulf.do creek, where five of my neighbours was killed and I had hard running to save my own life; I have de- clared revenge on the first Indian that I sav/, and am glad that the opportunity now ofiers ; why said Allen would you kill them yourself, for you can get no person here to helj) you; there is enough said I that will help me to kill them. Where will vou kill them said vMlen ; I told him on the hill that is before us, which lies be- tween the two branches of the Susquehanna river, near the north branch. When we came to the top of the hill the prisoners asked liberty lo eat some victuals, which we allowed them ; they directed us to where we might find it among their 1)aggage, we went and found it, and gave it to them. While tliey were eating we concluded who would shoot at them, there was six of us willing to shoot, two men to each prisoner, and as soon as they were done eating we told tliem to march on before us, and when they had gone about thirty yards, we fired at them and the three fell, l)ut one of them named (Jeorge Allen, after the George Allen that was with us, was shot only through the arm, and fell with that arm up})ern..)st and bloodied his body, which mad(! us believe that he was shot through his body; but after he was scalped, ( 177 ) having a good pair of Icggins on, one of the men had staid behind to take them off, l)efore he could get any but one, the Indian started up and ran; the man was surprised at Jiis raising from the dead, and before he could get any assistance he liad made his escape He afterwards told, that running down the hill he fell aslee]), that after he recovered, he got up to run but the skin of his face, the scalp being off, came down over his eyes so that he could not see, he then look off the leg- gm that was left, and bound it round his face, and when he came to a spring, he took the cold moss of the stones laid It on his head to keep the hot sun from beating in upon his brains, and made out to get to the (;reat Island when he recovered. He threatened to take revenge on George Allen, his name sake, and James Ciallaher, not that they wer(> worse than the others, but because they were the only persons he was acfpiainted with-it how- ever 80 hapi)ened that he never had them in his power ( 1T8 ) Air M i ■( The following Narratives have been received from j^ci'sons, who hare been aaiuainted with many circumstances here related all happened in their own time ; some things they hare been eye witnesses to, and others, they have from un- doubted authority. Our correspondods are mch as ive have every reason to place the fullest confidence in as far as their knowledge of the facts extends. In tlie year IT-")!), captain Jacobs, an Indian chief and forty warriors, came upon the Coves, in Cumberland county, burned and destroyed that little settlement, killed many and took a number of prisoners. One Hugh M'Swine was abroad at the time, when he came liome, he followed after and overtook them at Tussey's Narrows; Jacobs took him for a spy and made him prisoner; there was with this party of Indians, one Jackson a white man, who had joined the Indians, and was more irdustrious and revengeful, than the native Indians; nc.rt morning capt. Jacobs sent M'Swine and another prisoner, under the care of Jackson, and one warrior, by whom he also sent his horse, and a silver mounted gun, while they went in quest of some more of the poor unhappy inhabitants; the Indian and Jackson, with tli(^ two prisoners, travelled until night came on, when they took up their lodging in a waste cabbin, and sent M'Swine to cut rails to make a fire, but when he got the ax he began to think how lie could manage to kill, both Indian ' white man, and inmiediately put his plan into execution; he went in with his iix split down the Indian, but before he had time to strike an- otlier blow, .lacksDU was on his feet, and they instantly ( 179 ) got in grips with eacli otlier; they were both very strong men, and after they had struggled a long time, M'Swine began to fail, and was still calling on the other man to assist him, ])ut he stood trembling, and could do noth- ing; at length M'Swine had the good fortune to get one of the guns in his hand, knocked down his antagonist, and so put an end to him, he scalped both the Indian and Jackson; and next evening arrived at fort Cumber- land,* with capt. Jacobs's horse and gun; col. Washing- ton sent him to Winchester, (Virginia) where he got j)aid for the scalps, horse and gun, and received a lieutenants commission. About this time there was a i^arty of Cherokees, sev- enty in number, who came to the assistance of the j)eople of Pennsylvania; they went in pursuit of a party of Indians as far as the west side of sideling hill, when they despaired of coming up with them and returned. There was some white men along with these Cherokecs among whom was Hugh M'Swine: this party in their return fell in with another party of Indians coming into the settlements to murder, and a skirmish ensued, but by some means M'Swine was parted from his company, and pursued by three Indians, his gun being loaded, he turned round and shot the one nearest to him, and then ran on, and charging again, shot another, upon which the third gave a yell and turned back: the C'herokees shortly after brought in four scali)S and two prisoners of the enemy, one of which was a Sfjuaw, who had !)e( n ■* We liiivc lii'cn iiiinniH'd, lliat the reason of M 'Swine's ;roiiiir so (|ui('kly to fort Cuiiiherlund was, eapt. ilacolis witli liis jiaity iu- 1eM(I(v'. !o attack tlie fort the day after M'Swine arrived tliei'e. lait liy his j.dviiijr itiforuiatioii to col. Washinjitoii, he was iirepared for thcni, and they wore disippointed in tlieir jihiiis, ihi' foil was not tuken. I'lnriou. n 4 Hi w ;l (180) twelve times at war. About this time some CherokeeS and white men went to reconnoitre fort Duquesne, and in returning home the white men was not able to keep uj) with the Indians, and so were left behind in the wilderness, and some of them got home in a very dis- tressing condition. Hugh M'Swine, after many danger- ous enterprises, and much toil and fatigue, many bat- tles and skirmishes with the Indians, in defence of his country, fell by them in a battle near I^igonier. William Mitchel, an inhabitant of Conococheague, had collected a number of reapers to cut down his grain ; having gone out to the field, the reapers all laid down their guns at the fence, and set in to rea)), the Indians suffered them to reap on for some time till they got out into the open field, they then secured their guns, killed and captured them every man. At another time there came a party of Indians into Conococheague and took a number of scalps and pris- oners, for at that time the inliabitants were never secure, no sooner liad one party finished tlieir work of destruc- tion and retreated, than another commenced their depre- dations; however ^arge company of men was quickly collected and pursued those Indians, overtook them at sideling liill and surprised them in their camj), upon which tlie Indians ran ofi' with the greatest ])reci})ita- tion and left thv^ir guns behind, but the white men neglect- ing to secure them, the Indians taking a circuitous course, })rocured their guns, cnme upon them .'ind defeated tliem, but whether the prisoners were rehiiised or not we do not remember of hearing. Vk ' ( 181 ) An account of the Miraculous Escape of John Steel. While John Steel was in his house by himself, having laid down in a bed on the second floor to rest, when he was surprised by an Indian, who had arrived near the head of the stairs. Steel rose up terrified at the sight of an enemy, seized a block of wood, knocked the Indian down, jumped out of a window and ran towards the river, followed by other Indians, who had nearly over- taken him, when he arrived, happily a ))oat passing, the men fired at the Indians, upon which they fled, and Steel was taken on board. His feet were so cut and mangled, having been obliged to run barefoot, that he was unable to stand, though he never felt the pain while running. An Account of the Captivity of Hugh Gibson. I was taken captive by the Indians, from Robison's fort in Shearman's valley, in July, 17oG, at which time my mother was killed ; I was taken back to their towns, where I suffered much irom hunger ;'nd abuse: many times they beat me most severely, and once they sent me to gather wood to burn myself, but I cannot tell whether they intended to do it or to frighten me: liow- ever I did not remain long before I was adopted into an Indian family, and then I lived as they did, though the living was very poor. I was then about fourteen years years of age: my Indian father's name was Busiiueetam : he was lame in consecjuence of a wound received by his knife in skinning a deer; and ))eing unable to walk, he ordered me to drive forks in the ground and cover it with bark to make a lodge for him to lie in, but the VJi m-i \A' I '« ( 182) forks not being secure they gave way, and the bark fell down upon him and hurt him very much, which put him in a great rage, and calling fur liis knife, ordered us to carry him upon a blanket into the hut, and I must be one that helps to carry him in, while we were carry- ing him I saw him hunting for the knife, but my Indian mother liad taken care to convey it away, and when wc had got him again fixed in his l)ed, my mother ordered me to conceal myself, which I did; I afterwards heard him reproving her for putting away the knife; for by this time I liad learned to understand a little of their language. However his passion wore off and we did very well for the future. Some time after this all the i)risoners in the neigh- bourhood were collected to be spectators of the cruel death of a poor unhapj)y woman, a prisoner, amongst which number I was. The particulars is ;is follows, when col. Armstrong destroyed the Kittaning this wo- man fled to the white men, but by some means lost them and fell into the hands of the Indians, who stripping her naked, bound her to a post and applying liot irons to her whilst the skin stuck to the iron at every touch, she screaming in the most i)itiful manner, and crying for mercy, but these ruthless barbarians were deaf to her agonizing shrieks and prayers; and continued their cruelty till death released her from the torture of those hellish fiends. Of this shocking scene at which humnn nature shudders the prisoners were all brought to be spectators. I shall omit giving any particular account of our en- camping and decami)ing and our moving from })lace to place, as every one knows that this is the constant em- ployment of Indians. I had now liecome })retty well ( I8;:i ) acquainted with their manners and customs, had learned their hmguage, and was become a tolerable good hunter, was admitted to their dances, to their sacrifices, and re- ligicas ceremonies, some of them have a tolerable good idea of the Supreme Being, and I have heard some of them very devoutly thanking their Maker, that tliey had seen another si)ring, and had seen the flowers upon the earth ; I observed that their prayers, and praises, was for temporal things ; they have one bad custom amongst them, that if one man kill another, the friends of the deceased if they cannot get the murderer, they will kill the nearest a kin. I one* aw an instance of this, two of them (juarrelled and the one killed the other, upon which the friends of the deceased rose in pursuit of the murderer, but he having made his escape, his friends were all hiding themselves, but the pursuers ha]>pened to find a brother of the murderers, a boy, concealed un- der a log, they immediately pulled him out from his concealment, he ])lead strongly that it was not him that killed the man; this had no weight with the avengers of blood, they instantly sunk their tomahawks into his body and dispatched him. But they have some rules and regulations among them that is good ; their ordinary way of living is miserable and poor, often without food. They are amazing dirty in their cookery, sometimes they catch a number of frogs, and hang them up to dry, when a deer is killed they will split up the guts and give them a plunge or two in the water, and then dry them, and when they run out of i)rovisions, they will take some of the dryed frogs, and some of the deers guts and boil them, till the Uesh of the frogs is dissolved, they then sup the broth. % \f ( 184 ) iii( \i ti Having now been with them a considerable time, d, favourable opportunity offered for me to regain my liberty, my old father Busfjuetam, lost a horse and he Bent me to hunt for him, after searching some time I came home and told him that I had discovered his tracks at some considerable distance, and I thought I could find him, that I would take my gun and pro- vision, and would hunt for three or four days, and if I could kill a bear, or deer I would pack home the meat on the horse; accordingly I packed up some provision, and started towards the white settlements, not fearing pursuit for some days, and by that time I would be out of reach of the pursuers. But before I was aware I was almost at a large camp of Indians, by a creek side ; this was in the evening and I had to conceal myself in a thicket till it was dark, and then passed the camp, and crossed the creek in one of their canoes; I was much afraid that their dogs would give the alarm, but happiiy got safe past. I travelled on for several days, and on my way I spied a bear, shot at and wounded him, so that he could not run; but being too hasty ran up to him with my tomahawk, before I could give him a blow, he gave me a severe stroke on the leg, which pained me very much, and retarded my journey much longer than it otherwise would have been; however I travelled on as well as I could till I got to the Alleghany river, where I collected some poles, with which I made a raft, and bound it together with elm bark and grape- vines, by which means I got over the river, but in cross- ing which I lost my gun. I arrived at fort Pitt in four- teen days from the time of my start, after a captivity of five years and four months. I; ( 185 ) d- Tdkhuj of Fart GrttnrlU. In the time of tlie wnr called Brjuldock's war, the province of Pennsylvania thought proper to erect a fort, at a place called Old Town, at the ])lace where Kisheco- (piilles creek empties into Juniata ; and stationed a com- ])any of enlisted trooi)s therein. Fort Granvill had not stood long l)cfore it was attacked hy a body of Indians, the fort being near to the bank of the river, so that they could not annoy them from the fort; they had likewise ])repared a large quantity of knots of pine and other combustible stufl', into which they put fire, and kei)t a constant throwing the flaming fire brands against the wall of the fort, and by that means set the fort in a flame, and whilst the commander of the fort was endeavouring to extinguish the fire he was killed ; the next in com- mand whose name was Turner, upon this surrendered the fort, and every man was massacred or captivated, except one man that was wounded, who got ofl" and came to Carlisle with great difficulty. When they got to their towns they burned Turner in a most cruel manner. The next attack was upon Bigham's fort in Tuscarora, which they took and burnt, killed and captivated all that was in it, but the manner of taking it we cannot tell, for we never heard of an}' that returned. About the same time they killed Robert Cochran on his own plantation and captivated his wife and son. The Indians at one of their inroads murdered a family of seven persons on Shearman's creek, from thence they passed over the mountain at Croghan's now Sterrett'g gap, and wounded a man, killed a horse, and captured Mrs. Boyde, her two sons and fi daughter, upon Conodo- guinet creek, I i there was a man in the house of the name of George Dodds, that fired at and wounded him, but the Indian, being naked and greasy, Dodds could not hold him, he made to the door, and got clear of them : but all that was in the house consisting of eight personi, were killed. The same evening Dodds and others alarmed Shearman's valley, upon which the inhabitants collected in two com- !■) • if ( 190 ) panics to go and bury the dead. There was the upper company and Buffalo company. The}' all started early the next morning and camo back the same day. The upper company was there first, buried the dead, and re- turned, both companies upon the same road, the upper company came along first, but by the time the Buffaloo company followed, the Indians had laid in ambuscade by the branch of Buflaloe creek, and fired upon them, and five of the company fell, and one was wounded. The other six retreated and so got off. From thence these savages proceeded up the valley about three miles, and discovered five men coming along the road, tiiey concealed themselves in a stable, when the men came near they fired on them and killed John Logan and Charles Coil, and shot William Hamilton through the body, Alexander Logan attempted to ride off", the Indians took a near way, overtook, and killed him, this gave Bartholomew Davis an opportunity of escaping, but William Hamilton not being able to get off, he got over a fence and concealed himself in a hazel thicket, and saw the Indians following the blood and bending the bushes within three steps of where he was lying. It was sometliing very remarkable that while the Indians was on the search of Hamilton, his dog lay by him without ever moving or making the least noise, notwithstanding that dogs have such an aversion to In- dians. After the savages had given over their search, they made themselves merry, dancing and shouting round the deod bodies for near two hours and went ofi'. Hamilton then came out from his concealment, with an intention to go to his own house which was about a mile off, and with great difiiculty got there, but when he got that length he could not get over a fence that was at the ( 191 ) floor, until a company of men coming that way, seeing him believed him to be an Indian, and were about to shoot him, but ui)on going up to him they discovered who he WJ18, all besmeared with blood and dirt. They bound up his wounds, and got one under each arm, and brought him to a house where they had some provision and some liquor, and gave him some of both which re- covered him a little; they now heard the report of sev- eral guns, upon which Hamilton requested the company to leave him to die, and seek their own safety by Hight, they would not, but procured a horse and brought him to Carlisle, where he died a few days after. The guns which they heard proved to be a skirmish between the Indians and a party under capt. Dunning, at the house of Mr. Logan, capt. Dunning and his party, being led to it by the report of the Indians guns shoot- ing Logan's cattle. A short account of the battle of Mousey hill, September 17()-5. It was generally believed if there could be an exi>edi- tion sent out to destroy some of the Indian towns and to annoy them in their own country, it would be the most effectual method to keep them from murdering and massacreing the inhabitants; accordingly a company of volunteers turned out to the amount of about one hun- dred men, and marched up Susquehanna, as far as Mon- sey, and at the foot of a hill of that name they spied some Indians. They held a council what was best to be done, one of the men who had been a captive with them for nine years, advised them to return on the path they came, for the Indians would take round them and come upon their rear, and take them upon disadvantageous Pn ( 1!)2 ) ground; they had not retreated far till they met the Tn- dianH, and a smart ])attle ensued, which lasted till dark. The Indians were in two companies, and one of their captains called Snake w,\h killed ; and when his party found their leader was killed they moved off". When nij?ht came on the white men retired a small distance and lay down to take a little rest, the Indians came round and posted themselves in a thicket a few perches from the white men, they were so near that they heard them cocking their guns and directly they fired on the white men, who were about to return the fire, the captive above mentioned called not to fire, for if they should empty their guns the Indians would rush up with their tomahawks. The white men and Indians lay that near that they could speak to each other ; the Indians hear- ing some of our wounded, making some moaning, called to them that some of them was very sick, our men re- plied that they would serve some of them as they had done the Snake. However, the Indians did not choose to ris(jue another battle, but moved off, and ours came home and brought the wounded, how many there was killed we cannot tell. It was generally believed that this little campaign was a great preservation to the inhabitants, it was supposed that these two companies of Indians were on their way coming down to murder and massacre the inhabitants when the men met them. In the year 1770 the Indians began to make inroads into the settlements of Northumberland county, and coming to the house of Andrew Armstrong, made him prisoner; his wife escaped by concealing herself under a bed until after they were gone. ( 193 ) About this time two families flying from the Indians, were attacked at a place called warrior's run. The men, Durham and M'Knight, were behind driving their cattle; their wives riding before, were fired upon by the Indians. Mrs. Durham's child was shot dead in her arms, at sight of which she fainted and fell from her horse, the other being unhurt, rode on and escaped; the men being alnrmed, fled precipitiitely and escaped. While Mrs. Durham remained insensible, she was scalped, but re- viving, escaped to a place of safety, and recovered. A party of Indians having made two girls prisoner in buffaloe valley, passed on to penns valley, where they discovered from the top of a mountain, a company of reapers in a valley, leaving the girls with one Indian, they proceeded to attack them. After they were goup, the Indian lay down to rest; soon afterwards it began to rain, and one of the girls, on pretence of sheltering him, covered him with leaves ; then seizing an ax, she sunk it into his head. The girls then fled towards the reapers, but being discovered by the Indians, they were fired at, and one of them killed, the other escaped and gave them information of the enemy. A company was collected and went in pursuit of them ; but they re- treated, carrying the dead Indian with them. The inhabitants of Northumberland county, in order to defend themselves from the Indians, built Freclan's fort, Bosly's fort, Bready's, Wallace's and Boone's fort. Capt. liready was killed while bringing provisions to th(; garrison. By the assistance of those forts, the incursions of the Indians were more ofl'ectually opposed. A party of Indians in one of their incursions into Northumberland, captured Peter P(;nce, another man, and a boy. After travelling through snow till night, and ( 194 ) being liiuch liitigucd, they lay down. When the In- dians were all asleep. Pence got his hands loose, and communicated his design of escaping to the other man, who refused to assist him ; he then instructed the boy in the scheme he proposed to execute, they first made themselves masters of all the guns ; then placing the boy at a small distance from them with a gun and Pence with a tomahawk, as soon as the boy fired, fell upon them and killed two, the rest started up and fled preci- pitately, without their guns. Information was aftenvards received, that those who fled were all starved to death but one; being destitute of the means of procuring pro- visions. The two men and the boy returned in safety. A short Account of Mrs. Porter^ s encounto' with three Indians, Mr. Porter, residing in Sinking valley, Huntingdon county having gone to mill, and left Mrs. Porter alone, while in this situation she espied an Indian coming to- wards the liouse. Mr. Porter being a militia captain, had a sword and rifle in the house, his wife with great intrepidity took the sword, and having set the door about half open, waited behind it until the Indian en- tered, when she split his head with the sword, another entered and met the same fate ; the third seeing the fate of his companions, did not attempt to enter. She then took the gun and went up stairs with the expectation of having an opportunity of shooting him from thence, as there was port-holes for the purpose; but became in and followed her up stairs, where she shot him dead. She then came down, and fled with all possible haste, and met her husband coming; they immediately rode to a ■ ( l^^y ) place o^ security. The next morning a party of men went to the place of action, and found there had been other Indians there, who had burnt the house and barn. The Jollowimj 114 of persons killed hy the Indians, luc have been furnished oith by John M^Calhmyh, Eat/., whose Xar- rative of his captivity has been given in the first volume. I shall here enclose a number of names of persons killed and taken from different settlements, during the years 1755, G, 7, and 8, taken from a memorandum of my father. November 1st, 1755, the Great Cove was l>urnt by the Indians, John Martin's wife, two sons and two daughters and many others taken captive. February 11th, 1756, John Craig, and Richard Cox, was taken by them, John Cox made his escape in August following. July 20, 1750, Joseph Martin killed, and John and James M'Cullough taken captive by them from Conoco- cheague. August 27, ( which I presume must have been in 1750) a very great slaughter at the Potomack. wherein thirty nine persons were killed or taken, at a burial, in- cluding seven that was loading a waggon in a field. August 28, 1750, Betty Ramsey, her son and cropper killed, and her daughter taken captive. August 27, 1750, the Indians took one person from the South mountain. March 29, 1757, the Indians made a breach at Rocky springs, where one woman was killed and 11 taken prisoner. (196) April 2, 1757, William M'Kinnie and his son was killed near Chambers's fort. April 17, 1757, Jeremiah Jack near Potomack was taken captive, and two of his pons killed, and one man and one woman drowned in Potomack endeavour- ing to make their escape. April 23, 1757, John Martin and William Blair was killed, and Patrick M'Clelland wounded in the shoulder, who afterwards died of his wound, near Maxwell's fort, Conococheague. May 14, 1757, Major Campbell and one Tussey, was killed or taken captive with fourteen others, near Poto- mack. May 12, 1757, John Martin and Andrew Paul, both old men, taken from Conococheague. May 13, 1757, two men killed near M'Cormick's fort at Conodoguinet. May IG, 1757, eleven persons killed at Paxton, by the Indians. June 6, two men killed and five taken near Shippens- burg. June 9, James Holiday and fourteen men killed and taken; James Long's son and anoiher man, killed in a quarry at fort Frederick ; nineteen men killed in a mill at Quetapahely, and four men killed in Shearman's valley, all in one week. June 17, one man killed at Cuthbertson's fort, four men shot at the Indian while scalping the man. June 24, 1757, Alexander Miller killed and two of his daughters taken from Conococheague; John Kenedy badly wounded, and Gerhart Pendergras's daughter killed at fort Littleton. I I ( 107 ) July 2, one woman and four children taken from Trent's gap; same day oneSpringson killed near Logan's mill, Conococheague. July 8, 1757, two boys taken from Cross's fort, Cono- cocheague. July 9, 1757, Trooper Wilson's son killed at Antieatum creek. I presume this to have been the man that I mentioned Ben. Dickson shot and shaked his scalp at his father, when he was creeping up to shoot a deer. July 18, six men killed or taken from a field near Shippensburgh. July 19, nineteen killed and taken reaping in a field near Shippensburgh. July, 1757, four men killed near Baker's driving waggon to fort Frederick. July 10, 1757, ten soldiers killed at Clapham's fort. July 27, 1757, one M'Kisson wounded, and bis son taken from the south mountain. August 15, 1757, William Manson and his son killed near Cross's fort, Conococheague. August 17, 1757, William Waugh's barn was burnt, in the Tract, York county, by Indians. August 19, 1757, one man killed near Harris's ferry. August 19, 1757, fourteen people killed and taken from Mr. Cinky's congregation. September 2, 1757, one man killed near Bigger's gap, and one Indian killed. September 9, 1757, one boy and girl taken from Donegal. September 26, 1757, Robert Rush and John M'Craken, with five others killed and taken captive near Chani- bersburgh. 18 fmtm mm I* i W) fc r ( 198) October 1 & 2, 1757, a very great slaughter near Opiken in Virginia, where more than sixty were killed and taken. November 9, 1757, John Woods, his wife and mother- in-law and John Archer's wife were killed, four children taken, and nine men killed near M' Dowel I's fort. April 2, 1758, two men killed near Shippensburg. April 5, 1758, one man killed and ten taken near Black's gap, south mountain. April 13, 1758, one man killed and nine taken near Archibald Bard's, south mountain. May 21, 1758, one woman and five children taken from yellow breeches. May 23, 1758, Joseph Gallady killed, his wife and one child taken from Conococheague. May 29, 1759, one Dunwiddie and Crawford shot by two Indians in Carrol's tract, York county. July 20, a boy plowing at Sweetara was shot at by two Indians, ono horse killed and the other wounded. • (199 ) aear lied her- iren near near iken one t by t by id. In order to give our readers some idea of the cause which gave rise to the war with the Indians in 1774, ice have made the folloiving extract, from the appendix to Jefferson'' s Notes on the State of Virginia, Baltimore, printed by W. Pechin, 1800, Page 44. The declaration of Mr. Joiis Heckewelder, for several years a missionary from the society of Moravians, among the western Indians. In the spring of the year 1774, at a time when the interior part of the Indian country all seemed peace and tranquil, the villagers on the Muskingum were sud- denly alarmed by two Runners ( Indians) who reported "that the Big Knife (Virginians) had attacked the l^Iingo settlement, on the Ohio, and butchered even the women with their children in their arms, and that Logan's family were among the slain." A day or two after this, several Mingoes made their appearance; among whom were one or two wounded, who had in this manner effected their escape. Exasperated to a high degree, after relating the particulars of this trans- action, (which for humanity's sake I forbear to mention) after resting some time on the treachery of the Big Knives, of their barbarity to those who are their friends, they gave a figurative description of the perpetrators; named Cresap as having been at the head of this mur- derous act. They made mention of nine being killed, and two wounded ; and were prone to take revenge on any person of a white colour; for which reason the mis- sionaries had to shut themselves up during their stay. mimmm 'h\ ( 200 ) From this time terror daily increased. The exasperated friends and relations of these murdered women and children, with the nations to whom they belonged, passed and repassed through the villages of the quiet Delaware towns, in search of white people, making use of the most abusive language to these (the Delawares,) since they would not join in taking revenge. Traders had either to hide themselves, or try to get out of the country the best way they could. And, even at this time, they yet found such true friends among the Indians, who, at the risk of their own lives, conducted them, with the best part of their property, to Pittsburgh; although, (shame- ful to relate ! ) these benefactors were, on their return from this mission, waylaid, and fired upon by whites, while crossing Big Beaver in a canoe, and had one man, a Shawanese, named Silverheels, (a man of note in his nation) wounded in the body. This exasperated the Shawanese so much, that they, or at least a great part of them, immediately took an active part in the cause ; and the Mingoes, (nearest connected with the former,) became unbounded in their rage. A Mr. Jones, son to a respectable family of this neigh- bourhood ( Bethlehem,) who was then on his passage up ^luskingum, with two other men, was fortunately espied by a friendly Indian woman, at the falls of Muskingum, who through motives of humanity alone, informed Jones of tlie nature of the times, and that he was running right into the enraged; and put him on the way, where he might perhaps escape the vengeance of the strolling parties. One of Jones' men, fatigued by travelling in the woods, declared he would rather die than remain longer in this situation; and liitting acci- dentally on a path, he determined to follow the same. hk ( 201 ) A few hundred yards decided his fate. He was met by a party of about fifteen Mingoes, (and as it happened, almost within sight of White Eyes Town,) murdered, and cut to pieces ; and his limbs and flesh stuck up on the bushes. White Eyes, on hearing the Scalp Halloo, ran immediately out with his men, to see what the matter was ; and finding the mangled body in this con- dition, gathered the whole and buried it. But next day, when some of the above party found on their return the body interred, they instantly tore up the ground, and endeavored to destroy, or scatter about, the parts at a greater distance. White Eyes, with the Delawares, watching their motions, gathered and interred the same a second time. The war party finding this out, ran furi- ously into the Delaware Village, exclaiming against the conduct of these people, setting forth the cruelty of Cresap to women and cliildren, and declaring at the same time, that they would, in consequence of this cruelty, serve every white man they should meet in the same manner. Times grew worse and worse, war parties went out and took scalps and jirisoners, and the latter, in hopes it might be of service in saving their lives, ex- claimed against the barbarous act which gave rise to these troubles and against the perpetrators. The name of Greathouse was mentioned as having been accomplice to Cresap. So detestable l)ecame the latter name among the Indians, that I have fret Logan's brother, became very much intoxicated. At this time all the men were concealed, except the man of the house Baker, and two others who staid out with him. These Indians came unarmed. After some time Logan's brother took down a boat and hat belonging to Baker's brother-in-law, who lived with him, and ])ut them on, and setting his arms a kimbo began to strut about, till at length coming up to one of the men, he attempted to strike him, saying "white man, son of a bitch." The white man, whom he treated thus, kept out of his way for some time; but growing irritated he jumped to hie gun, and shot the Indian as he was making to the door with the coat and hat on him. The men wlio lay con- cealed then rushed out, and killed the whole of them, excepting one child which I believe is alive yet. But before this happened, one canoe with two, another with I, i' n , 212 ) 5 Indians, all naked, painted and armed completely for war, were discovered to start from the shore on which Logan's camp was. Had it not been for this circum- stance, the white men would not have acted as they did ] but this confirmed what the squaw had told before. The white men, having killed as aforesaid the Indians in the house, ranged themselves along the bank of the river, to receive the canoes. The canoe with two Indians came near, being the foremost. Our men fired upon them and killed them both. The other canoe then went back. After this two other canoes started, the one contained eleven, the other seven Indians, painted and armed as the first. Tney attempted to land below our men ; but were fired upon, had one killed, and retreated, at the same time firing back. To the best of my recol- lection there wore three of the Great-houses engaged in this business. This is a true representation of the affair from beginning to end. I wjis intimately acquainted with Cresap, and know he had no hand in that transac- tion. He told me himself afterwards at Redstone old fort, that the day before Logan's people were killed, he, with a small party had an engagement with a party of Indians on Capteener, about 4-i miles lower down. Logan's people were killed at the mouth of Yellow creek on the 24th of May, 1774, and on the 23d, the day before, Cresap was engaged as already stated. I know likewise that he was generally blamed for it, and l)e- lieved by all who were not actjuainted with circum- stances, to have been the perpetrator of it. I know that he despised and hated tlie Greathouses ever afterwards on account of it. I was intimately accpiainted with general Gibson, and served under him during the late war, and I have a discharge from him now lying in the ( 213) cum- ' that wards with > late 11 the land office at Richmond, to which I refer any per!«on for my character, who might be disposed to scruple my veracity. I was likewise at the treaty held by lord Dunmore with the Indians at Chelicothe. As for the speech said to have been delivered by Logan on that occasion, it might have been, or might not, for anything I know, as I never heard of it till long afterwards. I do not believe that Logan had any relations killed exce])t one brother. Neither of the squaws who Avere killed was his wife. Two of them were old women, and the third, with her child which was saved, I have the best reason in the world to believe was the wife and child of general Gibson. I know he educated the child, and took care of it, as if it had been his own. Whether Logan had a wife or not, I cant say; but it is j)robable tliat as he was a chief, he considered them all as his people. All this I am ready to be qualified to at any time. " JOHN SAPPINCJTON. Attest: Samuel M^Kce, Jini. MaddUna Gnuiti/, Feb. lofh, 1800. I do certify further that the al)ove named John Saj)- pington told me, at the same time and })lace at which he gave me the above narrative, that he himself was the man who shot the In-other of Logan in the house as above related, and that he likewise killed one of the Indians in one of the canoes, wliieh came over from the opposite shore. He likewise told \nv that Cresap never said an angry word to him about the matter, although he was fre- quently in company with Cresap, and indeed had been, and continued to l)e, in habits of intimacy with that 14 ^-J-~__ — — • ",!-» If. ( 214 ) gentleman, and was always })efrien(led by him on every occasion. He further told me, that after they had per- petrated the murder, and were flying in the settlements, he met with Cresap (if I recollect right, at Redstone old fort,) and gave him a scalp, a very large fine one as he expressed it, and adorned with silver. This scalp I think he told me, was the scalp of Logan's brother; though as tf) this I am not absolutely certain. Certified by SAMUEL M'KEE, Jun. As Captain John Logan's speech sent to lord Dun- more has been so much celebrated as a sample of Indian eloquence, it may perhaps not be thought improper to give some account of his person. The Editor of this work remembers well, when he was a boy ; that shortly after what was called the second Indian war, I think in the year 17()5, then living in Raccoon Valley, near the foot of the Tuscarora mountain; upon Saturday evening we had a report that the Indians had began to murder the white people, and on Sunday in the forenoon, as we children, were outside of the house, we espied three Indians coming across the meadow, a few rods froui us, we ran into tlu! house and informed our parenb<, who were considerably alarmed at their ai)proaeh; tlie Indians however, set their guns down on the outside of the house, and came in, wiien they were invited to take seats, which tiiey did. After taking dinner, they sat a considera1>le time, Logan could speak tolerable goiKl English ; the other two spoke nothing while there, but In- dian, or something that we could not understand. They apjiearcd to l)e making observations on tiie large wooden i (215) chimney, looking up at it, and laughing:, this we sup- posed to be from a man on the Juniata, not far distant, making his escape up the chimney; when their house was attacked by the In carrying with it the loom and sand it ( 219 ) may have scooped from the country it had occupied, part of which it may have deposited on the shores of North-America, and with part formed the banks of New- foundland. But these are only the visions of fancy. ( 3.) p. 49. There is a plant, or weed, called the James- town weed*, of a very singular quality. The late Dr. Bond informed me, that he had under his care a })atient, a young girl, who had put the seeds of this plant into her eye, which dilated the pupil to such a degree, that she could see in the dark, but in the light was almost blind. The effect that the leaves had when eaten by a ship's crew that arrived at James-town, are well known f. (4. ) p. 92. Mons. Buffon has indeed given an afliict- ing picture of human nature in his description of the man of America. But sure 1 am there never was a pic- ture more unlike the original. He grants indeed that his stature is the same as that of the man of Europe. He might have admitted, that tlie Iroquois were larger, and the Lenopi, or Delawares, taller than people in Eu- rope generally are. But he says their organs of genera- tion are smaller and weaker than those of Europeans. Is this a fjict? I believe not; at least it is an observa- tion I never heard before. 'They have no beard.' Had he known the pains and trouble it cost the men to pluck out by the roots the hair that grows on their faces, he would have seen that nature had not been deficient in that respect. Every nation has its customs. I have seen an Indian beau, with a looking glass in his hand, examining his face for liours together, and j)lucking out by the roots every hair he could discover, with a kind of * Datura paricarpiis erectia ovatis. Ijinn. t An instance of temporary inil)ec'ility produced l)y them is men- tioned. Bcverl. H. ofVirg. 1.. spr 3SC r. I "'•1 ( 220 ) tweezer, made of a piece of fine braes wire, that had been twisted round a stick, and which he used with great dexterity — ' They have no ardour for their females.' It is true, they do not indulge those excesses, nor discover that fondness which is customary in Europe; but this is not owing to a defect in nature but to manners'. Their souls is wholly bent upon war. This is what procures them glory among the men, and makes them the ad- miration of the women. To this they are educated from their earliest youth. When they pursue game with ar- dour, when they bear the fatigues of the chase, when they sustain and suffer patiently hunger and cold ; it is not so much for the sake of the game they pursue, as to convince their parents and the council of the nation that they are fit to be enrolled in the number of the warriors. The songs of the women, the dance of the warriors, the sage council of the chiefs, the tales of the old, the tri- umphal entry of the warriors returning with success from battle, and the respect paid to those Avho distin- guish themselves in war and in subduing their enemies: in short, every thing tliey see or hear tends to inspire them with an ardent desire for military fame. If a young man were to discover a fondness for women before he has been at war, he would become the contempt of the men, and the scorn and redicule of the women. Or were he to indulge himself with a captive taken in war, and much more were he to offer violence in order to gratify his lust, he would incur indelible disgrace. The seem- ingly frigidity of the men, therefore, is the effect of man- ners, and not a defect of nature. Besides a celebrated warrior is ol'tener courted by the females, than he has occasion to court: and this is a point of honor which the men aim at. Instances similar to that of Ruth and ( 221 ) Boaz* are not uncommon among them. For though the women are moilest and diflident, and so bashful that they seldom lift up their eyes, and scarce ever look a man full in the face, yet, being brought up in great sub_ jection, custom and manners reconcile them to the modes of acting, which, judged of by Europeans, would be deemed inconsistent with the rules of female decorum and propriety. I once saw a young widow, whose hus- band, a warrior, had died about eight days before, hast- ening, to finish her grief, and who by tearing her hair, beating her breast, and drinking spirits, made the tears flow in great abundance, in order that she might grieve much in a short space of time, and be married that even- ing to another young warrior. The manner in which this was viewed by the men and women of the tribe, who stood round, silent and solemn spectators of the scene, and the indifference with which they answered my question respecting it, convinced me that it was no unusual custom. I have known men advanced in years, whose wives were old and past child-bearing, take young wives, and have children, though the practice of poly- gamy is not common. Does this favor of frigidity, or want of ardour for the female? Neither do they seem to be dificient in natural aflVction. I iiave seen both fathers and mothers in the deepest alHiction, when their children have been dangerously ill ; though I l)e- lieve the affection is stronger m the descending than the ascending scale, and though custom forbids a father to grieve innnoderately for a son slain in battle. 'That they are timorous and cowardly,' is a character with * When Hon/, hud eaten ami drank, and his lioart was nierry, lie went to lie down at the end of the heap of eoni ; and Uuth eanie softly : and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. Ruth iii. 7. ( 222 ) ■i which there is little reason to charge them, when we recollect the manner in which the Iroquois met Mons. , who marched into their country ; in which the old men, who scorned to fly, or to survive the cap- ture of their town, braved death, like the old Romans in the time of the Gauls, and in which they soon after re- venged themselves by sacking and destroying Montreal. But above all, the unshaken fortitude with which they bear the most excruciating tortures and death when taken prisonGrs,ought to exempt them from tliat character. Much less are they to be characterised as a people of no vivacity, and who are excited to action or motion only by the calls of hunger and thirst. Their dances in which they so much delight, and which to an European would be the most severe exercise, fully contradict this, not to mention their fatiguing marches, and the toil they vol- untarily and cheerfully undergo in their military expe- ditions. It is true, that when at liome, they do not em- ploy themselves in labor or the culture of the soil: but this again is the effect of customs and manners, which have assigned that to the province of the women. But it is said, they are averse to society and a social life. Can any thing be more inapplicable than this to a peo- ple who always live in towns or clans? Or can they be said to have no 'republic,' who conduct all their af- fairs in national councils, who pride themselves in their national character, who consider an insult or injury done to an individual by a stranger as done to the whole, and resent it accordingly ? In short this picture is not ap- plicable to any nation of Indians I have ever known or heard of in North America. (5) p. 138. As far as I have been able to learn, the country from the sea coast to the Alleghany, and from HBiVI ■HH ■HBI I ( 223 ) the most southern waters of James river up to Patuxen river, now in the state of Maryland, was occupied by three ditferent nations of Indians, eacli of whicli spoke a different language, and were under separate and dis- tinct governments. Wliat tlie original or real names of these nations were, I have not l)een able to learn with certainty: but by us they are distinguished by the names of Powhatans, Mannahoacs, and Monacans, now com- monly called Tuscaroras. The Powhatans who occupied the country from the sea shore up to the falls of the rivers, were a powerful nation, and seem to have con- sisted of seven tri])cs, five to the western and two on the eastern shore. Each of these tribes was subdivided into towns, families, or clans, who lived together. All the nations of Indians in North-America lived in the hunter state and depended for subsistence on hunting, fishing and the spontaneous fruits of the earth, and a kind of grain which was planted and gathered by the women, and is now known by the name of Indian corn. Long potatoes, pumpkins of various kinds, and squashes, were also found in use among them. They had no fiocks, herds, or tamed animals of any kind. Their govern- ment is a kind of patriarchal confederacy. Every town or family has a chief, who is distinguished ])y a particu- lar title, and whom we commonly call 'Sachem.' The several towns or families that com])Ose a tribe, have a chief who presides over it, and the several tribes com- posing a nation have a chief who presides over the whole nation. These chiefs are generally men advanced in years, and distinguished by their prudence and abilities in council. The matters which merely regard a town or family are settled by the chief and principal men of the town ; those which regard a tribe, such as the a])point- /vi : ( 224 ) I i 1 i 4 Ic ■ i ment of hejul wnrriors, or captains, and settling differ- ences between different towns and families, are regulated at a meeting or council of the chiefs from the several towns; and those wliich regard the whole nation, such as tlie making war, concluding peace, or forming alli- ances with the neighboring nations, are deliberated on and determined in a national council composed of the chiefs of the tribe, attended by the head warriors and a number of the chiefs from the towns, wlio are his coun- sellors. In ever}' town there is a council liouse, where the chief and old men of the town assemble, when oc- casion requires, and consult what is proj)er to bo done. Every tribe has a fixed place for the chiefs of the towns to meet and consult on the business of the tribe: and in every nation there is what they call the central council house, or central council fire, where the chiefs of the several tribes, with the principal warriors, convene to consult and determine on their national affairs. When any matter is proposed in the national council, it is com- mon for the chiefs of the several tribes to consult thereon apart with their counsellors, and when they have agreed, to deliver the opinion of the tribe at the national coun- cil: and, as their government Fcems to rest wholly on their persuasion, they endeavour, by mutual concessions, to obtain unanimity. Such is the government that still subsists among the Indian nations bordering upon the United States. Some historians seem to think, that the dignity of office of Sachem was hereditary. But that opinion does not appear to be well founded. The p.achem or chief of the tribe seems to be by election. And some- times persons who are strangers, and rxlopted into the tribe, are promoted to this dignity, on account of their abilities. Thus on the arrival of captain Smith, the first ( 22r, ) founder of the colony of Virginia, Opechancanough, who was Sachem or chief of the Chickahominies, one of the tribes of the Powhatans, is paid to have been of another tribe, and even of another nation, so that no certain ac- count could be obtained of his origin or descent. The chiefs of the nation seem to have been by a rotation among tlie tribes. Thus when captain Smith, in the year 160U, questioned Powhatan (who was the chief of the nation, and whose i)roper name is said to have been Wahunsonacock) respecting the succession, the old cliief informed him, 'that he was very old and had seen the ' death of all his people thrice-'- ; that not one of these 'generations were then living except himself; that he 'must soon die and the succession descend in order to 'his brothers Opichapan, Opechancanough, and Cata- ' taugh, and then to his two sisters, and their two daugh- ters.' But these were appellations designating the tribes in the confederacy. For the persons named are not his real brothers, but the chiefs of different tribes. Accord- ingly in 1618, when Powhatan died, he was succeeded by Opichapan, and after his decease Opechancanough became chief of the nation. I need only mention another instance to shew that the chiefs of the tribes claimed he at m tie- *This is one generation more than the poet ascril)es to tlie life ot Nestor, To il'cde wen gencai un'ropon anihropou Epidliiatk oi oi prosf/u'it aintt tniplien C(V C'/in'onio Ell Ihilo ef/athee, mefa de traitaloisin aiwsticii, 1 IIoM. II. L'")(». Two generations now had passed away, Wise by his rules and hai)])y liy liis sway ; Two ages o'er his native realm he rei^ni'd, And now th' example ot" the third remained. Pori;. I ^1 ( 226 ) their kindred with the head of the nation. In 1622, when Raleigh Crashaw was with Japazaw, the Sachem or chief of the Patowmacs, Opechancanough, who had great power and influence being the second man in the nation, and next in succession to Opichapan, and was a bitter but secret enemy to the English, and wanted to en- gage his nation in a war with them, sent two baskets of beads to the Potowmac chief, and desired him to kill the Englishman that was with him. Japazaw replied, that the English were his friends, and Opichapan his brother, and that therefore there should be no blood shed be- tween them by his means. It is also to be observed, that when the English first came over, in all their con- ferences with any of the chiefs, they constantly heard him make mention of his brother, with whom he must consult, or to whom he referred them, meaning thereby either the chief of the nation, or the tribes in confeder- acy. The Manahoacks are said to have been a con- federacy of four tribes, and in alliance with the Mona- cans, in the war which they were carrying on against the Powhatans. To the northward of these there was another power- ful nation, whicii occupied the country from the head of the Chesapeak bay up to the Kittatinney mountain, and as far eastward as Connecticut river, comprehending that part of New York which lies between the highlands and the ocean, all the state of New-Jersey, that part of Pennsylvania which is watered, below the range of the Kittatinney mountains, by the rivers or streams falling into the Delaware, and the county of Newcastle in the state of Delaware, as far as Duck creek. It is to be ob" served, that the nations of Indians distinguished their countries one from another by natunil boundaries, such ( 227 ) aa ranges of mountains or streams of water. But as the heads of rivers frequently interlock, or approach near to each other, as those who live upon a stream claim the country watered by it, they often encroach on each other, and this is a constant source of war between the different nations. The nation occupying the tract of country last describid, called themselves Lenopi. Tlie French writers call them Loups; and among the English they are now commonly called Delawaree. This nation or confeder- acy consisted of five tribes, who all spoke one language. 1. The Chihobocki, who dwelt oa the west side of the river now called Delaware, a name which it took from Lord De La War, who put into it on his passage from Virginia in the year , but which by the Indians was called Chihobocki. 2. The Wanami, who inbaV)ited the country called New Jersey, from the Rariton to the sea. 3. The Munsey, who dwelt on the upper streams of the Delaware, from the Kittatinney mountains down to the Lehigh or western branch of the Delaware. 4. The Wab- inga who are sometimes called River Indians, some- times Mohickanders, and who had their dwelling be- tween the west branch of Delawnre & Hudson's river, from the Kittatinney ridge down to the Rariton; and 5. The Midiiccon, or Mabattan, who occupied Staten isl- and, York island, (which Irom its being the priiicii)al seat of their residence was I'onnnlly called Mahatton) Long island and that })art of New York and Connecticut which lies between Hudson and Connecticut rivers, from the highland, which is a continuation of tlic Kittatin- ney ridge down to the Hound. This nation had a close alliance with the ►Sbawanese, who lived on the Sus(|ue- hanna and to the westward of that river, as far as the Alleghaney mountains, and carried on a long war with HH ti I ( 228 ) another powerful nation or confederacy of Indians, which lived to the north of them between the Kittatin- ney mountains, or highhinds, and the lake Ontario, and who call themselves Mingoes, and are called by the French writers, Iroquois, l)y the English the Five Nations, and by the Indians to the soutliward, with whom they were at war, Massawomacs. This war was carrying on, in its greatest fury, when captain Smith first arrived in Virginia. The Mingo warriors had i)enetrated down the Susijuehanna to the mouth of it. In one of his excur- sions up the bay, at the mouth of Susquehanna, in 1G08, captain Smith met with six or seven of their canoes full of warriors, who were coming to attack their enemies in the rear. In an excursion which he had made a few weeks l)efoie, up the Rappahanock, and in which he had a skirmish with a party of the Manahoacs, and taken a brother of one of their chiefs prisoner, he first heard of this nation. For when he asked the prisoner, why his nation attacked the English? the prisoner said, because his nation had heard that the English came from under the world to take their world from them. Being asked how many worlds he knew? he said, he knew but one, which was under the sky that covered him, and which consisted of the Powhatans, Manakins, and the Massa- womacks. Being (jucstioned concerning the latter, he said, tliey dwelt on a. great water to the North, that they had many l)oats, and so man}' men that tliey waged war with all the rest of the world. — The Mingo confederacy then consisted of live tribes; three who ar(> the elder, to wit, the Senecas, who live to the West, the Mohawks to the East, and the Onondagas between them ; and two who were called tlie younger tribes, namely, the Cayugas and Oncidas. All these tribes si)eak one language, and ( 229 ) ider sked one, lich assa- he tliey war ■racy 'Ider, awks two •vioas and were then united in a close confederacy, and occupied the tract of country from the east end of lake Erie to lake Cliamplain, and from the Kittatinnoy and High, lands, the lake Ontario and tlie river Cadaraijui, or St. Lawrence. They had, some time l>efore that, carried on a war with a nation, who lived heyond the lakes, and were called Adirondacs. In this war they were worsted : but having made a peace with them, through the inter- cession of the French, who were then settling Canada, they turned their arms against the Lenopi; and as this war was long and doubtful, they, in the course of it, not only exerted their whole force, hut juit in practice every measure which prudence or policy could devise to bring it to a successful issue. For this purpose they bent their course down the Suscjuehanna, warring with the Indians in their way, and having penetrated as far as the mouth of it, they, by the terror of their arms, en- gaged a nation, now known by the name of Nanticocks, Conoys, and Tuteloes, and who lived between Chesa- peak and Delaware bays, and liordering on the tribe of Chihohocki, to enter into Jin alliance with them. Tliey also formed an alHance with the Monakans, and stimu- lated them to war witli tlie Lenopi and their confederates. At the same time the Mohawks carried on a furious war down the Hudson against the Moliieeons and Iviver Indians, and com})elled them to purchase a temporary and precarious peace, l)y acknowledging them to be their su])eriors and ])aying an annual tribute. The L«'nopi being surounded witii en»'mies and hard pressed, and having lost many of their warriors, were at last com- pelled to sue for })eace, which was granted them on con- dition that they should i)ut themselves under the ))ro- tection of the Mingoes, confine themselves to raising 15 — ^ ( 230 ) corn, hunting for the subsistence of their families, and no longer have the power of making war. This is wiiat the Indians call making them women. And in this condition the Lenopis were when William Penn first ar- rived and began the settlement of Pennsylvania in 1682. (6.) p. 148. From the figurative language of the In- dians, as well as from the practice of those we are still acquainted with, it is evident that it was, and still con- tinues to be, a common custom among the Indians to gather up the bones of the dead, and deposit them in a particular place. Thus, when they make peace with any nation, with whom they have been al war, after burying the hatchet, they take up the belt of wampum, and say, ' We now gather up all the bones of those who * have been slain and bury them, &c.' See all the treaties of peace. Besides, it is customary when any of them die at a distance from home, to bury them, and after- wards to come and take up the bones and carry them home. At a treaty Avhich was held at Lancaster with the six nations, one of them died, and was buried in the woods a little distance from the town. Some time after a party came and took up the body, separated the flesh from the bones by boiling and scraping them clean, and carried them to be deposited in the sepulchres of their ancestors. The operation was so offensive and disagree- ble, that nobody could come near them while tliey were performing it. (7.) p. 151. The Oswegatchies, Connosedagos and Cohunnegagoes, or, as they are conmionly called Cagh- newagos, are of the Mingo or Six-nation, who by the in- fluence of the French missionaries, have been separated from their nation, and induced to settle there. ( 231 ) I do not know of what nation the Augquagahs are , but suspect they are a famil}' of the Senecas. The Nanticocks and Conoies were formerly of a nation that lived at the head of Chesapeak bay, and who of late years, have been adopted into the Mingo or Iroquois confederacy, and make a seventh nation. The Mona- cans or Tuscaroras, who were taken into the confederacy in 1712, making the sixth. The Saponies are families of the Wanamies, who re- moved from New Jersey, and, with the Mohiccons, Mun- sies, and Delawares, belong to the Lenopi nation. The Mingoes are a war colony from the six nations ; so are the Cohunnewagos. Of the rest of the northern tribes I never have been able to learn any thing certain. But all accounts seem to agree in this, that there is a very powerful nation, dis- tinguished by a variety of names taken from the several towns or families, but commonly called Tawas or Outa- was, who speak one language, and live round and on the waters that fall into the western lakes, and extend from the waters of the Ohio quite to the waters falling into Hudson's bay. From. Jefferson^s Notes. Page 100, he says, I know of no such thing existing as an Indian monument: for I would not honour with that name arrow i)oints, stone hatcliets, s+cne pipes, and half-shapen images. Of labour on the large scale, I think there is no remain as respectable as would be a common ditch for the drahiing of lands : unless indeed it would be the Barrows, of which many are to be found all over this country. These are of different sizes, some I rrr /J ? ( 232 ) of them .ire constructed of earth, and some of loose stones. That they were repositories of the dead, has been o])vious to all: but on what particular occasion constructed, was a matter of doubt. Some of them have thought they covered the bones of those who have fallen in battles fought on tbo spot of interment. Some ascribed them to the cub^L n, said to prevail among the Indians, of collecting at certain periods the bones of all their dead, wheresoever deposited at the lime of death. Others again supposed them the general sepulchre for towns, conjectured to have been on or near these grounds; and this opini< n wn.b suppcrtrd by the quality of the lands in which thoy ■ >j 'e found, (those con- structed of earth be^ng generall}' in ♦!'<" softest and most fertile meadow grouri'^s on /vei side , . ntl by a tradi- tion, said to be handed down from tlio '. .rigiaal In- dians, that when they settled in a town, the first person who died was placed erect, and earth put about him, so as to cover and support him; that when another died, a narrow passage was dug to the first, the second reclined against him, and the cover of earth rejilaced, and so on. There being one of these in my neighbourhood, I wished to satisfy myself whether any, and which of these opinions were just. For this purpose I determined to open and examine it thoroughly. It was situated on the low grounds of the Rivanna, about two miles above its prin- cipal fork, and oi)posite to some hills, on which had been an Indian town. It was of a spheroidical form, of about forty feet diameter at the base, and had been of about twelve feet altitucie, though now reduced by the l)l()Ugh to seven and a half, having been under cultiva- tion about a dozen years. Before this it wjts covered with trees of twelve inches diameter, and round the base ( 233 ) was an excavation of five feet depth and width, from whence the earth had been taken of which the hillock was formed. I first dug superficially in several parts of it, and came to collections of human bones at different depths, from six inches to three feet below the surface. These were lying in the utmost confusion, some virtical, some oblique, some horizontal, and directed to every point of the compass, entangled and held together in clusters by the earth. Bones of the most distant parts were found together, as, for instance, the smjill bones of the foot in the hollow of a scull, many sculls would sometimes be in contact, lying on the face, on the side, on the back, top or bottom, so as, on the whole, to give the idea of bones emptied promiscuously from a bag or basket, and covered over with earth, without any atten- tion to their order. The bones of which the greatest number remained, were sculls, jaw bones, teeth, the bones of the arms, thighs, legs, feet and hands. A few ribs remained, some vertebrae of the neck and spine, without their processes, and one instance only of the* bone which serves as a base to the vertebral column. The sculls were so tender, that they generally fell to pieces on being touched. The other bones were stronger. There were some teeth which were judged to be smaller than those of an adult; a scull which on a slight view, appeared to be that of an infant, l)ut it fell to pieces on being taken out, so as to prevent satisfactory examina- tion; a rib, and a fragment of an under jaw of a person about half grown; another rib of an infant; and part of the jaw of a child, which had not yet cut its teeth. This last furnishing most decisive proof of the burial of chil- * The OS sncrum. 'f '^ V I i i^ ( 234 ) dren here, I was particular in my attention to it. It was part of the right half of the under jaw. The pro- cesses, by whith it was articulated to the temporal bones, were entire, and the bone itself firm to where it had been broken off, which, as nearly as I could judge, was about the place of the eye-tooth. Its upper edge, wherein would have been the sockets of the teeth, was perfectly smootli. Measurin^j; it with that of an adult, by placing their hinder processes together, its broken and extended to the penultimate grinder of the adult. This bone was white, all the others of a sand colour. The bones of infants being soft, they probably decay sooner, which might be the cause so few were found here. I proceeded then to make a perpendicular cut through the body of the barrow, that I might examine its internal structure. This passed about three feet from its centre, was opened to the former surface of the earth, and was wide enough for a man to walk through and examine its sides. At the bottom, that is, on the level of the circumjacent plain, I found bones; above these a few stones, brought from a cliff a quarter of a mile off; then a large interval of earth, then a stratum of bones and so on. At one end of the section were four strata of bones plainly distinguishable; at the other three; the strata in one part not ranging with those in another. The bones nearest the surface were least decayed. No holes were discovered in any of them, as if made with bullets, arrows, or other weapons. I conjectured that in this barrow might have been a thousand skeletons. Every one will readily seize the circumstances above related, which militate against the opinion, that it covered the bones only of persons fallen in battle; and against the tradition also, which would make it the ( 235 ) common sepulchre of a town, in which the bodies were placed upright, and touching each other. Appearances certainly indicate that it has derived both origin and growth from the accustomary collection of bones, and deposition of them together: that the first collection had been deposited on the common surface of the earth? a few stones put over it, and then a covering of earth, that the second had been laid on this, had covered more or less of it in proportion to the number of bones, and was then also covered with earth ; and so on. The fol- lowing are the particular circumstances which gave it this aspect. 1. The number of bones. 2. Their con- fused position. 3. Their being in different strata. 4. The strata in one part having no correspondence with those in another. 5. The different states of decay in these strata, which seem to indicate a difference in the time of the inhumation. 6. The existence of infant bones among them. But on whatever occasion they may have been made, they are of considerable notoriety among the Indians; for a party passing, about thirty years ago, through the part of the country where this barrow is, went through the woods directly to it, without any instructions or inquiry, and having staid a])out it some time, with ex- pressions which were construed to be those of sorrow, they returned to the high road, which they had left about a half a dozen of miles to pay this visit, and pur- sued their journey. There is another barrow much resembling this, in the low grounds of the south branch of Shenandoah where it is crossed by the road leading from the Rockfish gap to Staunton. Both of these have within these dozen years, been cleared of their trees and put under cultivation, are much reduced in their height. ■'I It TT I :^ J I ■ ■ i\ '! • 1: ( 236 ) and spread in width by the plough, and will probably disappear in time. There is another on a hill in the Blue ridge of mountains, a few miles north of Wood's gap, which is made up of small stones thrown together. This has been opened and found to contain human bones, as the others do. There are also many others in other parts of the country. St. CLAIR'S DEFEAT. The following message from the president of the United States, to Congress, was presented by his Secretary, Mr. United States, Dec. 12, 1791. Gentlemen of the senate, and of tlie house of representatives It is with great concern that I communicate to you the information received from major general St. Clair, of the misfortune that has befallen the troops under his command. Although the national loss is considerable, according to the scale of the event, yet it may be repaired without great difficulty, excepting as to the brave men who have fallen on the occasion, and who are a subject of public, as well as of private regret. A further communication will shortly be made, of all such matters as shall be necessary, to enable the legisla- ture to judge of the future measures which it may be proper to pursue. GEO. WASHINGTON. SIR, ( 237 ) Fort Washington, Oct. 0, 1791. I have now the satisfaction to inform you, that the army moved from fort Hamilton, the name I have given to the fort on the Miami, on the 4th at eight in the morning, under the command of general Butler. The order of march and encampment I had regulated before, and on the third returned to this place to get up the militia. They marched yesterday, and consisted of about three hundred men, as you will see by the en- closed abstract of the muster. I have reason to believe, however, that at least an equal number will be up here by the 10th, and I have left orders for their following us. The monthly return should have accompanied this letter, but it was not ready when I left camp, and has not been forwarded since. I have hitherto found it im- possible to reduce the officers commanding corps to punctuality with respect to their returns, but they are mending. Our numbers, after deducting the garrisons of this place and fort Hamilton, are about two thou- sand, exclusive of the militia. I trust I shall find them sufficient; and should the rest of the militia come on, it would make the matter pretty certain. IJut the season is now go far advanced, that I fear the intermediate posts, which indeed would have been highly necessary, it will be imposssble to establish; in that, however, I must be governed by circumstances, of which I will take care that you will be apprized in due time. Should the enemv come to meet us, which seems to be ex])ected, and be discomfited, there will l)e no difficulties: but if they expect us at the Miami villages, the business will wear another face, and tiie intermediate })osts become more essential. Since the quartermaster has been here, and got into r I TTT- ■\i ( 238 ) his geers, which it took him a little time to do, I am very well satisfied with him, and do helieve he will answer the description which you wore pleased to give me of him; his husiness seems now to he well arranged. In order to communicate with some degree of cer- tainty with your office, I have directed captiiin Buel, when he arrives, to send a serjeant and twelve men to a house that has heen newl}' erected, half way hetween this place and Lexington, to each of which two men are to be sent off" on every Monday morning to carry dispatches. Those for the war othce, or any other public letters, to be put into the hands of Mr. Charles Wilkins, merchant of Lexington, who has engaged to forward all I have occasion to send, regularly once a week : and should you, sir, think proper to use the same route for any of yours, if they are sent to his care, he will forward them to me. I have been led to prefer this channel of communication to that of the river, because it appears to be rather the more certain of the two, though it may be a little more tedious, and because desertion continues to prevail among the troops, and the sending of small parties to such a distance gives great opportunity to ef- fect it. General Butler informs me that no less than twenty-one went off* the night before the army moved from fort Hamilton. I am this moment setting out for the army, which I hope to overtake to-morrow evening, and will write to you again as soon as may be. With great regard and respect, I have the honour to be, Sir, your very humb'e servant. ARTHUR St. CLAIR. To the hon. Major Gen. Knox, Secretary of War. ( 239 ) I to Camp, 81 7nil€8 advanced of Fort Washington, Nov. 1, 1791. Sir, Since I had the honour to write to you on the 21 st ult "■'^♦hing very material has happened and indeed I am ^/resent so unwell, and have been so for some time past, that I could ill detail it, if it had happened — not that that space of time has been entirely barren of inci- dents, but as few of them have been of the agreeable kind, I beg you to accept a sort of journal account of them, which will be the easiest for me. On the 22d the indisposition that had hung about me for some time, sometimes appearing as a bilious colic, and sometimes as a rheumatic asthma, to my great satisfaction, changed to a gout in the left arm and hand, leaving the breast and stomach perfectly relieved, and the ugh entirely gone. This day Mr. Ellis, with sixty mi irom Kentucky, joined the army, and l^rought up a ^aantity of flour and beef. 23d. Two men taken in the act of deserting to the enemy, and one for shooting another soldier and threat- ening to kill an officer, were hanged ui)on the grand parade, the whole army being drawn out. Since the army has halted, the country around this, and a-head for fifteen miles, has been well examined ; it is a country, which had we arrived a month sooner in it, and with three times the number of animals, they would all have been fat now. 24th. Named the fort Jefferson, (it lies in lat. 40°, 4', 22", N.) and marched, the same Indian path serving to conduct us about six miles, and encamped on good ground and an excellent position. A rivulet in front, and a very large prairie which would at the proper season n m :nrarii m V 1''' \m N i 1 1 ( 240 ) afford forage for a thousand horses, on the left. So ill this day that I had much difficulty in keeping with the arm3\ 25th. Very hard rains last night, obliged to halt to- day, on account of provisions; for though the soldiery may be kept very easy in camp under the expectations of provisions arriving, they cannot bear to march in ad- vance, and take none along with them. Received a let- ter from Mr. Hodgdon by express; l^OrXJlbs. flour will arrive the 27th. 26th. A party of militia, sent to reconnoitre, fell in with five Indians, and suffered them to slip through their fingers in their camp; articles to the value of twenty-two dollars were found and divided. The Vir- ginia battalion is melting down verv ftist, notwithstand- mg the promises of the men to the officers; 13 have been discharged by col. Darke to day. 27th. Gave orders for enlisting the levies, with the condition of serving out their time in the present corps. Payomingo arrived in camp with his warriors. I was so unwell could only see him and bid him welcome, but entered on no business — considerable dissatisfaction among the levies about their enlistments. 28th. Some cloathing sent for to fort Washington for the recruits arrived, was begun to be distributed, and will have a good effect; but tlie enlisting the levies does not meet with the encouragement that might have been expected — it is not openly complained of by the officers, but it is certainly privately, by some of high rank, and the measure of tempting them with warm clothing con- demned. Mr. Hodgdon writes me that he is sending forward a, (i[uantity of woolen overalls and stocks, by general Butler's orders — I have ordered them to be de- I (I i ( 241 ) posited at fort Jeft'erson. Some few Indians about us, probably those the militia fell in with a day or two ago — two of the levies were fired upon about three miles off", one killed; two of the militia likewise, one of them got in and the other missing, supposed to be taken. "i9th. Payomingo and his people, accompiinied by captain Sparks and four good ritiemen, gone on a scout, they do not propose to return under ten days, unless they sooner succeed in taking prisoners. 80th. The army moved about nine o'clock, and with much difficulty made seven miles, having left a consid- erable part of the tents by the way, the provisions made by the quarter master was not adequate. Three days' fiour issued to the m. The Indian road still with us. The course tliis day N. 25° W. 31st. This morning about 60 of the militia deserted. It was at first reported, that one half uf them had gone off', and that their design was to plunaer the convoys which were upon the road 1 detached the first regi- ment in pursuit of them, with orders to Major Ham- tramck to send a sufficient guard back with Benham (a commissary) whenever he met with him, and follow them about twenty five miles below fort Jefferson, or until he met the second convoy, and then return and join tlie army. Benham arrived last night; and to-day, November 1st, the army is halted to give the road-cut- ters an opportunity of getting some distance a-head, and that I might write to you. I am this day considerably recovered, and hope that it will turn out, what I first expected it would be, a friendly lit of the gout, come to relieve me from every other c()mi)hunt. Yesterday I was favoured with yours of the 2Sth and 21)th of Sept. I have enclosed my communications } wmmmm ( 242 ) with the old and new contractors, and their answers. My orders for the post to them are not yet definite; but they will be very soon. In the mean time, I expect they are both at work. With great respect, I have the honour to be. Sir, Your most obedient servant. ARTHUR St. C:LAIR. P. S. Your letters for general Wilkinson, and general Scott, Mr. Jones and Mr. Brown, are sent back, and the public thanks in the name of the president, presented to gen. Wilkinson agreeably to your directions. To the hon. Major Gen. Knox, Secretary of War. Sir, Fort Washington, Nov. 9, 1791. Yesterday afternoon the remains of the army under my command got back to tliis place, and I have now the painful task to give you an account of as warm and un- fortunate an action as almost any that has been fought, in wliich every corps was engaged and worsted, except the first regiment, that had been detached upon a ser- vice I had the honor to inform you of in my last dis- patch, and had not joined me. On the 8d instant the army had reached a creek about twelve yards wide, running to the southward of west, which I believe to have been the river St. Mary, which empties itself into the Miami of the lake, at the Miami village, about four o'clock in tlie afternoon, having marched near nine miles, and were immediately en- (243) camped upon a very commanding piece of ground, in two lines, having the above mentioned creek in front. The right wing composed of Butler's, Clarke's and Pat- terson's battalions, commanded by major-general Butler, formed the first line, and the left wing consisting of Bedinger's and Gaither's battalions, and the second regi- ment commanded by lieut.-colonel Darke, formed the second line, with an interval between them of about seventy yards, which was all the ground would allow. The right flank was pretty well secured by the creek, a steep bank, and Faulkner's corps; some of the cavalry piquets covered the left flank. The militia were thrown over the creek, and advanced about one quarter of a mile and encamped in the same order. There were a few Indians who appeared on the opposite side of the creek, but fled with the utmost precipitation on the advance of the militia. At this place, which I judged to be about fifteen miles from the Miami village, I had determined to throw up a slight work, the plan of which was concerted that evening with major Ferguson, where- in to have deposited the men's knapsacks, and every thing else that was not of absolute necessity, and to have moved on to attack the enemy as soon as the first regiment was come up; but they did not permit me to execute either, for on tlie fourtli, about half an hour before sunrise, and when the men had been just dis- missed from the parade (for it was a constant i)ractice to have them all under arms a considerable time before day-light) an attack was made ujjou the militia — those gave way in a very little time, and rushed into camp through mnjor Butler's batttilion, which together with l>art of Clarkr's threw them into considerable disorder, which notwithstanding the exertions of both, and those I.) I ( 244 ) officers, was never altogether remedied, the Indians fol- lowing close at their heels. The fire however of the first line checked them, but almost instantly a very heavy attack began upon that line, and in a few minutes it was extended to the second likewise; the great weight of it was directed against the centre of each, where the artil- lery was placed, and from which the men were repeat- edly driven with great slaughter. Finding no great effect from our fire, and confusion beginning to spread, from the great number of men who were falling in all quarters, it became necessary to try what could be done by the bayonet. Lieutenant colonel Darke was accord- ingly ordered to make a charge with part of the second line, and to turn the left flank of the enemy — this was executed with great spirit — the Indians instantly gave way, and were driven back three or four hundred yards; but for want of a sufficient number of rifle men to pur- sue this advantage, they soon returned, and the troops were obliged to give back in their turn. At this moment they had entered our camp by the left flank, having pushed back the troops that were posted there. Another charge was made here by the second regiment, Butler's and Clarke's battalions, with equal effect, and it was repeated se>^eral times, and always with success ; in all of them many men were lost, and particularly the officers, which, with so raw troops, was a loss altogether irremediable. In that just spoke of, made by the second regiment, and Butler's battalion, mjijor Butler was dan- gerously wounded, and every officer of the second regi- ment fell, except three, one of whom Mr. Creaton was shot through the l)()dy. Our artillery l)eing now silenced, and all the oflicers killed, except captain Ford, who was very badly wounded, and more than half of mm ■W^«^F^».,l" V • ( 245 ) the army fallen, being cut off from the road, it became necessary to attempt the regaining it, and to make a retreat if possible — to this purpose the remains of the army were formed as well as circumstances would admit, towards the right of the encampment, from which by the way of the second line, another charge was made upon the enemy, as if with the design to turn their right flank, but in fact to gain the road. This was effected, and as soon as it was open the militia took along it, followed by the troops, major Clarke with his battalion covering the rear. The retreat, in these cir- cumstances was you may be sure a very precipitate one — it was in fact a flight — The camp and the artillery were abandoned ; but that was unavoidable, for not an horse was left alive to have drawn it off', had it other- wise been practicable. But the most disgraceful part of the business is, that the greatest part of the men threw away their arms and accoutrements, even after the pur- suit, (which continued about four miles) had ceased. I found the road strewed with them for many miles, but was not able to remedy it; for having had all my horses killed, and being mounted upon one that could not be pricked out of a walk, I could not get forward myself; and the orders I sent forward, either to halt the front or to prevent the men from parting with their arms, were unattended to. The route continued quite to fort Jefferson, 29 miles, which was reached at a little after sun-setting. The action began about half an hour before sunrise, and the retreat was attemi)ted half an hour after nine o'clock. I have not yet been able to get returns of the killed and wounded; but major general Butler, lieut. col. Old- 10 (246) \ I 1/ »' ham of the militia, majors Ferguson, Heart, and Clarke, are among the former. Col. Sargent my adjutant-gen- eral, lieut. col. Darke, lieut. col. Gibson, major Butler and the viscount Malartie, who served me as an aid-de- camp, are among the latter, and a great number of cap- tains and subalterns in both. I have now, sir, finished my melancholy tale — a tale that will be felt sensibly by every one that has sympathy for private distress, or for public misfortune. I have nothing, sir, to lay to the charge of the troops but their want of discipline, which from the short time they had been in service it was impossible they should have acquired, and which rendered it very difficult, when they were thrown into confusion, to reduce them again to order, and is one reason why the loss has fallen so heavily upon the officers, who did every thing in their power to effect it; neither were my own exertions want- ing, but worn down with illness, and suffering under a painful disease, unable either to mount or dismount an horse without assistance, they were not so great as they otherwise would, and perhaps ought to have been. We were overpowered by numbers ; but it is no more than justice to observe, that though composed of so many dif- ferent species of troops, the utmost harmony prevailed through the whole army during the campaign. At fort Jefferson, I found the first regiment, which had returned from the service they had been sent upon with- out either overtaking the deserters or meeting the con- voys of provision. I am not certain, sir, whether I ought to consider the absence of this regiment from the field of action as fortunate or otherwise — I incline to think it was fortunate ; for I very much doubt whether, had it been in the action, the fortune of the day had been il ( 247 ) turned : and if it had not the triumph of the enemy would have been more complete, and the country would have been destitute of every means of defence. Taking a view of the situation of our broken troops at fort Jefferson, and that there was no provisions in the fort, I called upon the field officers, viz. lieut. col. Darke, major Hamtramck, major Zeigler and major Gaither, to- gether with the adjutant general for their advice, what would be proper further to be done, and it was their unanimous opinion, that the addition of the first regi- ment, unbroken as it was, did not put the army on as respectable a footing as it was in the morning, because a great part of it was now unarmed — That it had been then found unequal to the enemy ; and should they come on which was probable, would be found so again — That the troops could not be thrown into the fort, both be- cause it was so small, and that there were no provisions in it — That provisions were known to be upon the road, at the distance of one or at most two marches — That therefore it would be proper to move, without loss of time to meet the provisions, when the men might have the sooner an opportunity of some refreshment, and that a proper detachment might be sent back with it to have it safely deposited in the fort. This advice was accepted, and the army put in motion again at ten o'clock, and marched all night, and the succeeding day met with a quantity of flour — part of it was distributed immediately — part taken back to supply tlie army on the march to fort Hamilton, and the remainder ( about fifty horse lf>ads) sent forward to fort Jefferson — the next day a drove of cattle was met with for the same place, and I have information thut both got in : The wounded who had been left at that place, were ordered to be brought here by the return horses. nmmm ^ f( i V: w '.•f t, '_ 1. 1 1^ i ( 248) I have said, sir, in a former part of this letter, that we were overpowered by numbers : of that, however, I have no other evidence than the weight of the fire, which was always a most deadly one, and generally delivered from the ground, few of the enemy shewing themselves on foot, except when they were charged ; and that in a few minutes our whole camp, which extended above three hundred and fifty yards in length, was entirely sur- rounded, and attacked on all quarters. The loss, sir, the public has sustained by the fall of so many brave officers, particularly general Butler and major Ferguson, cannot be too much regretted; but it is a circumstance that will alleviate the misfortune in some measure, that all of them fell most gallantly doing their duty. I have had very particular obligation to many of them, as well as to the survivors, but to none more than to col. Sargent — He has discharged the various duties of his office with zeal, with exactness, and with intelligence, and on all occasions afforded me every as- sistance in his power ; which I have also experienced from my aid de-camp, lieutenant Denny, and the vis- count Malartie, who served with me in that station, as a volunteer. With every sentiment of respect and regard, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant. ARTHUR St. CLAIR. To the hon. Major Gen. Knox, Secretary of War. P. S. Some orders that had been given to colonel Old- ham over night and which were of much consequence, ^ ( 249 ) were not executed ; and some very material intelligence was communicated by captain Slough to general Butler, in the course of the night before the action, which was never imparted to me, nor did I hear of it until after my arrival here. PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 23. Last Wednesday evening lieutenant Denny, aid-de- camp to major general St. Clair, arrived with dispatches for the secretary of war, dated fort Washington, the 17th November. The garrison at fort Jefferson was intended to be con- tinued, and was not conceived to be in any danger; it was well supplied with provisions provided with artillery, and commanded by captain Shailer of the 2nd regiment. Most of the wounded had arrived at fort Washington from fort Jefferson. Piamingo, the Chickasaw chief, had returned safe with his warriors, and captain Sparks, of Clarke's battalion, bringing with them five scalps. The Kentucky militia, under generals Scott and Wil- kinson, all mounted and furnished with twenty days provisions, would probably arrive at fort Washington about the 20th of November. It was expected that the dispersed situation of the In- dians would afford a good opportunity for the militia to make an important stroke yet this winter. The brave major Clark (who covered the retreat with some soldiers ) supposed to be killed, had arrived safe at fort Washington. The levies were generally discharged, excepting those who had enlisted into the regular service. { '■ 1 ( 250 ) I if I AutJientlc list of the killed and wounded in the army of the United States, commanded by major-general St. Clair^ November Ath, 1791. From the returns of the adjutant general. Major gen. Butler, killed. Colonel Sargent, (adjutant general) and the viscount Malartie, acting as aid-de-camp, wounded. Artillery. Killed — Major Ferguson, capt. Bradford, lieut. Spear. Wounded — Capt. Ford. Cavalry. Wounded — Capt. Trueman, lieut. de Butts, cornet Bhines. Ist United States Regiment. Wounded Capt. Doyle. 2nd United States Regiment. Killed — Major Heart, captains Kirkwood, Phelon and Newman, lieutenant Warren, ensigns Balch and Cobb. Wounded — Lieut. Greaton. Ist Regiment of Levies. — Killed — Captains Van Swear- ingen,Tipton and Price: lieutenants M'MathandBoydJ ensigns Wilson, Reeves, Brooks, Chace, and Turner ; ad- jutant Burges; Dr. Grasson. Wounded — Lieutenant colonel Darke ; captains Darke and Buchannen, lieutenants Morgan, Lyle, M'Rhea, Davidson and Price ; adjutant Whistler. 2d Regiment of Levies. Killed — Capts. Cribbs, Piatt? Smith and Purdy ; lieuts. Kelso and Lukins ; ensigns M'Michael, Beattie and Purdy; adjutant Anderson. Wounded — Lieutenant colonel Gibson; major Butler; captain Slough ; lieutenants Thompson, Cummings and Reed; ensign Morehead; adjutant Crawford. Kentucky Militia. Killed — Lieutenant colonel Old- ham, captain Leman, lieut. Brigs, ensign. ( 251 ) PFoundcc?— Captains Thomas and Madison, lieuts. Owens and Stagner, ensign Walter, doctor Ganoe. A^on- Commissioned Officers and Privates. Killed and missing 593. Wounded 214. N. B. Of the first United States regiment a small de- tachment only was in the action, the regiment being on command. The following extracts from the History of the American In- dians ; particularly those nations adjoining to the Mmis- sippi, East and West Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia. By James Adair, Esquire, a trader with the Indians, and resident in their country for forty years. In Tymahse, a lower Cheerake town, lived one of their reputed great divine men, who never informed the peo- ple of his seeking for rain, but at the change, or full of the moon, unless there was some promising sign of the change of the weather, either in the upper regions or from the feathered kalender; such as the quacking of ducks, the croaking of ravens, and from the moistness of the air felt in their quills ; consequently he seldom failed of success, which highly increased his name and profits; for even when it rained at other times they as- cribed it to the intercession of their great beloved man. Rain making, in the Cheerake mountains, is not so dan- gerous an office, as in the rich level lands of the Chik- kasah country, near the Mississippi. The above Cheer- ake prophet had a carbuncle, near as big as an egg, which they said he found where a great rattle snake lay r.' m fS& W Wm '• ^ffl '^'^ui I'tii s 1m |fl ''1 T 'W !1 ( 252 ) dead ; and that it sparkled with such surprising lustre, as to illuminate his dark winter house, like strong flashes of continued lightning, to the great terror of the weak, who durst not upon any account, approach the dreadful fire darting place, for fear of sudden death. When he died, it was buried along with him according to custom, in the town house of Tymahse, under the great beloved cabbin, which stood in the westernmost part of that old fabric, where they who will run the risk of searching, may luckily find it; but if any of that family detected them in disturbing the bones of their deceased relation, they would resent it as the basest act of hostility. The inhuman conduct of the avaricious Spaniards toward the dead Peruviari^ and Mexicans, irritated the natives to the highest pit3h of distraction, against those ravaging enemies of huminity. The intense love the Indians bear to their dea 1, is the reason that so few have fallen into the hands of our physicians to dissect or anatomise. We will hope also, that from a principle of humanity, our ague charmers, and water casters, who like birds of night keep Avhere the Indians frequently haunt, would not cut up their fellow creatures, as was done by the Spanish butchers in Peru and Mexico. Not long ago, at a friendly feast, or feast of love, in West Florida, during the time of a long-continued drought, I earnestly importuned the old rain maker, for a sight of the pretended divine stone, which he had assured me he was possessed of; but he would by no means gratify my request. He told me, as I was an infidel, literally "one who shakes hands with the ac- cursed speech," and did not believe its being endued with a divine power, the sight of it could no ways benefit me; and that, as their old unerring tradition . T ( 253 ) assured them, it would suffer very great damage in case of compliance, he hoped I would kindly acquiesce ; especially, as he imagined, I believed every nation of people had certain beloved things, that might be easily spoiled by being polluted. I told him I was fully sat- isfied with the friendly excuse he made to my incon- siderate request: but that I could scarcely imagine there were any such beloved men, and beloved things, in so extremely fertile, but now sun burnt soil. Their crops had failed the year before, by reason of several concurring causes: and for the most part of the summer season, he had kept his bed through fear of incurring the punishment of a false prophet: which, joined with the religious regimen, and abstemious way of living he was obliged strictly to pursue, it sweated him so severely, as to reduce him to a skeleton. I jested him in a friendly way, saying, I imagined, the supreme holy fire would have proved more kind to his honest de- votees, than to sicken him so severely especially at that critical season, when the people's food, and his own entirely depended on his health: that, though our beloved men never undertook to bring down seasonable rains, yet we very seldom failed to have good crops, and always paid them the tenth basketful of our yearly produce ; because, they persuaded our young people, by the force of their honest example, and kind-hearted enchanting language, to shun the crooked ways of TTnnurl' ' (llakse, " the mad light of the people," and to shake hands with the old beloved speech — .t I j;reat, supreme, fatherly chieftain, had told his acht lo teach us how to obtain peace ar^d plenty, and every other good thing while we live here, and when we tUe, not only to shun the accursed dark place, where the j'l II ', ( ♦• > li -m \i tU I 1,1 1 '^ * 1 n ( 254 ) sun is every day drowned, but likewise to live again for ever, very happily in the favourite country. He replied that my speech consisted of a mixture of good and ill; the beginning of it was crooked, and the conclusion straight. He said I had wrongfully blamed him, for the effect of the disorderly conduct of the red people and himself, as it was well known he fasted at different times for several days together; at other times ate green tobacco leaves ; and some days drank only a warm decoction of the button snake root, without allow- ing any one, except his leligious attendant, to come near him ; and in every other respect, had honestly ob- served the austere rules of his religious place according to the beloved speech that Ishtohoollo Eloa Aha gave to the Loache of their forefathers : but Loak Ishtohoollo was sorely vexed with most of their young people for violat- ing the chastity of their neighbours wives, and even among the thriving green corn and peas, as their beds here and there clearly proved; thus, they spoiled the power of his holy things, and tempted Mingo Ishto Eloa, "the great chieftan of the thunder," to bind up the clouds, and withhold the rain. Besides, that the old women were less honest in paying their rain-maker, than the ICnglish women behaved to their beloved men, unless I had spoken too well of them. The wives of this and the other person, he said, had cheated him, in not paying him any portion of the last year's bad crop, which their own bad lives greatly contributed to, as that penurious crime of cheating him of his dues, sufficiently testified; not to mention a late custom, they had con- tracted since ^the general peace, of planting a great many fields of beans and peas, in distant i)laces, after the summer crops were over, on the like dishonest prin- , ( 255 ) ciple ; likewise in affixming, that when the harvest was over, it rained for nothing; by that means they had blackened the old beloved speech that Ishtohoollo Eloa of old spoke to his Loache, and conveyed down to him, only that they might paint their own bad actions white. He concluded, by saying, that all the chieftains, and others present, as well as myself, knew now very well, from his honest speech, the true cause of the earth's having been so strangely burnt till lately ; and that he was afraid, if the hearts of those light and mad peor^le he complained of, did not speedily grow honest, the dreadful day would soon come, in which Loak Ishto- hoollo would send Phutchick Keeraah Ishto, " the great blazing star," Yahkane eeklenna, Loak loachache^ " to burn up half of the earth with fire," Pherimmi Aiiibe, " ^rom the north to the south," Hasse oobea pera, "toward the setting of the sun," where they should in time arrive aL the dreadful place of darkness, be confined there hungry, and otherwise sorely distrost among hissing snakes, and many other frightful creatures, according to the ancient and true speech that Ishlo)ioollo Aha spoke to his beloved Loache. I shall insert a dialogue, that formerly passed between the Chikkasah Loache and me, which will illustrate both this, and other particulars of the general subject ; and also show the religious advantages and arguments, by which the French used to undermine us with the Indians. Vv'e had been speaking of trade, wliich is the usual topic of discourse with those craftnien. 1 asked liini how he could reasonably blame the English traders tor cheating Tekapc humiiuih^ "the red folks," even allowing his accusations to be just: as he, their divine man, had cheated them out of a great part of their crops, and had - d 'I' 'i\ w l»i.- 1:' 41 . I ('I ' ( 256 ) the assurance to claim it as his religious due, when at the same time, if he had shaked hands with the straight old beloved speech, or strictly observed the ancient di- vine law, his feeling heart would not have allowed him to have done such black and crooked things, especially to the helpless, the poor, and the aged : it rather would have strongly moved him to stretch out to them a kind and helping hand, according to the old beloved speech of Ishtohoollo Aba to his Hottuk lahtohoollo, who were sufficiently supported at the public expense, and strictly ordered to supply with the greatest tenderness, the wants of others. He smartly retorted my objections, telling me, that the white people's excuses for their own wrong conduct, were as false and weak as my complaints were against him. Tlie red people, he said, saw very clearly through such thin black paint; though his sacred employment was equally hid from them and me; by which means, neither of us could reasonably pretend to be proper judges of his virtuous conduct, nor blame him for the necessary etlect of our own crimes ; or urge it as a plea for cheating him out of his yearly dues, contrary to the old divine speech, for the crops became light by their own vicious conduct, which spoiled the i)ower of his holy things. So that it was visible, both the red and white people were commonly too partial to themselves ; and that by the bounty of the supreme fatherly Chieftain, it was as much out of his power, as distant from his kindly heart either to wrong the beloved red people, or the white nothingp ; and that it became none, except mad light people, to follow the crooked steps of Hottuck OoJqn'oose, the accursed people. As there was no interruption to our winter-night's chat, I asked him in a friendly manner, whether he was ^sm ( 257 ) not afraid, thus boldly to snatch at the divine power of distributing rain at his pleasure, as it belonged only to the great beloved thundering Chieftain, who dwells far above the clouds, in the new year's unpolluted holy fire, and who gives it in common to all nations of people alike, and even to every living creature over the face of the whole earth, because he made them — and his merci- ful goodness always prompts him to supply the wants of all his creatures. He told me, that by an ancient tradition their Loache were possessed of an extraordinary divine power, by which they foretold hidden things, and by the beloved speech brought down showers of plenty to the beloved people ; that he very well knew, the giver of virtue to nature resided on earth in the un- polluted holy fire, and likewise above the clouds and the sun, in the shape of a fine fiery substance attended by a great many beloved people ; and that he contin- ually weighs us, and measures out good or bad things, to us, according to our actions. He added, that though the former beloved speech had a long time subsided, it was very reasona})le they should continue this their old beloved custom ; especially as it was both profitable in supporting many of their helpless old beloved men, and very productive of virtue, by awing their young people from violating the ancient laws. This shewed hiiu to be cunning in priest craft, if not possessed of a tradition from the Hebrew records, that their j)r()phets by tlie di- vine power, had on material occasions, acted beyond the stated laws of nature, and wrought miracles. My old pro])hetic friend told me, with a good deal of surprize, that though the beloved red peo[)le liad by some means or otiier, lost the old beloved sj)eech ; yet Frcnahe Lakkaue ooAp'oo, "the ugly yellow Frencii," (as ■I ' , • 'II wr^ i' ( 258. ) they term the Mississippians ) had by some wonderful method obtained it ; for his own people, he assured me, had seen them at New Orleans to bring down rain in a very dry season, when they were giving out several bloody speeches to their head warriors against the Eng- lish Chikkasah traders. On a mischievous politic invi- tation of the French, several of the Chikkasah had then paid them a visit in the time of an alarming drought and a general fast, when they were praying for season- able rains at mass. When they came, the interpreter was ordered to tell them^ that the French had holy places and holy things, after the manner of the red people — that if their young people proved honest, they could bring down rain whenever they stood in need of it — and that this was one of the chief reasons which in- duced all the various nations of the beloved red people to bear them so intense a love ; and on the contrary, so violent and inexpressible an hatred even to the very name of the English, because every one of them was marked with Anumbole Ookproo, " the curse of God. The method the Chikkasah prophet used in relating the affair, has some humour in it — for their ignorance of the Christian religion, and institutions, perplexes them when they are on the subject; on which account I shall literaHy transcribe it. He told nic, that the Chikkasah warriors during three successive days, accompanied the French Loache and Ishtohoollo to the great beloved house, where a large bell hung ato]), which strange sight exceedingly surprized them ; for, instead of being fit for a horse, it ■ mid re- quire a great many ten horses to carry it. Around the inside of the beloved house, there was a multitude of he and she beloved people, or male and female saints and ( 259 ) re- the he and angels, whose living originals, they affirmed, dwelt above the clouds, and helped them to get every good thing from Ishtohoollo Aha^ when they earnestly crave their help. The French beloved men spoke a great deal with much warmth ; the rest were likewise busily employed in imi- tation of their Ishtohoollo and Loache. At one time they spoke high, at another low. One chose this and an- other that song. Here the men kneeled before the images of their she beloved people ; there the women did the like before their favourite and beloved he-pic- tures, entreating them for some particular favour which they stood in need of. Some of them, he said, made very wild motions over their heads and breast; and others struck their stomachs with a vehemence like their warriors, when they drink much Ookka Homma, "bitter waters," or spiritous liquor; while every one of them had a bunch of mixed beads, to which they frequently spoke, as well as counted over; that they loved these beads, for our people strictly observed, they did not give them to their Loache and Ishtohoollo, as the red people would have done to those of their own country, though it was very plain they deserved them, for beating them- selves so much for the young people's roguish actions ; and likewise for labouring so strongly in ])ulling off' their clothes, and putting them on again, to make the beloved physic work, which they took in small pieces, to help to bring on the rain. On the third day (added he) they brought it down in great plenty, which was certainly a very difficult performance; and an surprising too, that they who are always, when opportunity an- swers, persuading the red people to take up the bloody hatchet against their old steady friends, should still have the beloved speech, which Ishtohoollo Aba Eloa for- i ( 260 ) merly spoke to his beloved Loache. friendly discourse. Thus ended our ; t Every spring season, one town or more of the Missis- sippi Floridians, keep a great solemn feast of love, to renew their old friendship. They call this annual feast, Hottuk Aimpa, Hecttla, Tanaa, " the people eat, dance and walk as twined together." The short name of their yearly feast of love, is Hottuk Impanaa, eating by a strong religious or social principle; Impanaa signifies several threads or strands twisted or warped together. Hissoobiatarakshe, and Yelphoha Panaa, is "a twisted horse-rope," and " warped garter."* This is also con- trary to the usage of the old heathen world, whose festi- vals were in honour to their chief Idols, and very often accompanied with detestable lewdness and debauchery. They assemble three nights previous to their annual feast of love; on the fourth night they eat together. During the intermediate space, the young men and women dance in circles from the evening till morning. The men masque their faces with large pieces of gourds of different shapes and hyeroglyphic paintings. Some of them fix a pair of young buffido horns to their head ; others the tail, behind. When the dance and their time is expired, the men turn out a hunting, and bring in a sufficient quantity of venison, for the feast of renewing their love, and confirming their friendship with each other. The women dress it, and bring the best they have along with it; which a few springs past, was only *The name of a horse-rope is derived from Tarakshe "to tie," and Jlissoolxi "an elk, or liorse that carries a burthen:"' which suggests tluvt they formerly saw elks carry burthens, though perhaps not in the northern provinces. (261 ) a variety of Esau's small red acorn pottage, as their crops had failed. When they have eaten together, they fix in the ground a large pole with a bush tied at top, over which they throw a ball. Till the corn is in, they meet there almost every day, and play for venison and cakes, the men against the women ; which the old people people say they have observed for time out of mind. Notwithstanding the North American Indians, like the South-Americans, inter the whole riches of the deceased with him, and so make his corpse and the grave heirs of all, they never give them the least dis- turbance ; even a blood-thirsty enemy will not despoil or disturb the dead. The grave proves an asylum, and a sure place of rest to the sleeping person, till at some certain time, according to their opinion, he rises again to inherit his favourite place, — unless the covetous, or curious hand of some foreigner, should brake through his sacred bounds. This custom of burying the dead person's treasures with him, has entirely swallowed up their medals, and other monuments of antiquity, with- out any probability of recovering them * * In the Tuccabatches on the Tallapoose river, thirty miles above the Allabaharaah garrison, are two brazen tablets, and five of cop- per. They esteem them so sacred as to keep them constantly in their holy of holies, without touching them in the least, only in the time of their compounded first fruit-offering, and annual expiation of sins; at which season, their magus carries one under his arm, ahead of the people, dancing round the sacred arbour; next to him their head-warrior carries another; and those warriors who chuse it, carry the rest after the manner of the high-priest; all the others carry white canes with swan feathers at the top. Hearing accident- ally of these important monuments of antitjuity, and iMKpiiring pretty much about them, I was certified of the truth of the report by 17 ^ii'l 1^ i/ii \ n I, ^^ ( 262 ) The Cheerake, notwithstanding they have corrupted most of their primitive customs, observe the law of purity in so strict a manner, as not to touch the corpse of their nearest relation although in the woods. The fear of pollution (not the want of natural affection, as the unskilful observe) keeps them from burying their dead, in our reputed unsanctified ground, if any die as they are going to Charlestown, and returning home; because they are distant from their own holy places and holy things, where only they could perform the religious obsequies of their dead, and purify themselves accord- ing to law. An incident of this kind happened several years since, a little below Ninety-six, as well as at the r , 1 i i ■ J RW| i \ E|k| ■ ii Im ',m "u wi , mi^ "' Iwti ( 268 ) he told me the dance was called Keetia Ishto Hoollo, " a dance to, or before the great holy one;" that it kept off evil spirits, witches, and wizards from the red people ; and enabled them to ordain elderly men to officiate in h^ly things, as the exigency of the times required. He who danced to it, kept his })lace and posture in a ver}"^ exact manner, without the least perceivable varia- tion ; yet by the prodigious working of his muscles and nerves, he in about half an hour foamed in a very ex- traordinary manner, and discontinued it proportionally, till he recovered himself This surprising custom I have mentioned here, because it was usual among the He- brews, for their proi.hrts to become furious, and as it were beside themselves, when they were about to pro- phesy. Thus with j-egard to Saul, it seems that he be- came furious, and tortured his body with violent ges- tures: and when Elisha sent one of the children of the prophets to anoint Jehu, one said to him, wherefore Cometh this mad fellow? The Chaldee paraphrast, on 1 Sam. xviii. 10. concerning Saul's prophesying, para- phrases it, ca>pit furire, " he began to grow mad, ttc." In the year 1705, an old physician or prophet, almost drunk with spirituous liquors, came to pay me a friendly visit: his situation made him more than he would have been if (juite sol)er. When he came to the door, be bowed himself half bent, with his arms extended north and south, continuing so perhaps for the s})ace of a minute. Then raising himself erect nath his arms in the same position, he loolaxl in a wild frightful manner from the south west toward the north, and sung on a low bass key Yo Vo Yo Yo, almost a minute, then Ifr He lie He, for perhaps the same space of time, and If a Ma Wa If a, ( 269 ) in like manner; and then transposed, and accented those sacred notes several different ways, in a most rapid gut- tural manner. Now and then he looked upwards, with his head considerably bent backward ; his song continued about a quarter of an hour. As my door which was then open stood east, his face of course looked toward the west; but whether the natives thus usually invoke the deity I cannot determine: yet as all their winter houses have their doors toward the east, had he used the like solemn invocations there his face would have conse- quently looked the same way, contrary to the usage of the heathens. After his song, he stepped in : I saluted him, saying "Are you come my beloved old friend?" he replied, ylm/ire-0. "lam come in the name of Oea." I told him I was glad to see that in this mad age, he still retained the old Chikkasah virtues. He said, that as he came with a glad heart to see me his old friiMid, he imagined he C(»uld not do me a more kind service, than to secure my house from the power of tlie evil spirits of the north, south and west — and from Avitches and wizards, who go al)0ut in dark nights, in the shape of bears, hogs, and wolves, to spoil people: ''the very month before, added he, we killed an old witch for hav- ing used destructive charms." Ik^cause a child was sud- denly taken ill and died, on the physician's false evi- dence, the father went to the poor hel[>less old woman who was sitting innocent, and unsuspecting, and sunk his tomahawk into her head, witliout the least fear of being called to an account. They call witches and wiz- ards Is/itohc, and Hool/fihe^ "man killers, and spoilers of things sacred." My ])r()phetic friend desired me to think myself scn-ure from those dangerous enemies of darkness, for (said he) Taroon JfiJduhoollo-A ntarouare,^' I have sung I i, !.: ' 'ill i :lji.s ( 270 ) the song of the great holy one." The Indians are so tenacious of concealing their religious mysteries, that I never before observed such an invocation on the like oc- casion — adjuring evil spirits, witches, etc. by the awful name of deity. The Spanish artists have furnished the savage war- chieftain, or their Emperor Montezuma, with very spacious and beautiful palaces, one of which they raised on pillars of fine jasper; and another wrought with ex- quisite skill out of marble, jasper, and other valuable stones, with veins glistering like rubies, — they have finished the roof with equal skill, composed of carved and painted cypress, cedar and pine trees, without any kind of nails. They should have furnished some of the chambers with suitable pavilions and beds of state; but the bedding and furniture in our northern Indian huts, is the same with what they were pleased to describe in the wonderful Mexican palaces. In tliis they have not done justice to the grand red monarch, whom they raised up, (with his 1000 women, or 3000 according to some,) only to magnify the Si)anish power by over- throwing him. Montezuma in an oration to his people, at the arrival of the Spaniards, is said by ^Malvendn, to have per- suaded his ])oople to yield to the power of his Catholic ]Majest} 's arms, for their own forefathers were strangers in that land, and brought there long before that period in a tleet. The emi)eror, Avho they pretend l)ore such universal arbitrary sway, is raised by their pens, fron; the usual rank of a war chieftain, to his imperial great- ness: But de8})otie power is death to their ears, as it is destructive of their darling liberty, and reputed theo- i: ' it » ( 271 ) cratic government; they have no name for a subject, but say, "the people." In order to carry on the self flatter- ing war romance, they began the epocha of that great fictitious empire, in the time of the ambitious and form- idable Montezuma, that their handful of heaven fav- oured popish saints might have the more honour in destroying it: had they described it of a long continu- ance, they foresaw that the world would detect the fallacy, as soon as they learned the language of the pre- tended empire; correspondent to which, our own great Emperor Powhatan of Virginia, was soon dethroned. We are sufficiently informed by the rambling Miss^is- sippi Indians, that Motchshuma is a common high war name of the South American leaders ; and which the fate he is said to receive, strongly corroborates. Our Indians urge with a great deal of vehemence, that as every one is promoted only by public virtue, and has his equals in civil and martial affairs, those Spanish books that have mentioned red emjjerors, and great em- pires in America, ought to be l)urnt in some of the remaining old years accursed fire. And this Indian fixed o})inion seems to be sufficiently confirmed by the situation of Mexico, as it is only about ol") miles from south to north; and narrower than 200 miles along the northern coast — an-l lies between Thiscala and Mechoa- chan, to the west of the former, and east of the latter, whence the Mexicans are continually harrassed Ity tliose lurking swift-footed s.vages, who could secure their retreat home in the space of two or three days. When we consider the vicinity of those two inimical states to the pretended ])uissant empire of Mexico, whieh niight have easily crushed them to pieces, with her tbrmidable armies, in order to secure the lives of the subjeets, and If m i-ti w 5 . !,'.! ( 272 ) credit of the state, we may safely venture to affirm, from the long train of circumstances already exhibited, that the Spanish Peruvian and Mexican empires are without the least foundation in nature; and that the Spaniards defeated the tribes of Mexico (properly called Mechiko) tfec, chiefl}'' by the help of their red allies. In their descriptions of South America and its native inhabitants, they treat largely of heaven, hell, and purgatory ; lions, salamanders, maids of honour, maids of penance, and their abl)esses; men whii)ping them- selves with cords; idols, mattins, monastic vows, clois- ters of young men, with a prodigious group of other popish inventions: and we must not forget to do justice to those industrious and sagacious observers, who dis- covered two golgothas, or towers made of human skulls plaistered with lime. Acosta tells us, that Andrew de Topia assured him, he and Gonsola de Vimbria reckoned one hundred and thirty six thousand human skulls in them. The temple dedicated to the air, is like- wise worthy of being mentioned, as they assert in the strongest manner, that five thousand priests served con- stantly in it, and obliged every one who entered to bring some human sacrifice : that the walls of it were an inch thick, and the floor a foot deep with black, dry clotted blood. If connected herewith we reflect, that beside this blood thirsty god of the air, the Spaniards have rei)resented them as worship))ing a multitude of idol gods iivd goddesses, ^ao less than two thousand according to ivop-cz de (Jomara) and sacrificing to them chiefly human victims; and that the friars are reported by Spanish bisliop of Mexico, in his letters of the year 1532, to have brokei) down twenty thousand idols, and desolated five hundred idol temples, where the natives : ! f ( 273 ) sacrificed every year more than twenty thousand hearts of boys and girls; and that if the noblemen were burnt to ashes, they killed their cooks, butlers, chaplains, and dwarfs-^ — and had plenty of targets, maces and ensigns hurled into their funeral piles ; this terrible slaughter, points out to us clearly from their own accounts, that these authors either gave the world a continued chain of falsehoods, or those sacrifices and human massacres they boastingly tell us of, would have long before they came, utterly depopulated Peru and Mexico. I shall now quote a little of their less romantic de- scription, to confirm the account I have given concern- ing the genuine rites and customs of our North Ameri- can Indians. The ornaments of the Indians of South and North America were formerly and still are alike, without the least difference except in value. Those superficial writers agree, that the men and women of Peru and Mexico wore golden ear-rings and bracelets around their necks and wrists ; that the men wore rings of the same metal in their nose, marked their bodies with various figures, painted their faces red, and the Avomen their cheeks, which seems to have been a very early and general cus- tom. They tell us, that the coronation of the Indian kings, and installment of their nobles, was solenmized with comedies, banquets, lights, ttc. and that no plebe- ians were allowed to serve before their kings; they must be knights of noblemen. All those high sounding titles are only a confused picture of the general method of the * With rt'f^ard to Indiiiii dwurfs, I never heard of, or saw any iu the northern nations, but one in Ishtatoe, a northern town of the middle part of the (Jheerake country — and lie was a great heU)ved man. i I m m ( 274 ) Indians in crowning their warriors, performing their war dances, and esteeming those fellows as old women, who never attended the reputed holy ark with success for the beloved brethren. Don Antonio de Ulloa informs us that some of the South American natives cut the lobes of their ears, and for a considerable time fastened small weights to them, in order to lengthen them ; that others cut holes in their upper and under lips ; through the cartilage of their nose, their chins and jaws, and either hung or thurst through them, such things as thoy most fancied, which also agrees with the ancient customs of our Northern Indians. Emanuel de Moraes and Acosta affirm, that the Bra- silians marry in their own fiimily or tribe. And Jo. de Laet says, they call their uncles and aunts, " fathers and mothers," \vhich is a custom of the Hebrews, and of all our North American Indians ; and he assures us they mourn very much for their dead; and that their clothes are like those of the early Jews. Ulloa assures us, that the South American Indians have no other method of weaving carpets, ({nilts, and other stuffs, but to cor the threads one by one, when they are passing tli<- woof; that they spin cotton and linen, as their chief manufacture, and paint their cloth with the images of men, beasts, birds, fishes, trees, flowers, c^'C, and tLxit each of those webs were adapted to one certain use, without lieing cut, and that their patience was equal to so arduous a task. According to this description, there is not the least disjjarity between the ancient North American method of manufacturing, and that of the South Americans. Acosta writes, that the clothes of the South American Indians are shaped like those of the ancient Jews, being ( 275 ) a square little cloak, and a little coat: and the Rev. Mr. Thorowgood, anno 1650, observes, that this is a proof of some weight in shewing their original descent; especi- ally to such who pay a deference to Seneca's parallel arguments of the Spaniards having settled Italy; for the old mode of dress is universally alike, among the Indian Americans. Laet, in his description of America, and Escarbotus, assure us, they often heard the South American Indians to repeat the sacred word Halleluiah^ which made them admire how they first attained it. And Malvenda says, that the natives of St. Michael had tomb stones, which the Sjjaniards digged up, with several ancient Hebrew characters upon them, as " Why is God gone away?'' And, "He is dead, God knows." Had his curiosity induced him to transcrilje the epitaph, it would have given more satisfaction ; for as j'et they repeat the divine essential name, Yo He (ta) Wah, so as not to i)rophane it, when they mourn for their dead, it is pro])able, they could write or engrave it, after the like manner, when they first arrived on this main continent. We are told, thrt the South American Indians have a firm hope of the resurrection of their bodies, at a certain period of time; and that on this account they bury their most valuable treasures with their dead, as well as the most useful conveniences for future domestic life, such as their bows and arrows. And when they saw the Spaniards digging up their graves for gold and silver, they re(iuested them to forbear scattering the bones of their dead in that manner, lest it should prevent their being raised and united again.* * Vid. Ceuto ad Soliii. Beuz. .t Hist. Peruv. i , Pi (I ( 276 ) Monsieur de Poutrincourt says, that when the Canada Indians saluted him, they said Ho Ho Ho; but as we are well assured, they express Yo He a Ah, in the time of their festivals and other rejoicings, we liave reason to conclude he made a very material mistake in setting down the Indian solemn blessing, or invocation. He likewise tells us, that the Indian women will not marry on the graves of their husbands, i. e. "soon after their decease;" but wait a long time before they even think of a second husband. That if the husband was killed, they would neither enter into a second marriage nor eat flesh, till his blood had been revenged; and that after child-bearing, they observe the Mosaic law of purifica- tion, shutting up themselves from their husbands for the space of forty days. Peter Martyr writes, that the Indian widow married the brother of her deceased husband, according to the Mosaic law; and he says, the Indians worship that God who created the sun, moon and all invisible things, and who gives them everything that is good. He affirms the Indian priests had chambers in the temple, accord- cording to the custom of the Israelites, by divine ap- pointment, as 1 Chron. ix. 26, 27. And that there were certain places in it, which none but their priests could enter, i. e. "the holiest." And Key says also, that they have in some parts of America, an exact form of king, priest, and prophet, as Wiis formerly in Caanan. Robert Williams, the first Englishman in New Eng- land, who is said to have learned the Indian language, in order to convert the natives, believed them to be Jews ; and he assures us, that their tradition records that their ancestors came from the south west, and that they re- turn there at death ; that their women separate them- ( 277 ) selves from the rest of the people at certain periods ; and that their language bore some affinity to the Hebrew. Baron Lahonton writes, that the Indian women of Canada purify tliemselvc^s after travail: thirty days for a male child — and forty for a female : that during the said time, they live apart from their husband — tliat the unmarried ])rother of the dectaaed liusband marries the widow, six months after his decease; and that the out- standing parties for war, address the great spirit every day till they set oft", with sacrifices, songs and feasting. We are also told, that the men in Mexico sat down, and the women stood, when th( made water, which is an universal custom among our North American In- dians. Their primitive modest}', and indulgence to their women, seem to have introduced this singular custom, after the manner of the ancient Mauritanians, on ac- count of their scantiness of cloathing, as I formerly ob- served. Lerius tolls us, that the Indians of Brasil wash them- selves ten times a day ; and that the husbands have no matrimonial intercourse with their wives, till their child- ren are either weaned or grown pretty hardy: which is similar to the custom of these northern Indians, and that of tlio Israelites, as Hos. i. 8. He says, if a Peru- vian child was weaned before its time, it was called Ainsco, "a bastard." And that if a Brasilian wounds another, he is wounded in the same i)art of the body, with e(iual punishment; limb for limb, or life for life, according to the Mosaic law ; which, within our memory, these Indian nations observed so eagerly, that if a boy shooting at birds, aceidently wounded another, though out of sight, with his arrow ever so slightly, he or any of his family, wounded him after the very same man- 18 mi m l\ (1 ' ( 278 ) ner; which is a very striking analogy with the Jewish retaliation. He likewise tells us, that their Sachems or emperors, were the heads of their church : and accord- ing to Liuet. Descript. America, the Peruvians had but one temple consecrated to the creator of the world ; be- sides four other religious places, in resemblance of the Jewish synagogues. And Malvenda says, the American idols were mitred as Aaron was. He likewise affirms, as doth Acosta, that the natives observed a year of jubilee, according to the usage of the Israelites. Benzo says, that the men and women incline very much to dancing; and the women often by themselves according to the manner of the Hebrew nation; as in 1 Sam. xxi. 11. especially after gaining a victory over the €nemy, as in Judg. xi. 34-xxi. 21, 23, and 1 Sam. xviii. iS, 7. Acosta tells us, that though adultry is deemed by them a capital crime, yet they at the same time set little value by virginity, and it seems to have been a bewail- able condition, in Judea. He likewise says, they wash their new born infants, in resemblance of the Mosaic law ; as Ezek. xvi. 9. And the Spaniards say, that the priests of Mexico, were anointed from head to foot; that they constantly wore their hair, till they were superan- nuated; and that the husband did not lie with his wife for two years after she was delivered. Our northern Indians imitate the first custom ; though in the second they resemble that of the heathen l)y polling or trim- ming their hair; and with regard to the third, they always sleej) apart from their wives for the greater part of the year after delivery. By the Spanish authorities, the Peruvians and Mexi- cans were Polygamists, but they had one principal wife, to whom they were married with certain solemnities; .{ ( 279 ) and murder, adultery, theft, and incest, were punished with death. But there was an exception in some i)laces, with regard to incestuous intercourses; which is intirely consonant to the usage of the northern Indians. For as to incest, the Cheerake marry })oth mother and daugh- ter, or two sisters ; but they all observe the prohibited laws of consanguinity, in the strictest manner. They tell us, that when the i)riesis ofiered sacrifice, they ab- stained from women and strong drink, and fasted several days before any great festival; that all of them buried their dead in their houses, or in high places; that when they were forced to bury in any of the Spanish church yards, they frequently stole the corpse, and interred it either in one of their own houses or in the mountains ; and that Juan de le Torre took five hundred thousand Pezoes out of one tomb. Here is a long train of Israel- itish customs; and if we include the whole, they ex- hibit a very strong analogy l)etween all the essential traditions, rites, customs, ttc. of the South and North American Indians : though the Spaniards mix an innu- merable heap of absurd chimeras, and romantic dreams, with the plain material truths I have extracted. The South American natives wanted nothing that could render life easy and agreeable; and they had nothing superllous, except gold and silver. When we consider the simplicity of the people, and the skill they had in collecting a prodigious (|uantity of treasures, it seems as if they gained that skill from their country- men, and the Tyrians ; who in the reign of Solomon exceedingly enriched themselves in a few voyages. The conjecture that the aborigines wandered here from cap- tivity by the north east parts of Asia, over Kanischatska, '.,'< ^ m t I n IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I M 12.2 M i.b 1.25 1.4 1,6 < 6" ► m ^ /2 / m y /A Photographic Sciences Corporation as WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 iis mm ( 280 ) to have their liberty and religion ; is not so improbable as that of their being driven by stress of weather into the bay of Mexico, from the east. Though a single argument of the general subject, may prove but little disjoined from the rest; yet according to the true laws of history, and the best rules for tracing antiquities, the conclusion is to be drawn frdhi clear corresponding circumstances united; the force of one branch of the subject ought to be connected with the others, and then judge by the whole. Such readers as may differ from my opinion of the Indian American origin and descent, ought to inform us how the natives came here, and by what means they formed the long chain of rites, customs, I'^'c. so similar to the usage of the Hebrew nation, and in general dissimilar to the modes, &c. of the Pagan world. Ancient writers do not agree u\nm any certain place where the Ophir of Solomon lay ; it must certainly be a great distancv; from Joppa, for it was a three years voy- age. After the death of Solomon both the Israelites and Tyrians seem to have utterly discontinued their trading voyages to that part of the world. Eusebius and Eupo- lemus say, that David sent to Urphe, an island in the red sea, and brought much gold into Judea; and Ortel- ius reckons this to have been Ophir ; though agreeably to the opinion of the greater part of the modern literati, he also conjectures Cephala or Sophala, to have been the Ophir of Solomon. Junius imagines it was in Aurea Chersonesus ; Tremellius and Niger are of the same opin- ion. But VatabluH reckons it was Hispaniohi, discovered and named so by Columbus; yet i'ostellus, Mornay, Arias Montanus, and Goropius, are of the opinion that Peru is the ancient Ophir; so widely different are their ( 281 ) conjectures. Ancient history is quite silent concerning America; which indicates that it has been time im- memorial rent assunder from the African continent ac- cording to Plato's Timeus. The north east parts of Asia alwo were undiscovered till of late. Many geographers have stretched Asia and America so far as to join them together and others have divided those two quarters of the globe, at a great distance from each other. But the Russians, after several dangerous attempts, have clearly convinced the world that they are now divided, and yet have a near communication together, by a narrow strait, in which several islands are situated ; through which there is an easy passage from the north east of Asia to the north west of America, by the way of Kamschatska; which probably joined tothe north west point of America. By this passage supposing the main continents were sepa- rated it was very practicable fortheinhal)itantstogo to this extensive new world ; and afterwards, to have proceeded in quest of suitable climates — according tothe law of nature, that directs every creature to such climes as are most con- venient and agreeable. As the Cheerake began to have goods at an under price, it tempted them to be both proud and lazy. Their women are now far above taking the trouble to raise hogs for the ugly white people, as the beautiful red heroes })roudly term them. If any do — they are forced to feed them in small penns, through all the crop-season, and chiefly on long pursly, and other wholesome weeds, that their rich fields abound with. But at the fall of the leaf, the woods are full of hiccory-nuts, acorns, ches- nuts, and the like; which occasions the Indian bacon to be more streaked, firm, and better tasted, than any we ( 282 ) i' ' meet with in the English settlements. Some of the natives are grown fond of horned cattle, both in the Cheerake and Muskohge countries, but most decline them, because the fields are not regularly fenced. But almost every one hath horses, from two to a dozen; which makes a considerable number, through their var- ious nations. The Cheerake had a prodigious number of excellent horses, at the beginning of their late war with us; but pinching hunger forced them to eat the greatest part of them, in the time of that unfortunate event. But as all are now become very active and soci- able, they will soon supply themselves with plenty of the best from our settlements — they are skilful jockies, and nice in their choice. From the head of the southern branch of Savannah river, it does not exceed half a mile to a head spring of the Mississippi water, that runs through the middle and upper parts of the Cheerake nation, about a north-west course, and joining other riverc", they empty themselves into the great Mississippi. The above fountain is called "Herbert's spring: "* and it was natural for strangers to drink thereof, to quench thirst, gratify their curiosity, and have it to say they had drank of the French waters. Some of our people, who went only with the view of staying a short time, but by some allurement or other, exceeded the time appointed, at their return, reported either through merriment or superstition, that the spring had such a natural bewitching quality, that whosoever drank of it, could not possibly quit the nation, during the tedious space of seven years. All the debauchees readily fell in with this superstitious notion, as an excuse *So named from an early commissioner of Indian afTuirs. ( 283 ) for their bad method of living, when they had no proper call to stay in that country ; and in process of time, it became as received a truth, as any ever believed to have been spoken b}' the delphio oracle. One cursed, because its enchantments had marred his good fortune; another condemned his weakness for drinking down witchcraft, against his own secret suspicions; one swore he would never taste again such known dangerous poison, even though he should be forced to go down to the Mississippi for water; and another comforted himself, that so many years out of the seven were already passed, and wished that if he ever tasted it again, though under the greatest necessity, he might be confined to the stygian waters. Those who had their minds more enlarged, diverted themselves much at their cost, for it was a noted favorite place, on account of the name it went by ; and being a well situated and good spring, there all travellers com- monly drank a bottle of choice: But nov, most of the packliorse-men, though they be dry, and also matchless sons of Bacchus, on the most pressing invitations to drink there, would swear to forfeit sacred li«iuor the better part of their lives, rather than basely renew, or confirm the loss of their libertv, Avhich tliat execrable fountain occasions. Within twenty miles of the late Fort Loudon, there is great plenty of whet-stones for razors, of red, white, and black colours. The silver mines are so rich, that by digging about ten yards deep, some desperate vagrants found at sundry times, so much rich ore, as to enable them to counterfeit dollars, to a great amount; a horse load of which was detected in i)as8ing for the purchase of negroes, at Augusta, which stands on the south side • (284) of the meandering beautiful Savanah river, half-way from the Cheerake countr}^ to Savanah, the capital of Georgia. The load-stone is likewise found there, but they have no skill in searching for it, only on the surface ; a great deal of the magnetic power is lost, as being ex- posed to the various changes of the weather, and frequent firing of the woods. I was told by a trader, who lives in the upper parts of the Cheerake country, which is surrounded on every side, ])y prodigious i)iles of mount- ains called Cheeowhee, that within about a mile of the town of that name, there is a hill with a great plenty of load-stones — the truth of this any gentleman of curiosity may soon ascertain, as it lies on the northern path that leads from South Carolina, to the remains of Fort Lou- don; and while he is in search of this, he may at the same time make a great acquest of riches, for the load- stone is known to accompany rich metals. I was once near that load-stone hill, but the heavy rains which at that time foil on the deep snow, prevented the gratifying my curiosity, as the boggy deep creek, was thereby ren- dered impassible. In this rocky country, are found a great many beau- tiful, clear, chrystaline stones, formed by nature into several angles, which commonly meet in one point: several of them are transparent, like a coarse diamond — others resemble the onyx, being engender of ])lack and thick humours, as we see water that is tincturcv^ with ink, still keeping its surface clear. I found one stone like a ruby, as big as the top of a man's thumb, with a beautiful dark shade in the middle of it. Many stones of various colours, and beautiful lustre may be collected on the tops of those hills and mountains, which if skil- fully managed, would be very valuable, for some of ( 285 ) them are clear, and very hard. From which, we may rationally conjecture that a quantity of subterranean treasures is contained there; the Spaniards generally found out their southern mines, by such superficial in- dications. And it would be an useful and profitable service for skilful artists to engage in, as the present trading white savages are utterly ignorant of it. Mani- fold curious works of the wise author of nature, are bountifully dispersed through the whole of the country? obvious to every curious eye. 1 of I remember, in Tymasc, one of their towns, about ten miles above the present Fort Prince-George, a great head warrior, who murdered a white man thirty miles below Cheeowhee, as was proved by the branded deer-skins he produced afterward — when he saw himself disfigured by the small pox, he chose to die, that he might end as he imagined his shame. When his relations knew his desperate design, they narrowly watched him, and took away every sharp instrument from him. When he found he was balked in his intention, he fretted and said the worst things their language could express, and shewed all the symptoms of a desperate person enraged at his disappointment, and forced to live and see his ignominy; he then darted himself against the wall, with all his remaining vigour, — his strength being ex- pended by the force of his friends opposition, ^e fell sullenly on the bed, as if by those violent struggles lie was overcome, and wanted to repose liiniself. His rela- tions through tenderness, left him to his rest — but as soon as they went away, he raised himself, and after a tedious search, finding nothing but a thick and round hoe- helve, he took the fatal instrument, and having fixed ■■■■ ( 286 ) one end of it in the ground, he repeatedly threw himself on it, till he forced it down his throat, when he imme- diately expired. He was buried in silence without the least mourning. In the year 1736, the French sent into South Carolina, one Priber, a gentleman of a curious and a speculative temper. He was to transmit them a full account of that country, and proceeded to the Cheerake nation, in order to seduce them from the British to the French interest. He went, and though he was adorned with every quali- fication that constitutes the gentleman, soon after he ar- rived at the upper towns of this mountainous country, he exchanged his clothes and everything he brought with him, and by that means, made friends with the head warriors of the great Telliko, which stood on a branch of the Mississippi. More effectually to answer the design of his commission, he ate, drank, slept, danced, dressed, and painted himself, with the Indians, so that it was not easy to distinguish nim from the natives, — he married also with them, and being endued with a strong understanding and retentive memory, he soon learned their dialect, and by gradual advances, impressed them with a very ill opinion of the English, representing them as a fraudulent, avaricious, and encroaching people : he at the same time, intlated the artless savages, with a prodigious high opinion of their importance in the American scale of power, on account of the situation of their country, their martial disposition, and the great number of their warriors, which would baffle all the ef- forts of the ambitious and ill-designing British colonists. Having thus infected them by his smooth deluding art, he easily formed them into a nominal republican gov- ( 287 ) ernment — crowned their old Archi-majrus emperor, after a pleasing new savage form, and invented a variety of high-sounding titles for all the members of his imperial majesty's red court, and the great officers of state ; which the emperor conferred upon them, in a manner accord- ing to their merit. He himself received the honourable title of his imperial majesty's principal secretary of state, and as such he subscribed himself in all the letters he wrote to our government, and lived in open defiance of them. This seemed to be of so dangerous a tendency, as to induce South Carolina to send up a commissioner. Col. F — X, to demand liim as an enemy to the public repose — who took him into custody, in the great square of their state house: when he had almost concluded his oration on the occasion, one of the head warriors rose up, and bade him forbear, as the man he intended to enslave, was made a great beloved man, and became one of theirown people. Though it was reckoned our agent's strength was far greater in his arms than his head, he readily desisted — for as it is too hard to struggle with the pope in Rome, a stranger could not miss to find it equally difficult to enter abruptly into a new emperor's court, and there seize his prime minister, by a foreign authority ; especially when he could not support any charge of guilt against him. The warrior told him, that the red people well knew the honesty of the secretary's heart would not suffer him to tell a lie; and the secre- tary urged that he was a foreigner, without owing any allegiance to Great Britain, — that he only travelled through some places of their country in u peaceable manner, paying for everything he had of them ; that in compliance with the request of the kindly French, as well as from his own tender feelings for the poverty and ( 288 ) insecure state of the Cheerake, he came a great way, and lived among them as a brother, only to preserve their liberties by opening a water communication between them and New Orleans ; that the distance of the two places from each other, proved his motive to be the love of doing good, especially as he was to go there and ])ring up a sufficient number of Frenchmen of proper skill to instruct them in the art of making gunpowder, the materials of which, lie affirmed their lands abounded with. He concluded his artful speech by urging that the tyrannical design of the English commissioner to- ward him, appeared plainly to be leveled against them, because, as he was not accused of having done any ill to the English, before he came to the Cheerake, his crime must consist in loving the Cheerake. And as that was reckoned so heinous a transgression in the eyes of the English, as to send one of their angry beloved men to enslave him, it confirmed all those honest speeches he had often spoken to the present great v.'ar-chieftains, old beloved men, and warriors of each class. An old war-leader repeated to the commissioner, the essential part of this speech, and added more of his own similar thereto. He bade him to inform his superiors, that the Cheerake were as desirous as the English to continue a friendly union with each other, as " freemen and equals." That they hoped to receive no farther uneasiness from them, for consulting their own interests, as their reason dictated. And they earnestly requested them to send no more of those bad papers to their coun- try, on any account; nor to reckon them so base, as to allow any of their honest friends to be taken out of their arms, and carried into slavery. The English beloved man had the honour of receiving his leave of absence, ( 289 ) and a sufficient passport of safe conduct, from the im- perial red court, by a verbal order of the secretary of state, who was so polite as to wish him well home, and ordered a convoy of his own life-guards, who conducted him a considerable way, and he got safe home. From the above it is evident, that the monopolizing spirit of the French had planned their dangerous lines of circumvallation, respecting our envied colonies, as early as the before-mentioned period. Their choice of the man, bespeaks also their judgment. Though the philosophic secretary was an utter stranger to the wild and mountainous Cheerake country, as well as to their language, yet his sagacity readily directed him to chuse a proper place, and an old favourite religious man, for the new red empire; which he formed by slow but sure degrees, to the great danger of our southern colonies. But the empire received a very great shock, in an acci- dent that befel the secretary, when it was on the point of rising into a far greater state of puissance, by the acquisition of the Muskohge, Choktah, and tlie western Mississippi Indians. In the fifth year of that red im- perial era, he set off for Mobille, accompanied by a few Cheerake. He proceeded by land, as far as a navigable part of the western great river of the Muskohge ; there he went into a canoe prepared for the joyful occasion, and proceeded within a day's journey of Alebahma gar- rison — conjecturing the adjacent towns were under the French, he landed at Tallapoose town, and lodged there all night. The traders of the neighbouring towns soon went there, convinced the inhabitants of the dangerous tendency of his unwearied labours among the Cheerake, and of his present journey, and then took him into custody, with a large bundle of manuscripts, and sent M ( 290 ) fi him down to Frederica in Georgia; the governor com- mitted him to a place of confinement, though not with common felons, as he was a foreigner, and was said to have held a place of considerable rank in the army with great honour. Soon after, the magazine took fire, which was not far from where he was confined, and though the centinels bade him make ofT to a place of safety, as all the people were running to avoid danger from the ex- plosion of the powder and shells, he squatted on his belly upon the lioor, and continued in that position without the least hurt: several blamed his rashness, but he told them that experience had convinced him it was the most probable means to avoid imminent danger. This incident displayed the philosopher and soldier, and after bearing his misfortunes a considerable time with great constancy, happily for us he died in confinement, — though he deserved a much better fate. In the first year of his secretaryship I maintained a correspondence with him ; but the Indians becoming very inquisitive to know the contents of our marked large papers, and he suspecting his memory might fail him in telling those cunning sifters of truth, a plausible story, and of being able to repeat it often to them, with- out any variation, — he took the shortest and safest method by telling them that, in the very same manner as he was their great secretary. I was the devil's clerk, or an accursed one who marked on paper the bad speech of the evil ones of darkness. Accordingly, they forbad him writing any more to such an accursed one, or receiving any of his evil-marked papers, and our cor- respondence ceased. As he was learned, and possessed of a very sagacious and penetrating judgment, and had every qualification that was requisite for his bold and ( 291 ) difficult enterprise it is noi to be doubted, that as he wrote a Cheerake dictionary, designed to be published at Paris, he likewise set down a great deal that would have been very acceptable to the curious, and service- able to the representatives of South Carolina and Georgia ; which may readily ])e found in Frederica, if the manuscripts have had the good fortune to escape the despoiling hands of military power. By our superintendant's strange pursuit of improper measures to appease the Muskohge, the watchful French engaged the irritated Great Mortar to inspire his rela- tions to cut off some of our traders by surprise, and follow the blow at the time the people were usually employed in the cornfields, lest our party should stop them in their intended bloody career. They accordingly began their hostile attack in the upper town of the nation except one, where their mischievous red abettor lived: two white people and a negro were killed, while they were in the horse-jien, preparing that day to have set off with their returns to the English settlements. The trader, who was surly and ill-natured, they chopped to pieces in a most horrid manner, but the other two they did not treat with any kind of barbarity ; which shews that the worst people, in their worst actions, make a distinction between the morally virtuous, and vicious. The other white people of that trading house, happily were at that time in the woods ; — they heard the savage platoon, and the death, and war whoop, which sufficiently warned them of their imminent danger, and to seek their safety by the best mefins they could. Some of them went through the woods after night, to our friend towns ; and one who happened to be near the t