History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley Part 8

Alexander Armstrong, Thomas McKee, Francis Ellis, John Florster, William Baskins, James Berry, John Watt, James Armstrong, David Denny.

After the foregoing facts had been elicited, a regular Indian talk was had upon the matter, when s.h.i.+ckallemy gave the following as a true version of every thing connected with the ma.s.sacre:--

BROTHER THE GOVERNOR:--

We have been all misinformed on both sides about the unhappy accident. Musemeelin has certainly murdered the three white men himself, and, upon the bare accusation of Neshaleeny's son, was seized and made a prisoner. Our cousins, the Delaware Indians, being then drunk, in particular Allumoppies, never examined things, but made an innocent person prisoner, which gave a great deal of disturbance among us. However, the two prisoners were sent, and by the way, in going down the river, they stopped at the house of James Berry. James told the young man, "I am sorry to see you in such a condition; I have known you from a boy, and always loved you." Then the young man seemed to be very much struck to the heart, and said, "I have said nothing yet, but I will tell all; let all the Indians come up, and the white people also; they shall hear it;" and then told Musemeelin, in the presence of the people, "Now I am going to die for your wickedness; you have killed all the three white men. I never did intend to kill any of them." Then Musemeelin, in anger, said, "It is true, I have killed them. I am a man, you are a coward. It is a great satisfaction to me to have killed them; I will die for joy for having killed a great rogue and his companions." Upon which the young man was set at liberty by the Indians.

We desire therefore our brother the governor will not insist to have either of the two young men in prison or condemned to die; it is not with Indians as with white people, to put people in prison on suspicion or trifles. Indians must first be found guilty of a cause; then judgment is given and immediately executed. We will give you faithfully all the particulars, and at the ensuing treaty entirely satisfy you; in the mean time, we desire that good friends.h.i.+p and harmony continue, and that we may live long together is the hearty desire of your brethren the Indians of the United Six Nations present at Shamokin.

The following is what s.h.i.+ckcalamy declared to be the truth of the story concerning the murder of John Armstrong, Woodworth Arnold, and James Smith, from the beginning to the end, to wit:--

That Musemeelin owing some skins to John Armstrong, the said Armstrong seized a horse of the said Musemeelin and a rifle-gun; the gun was taken by James Smith, deceased. Some time last winter Musemeelin met Armstrong on the river Juniata, and paid all but twenty s.h.i.+llings, for which he offered a neck-belt in p.a.w.n to Armstrong, and demanded his horse, and James Armstrong refused it, and would not deliver up the horse, but enlarged the debt, as his usual custom was; and after some quarrel the Indian went away in great anger, without his horse, to his hunting-cabin. Some time after this, Armstrong, with his two companions, on their way to Ohio, pa.s.sed by the said Musemeelin's hunting-cabin; his wife only being at home, she demanded the horse of Armstrong, because he was her proper goods, but did not get him. Armstrong had by this time sold or lent the horse to James Berry. After Musemeelin came from hunting, his wife told him that Armstrong was gone by, and that she had demanded the horse of him, but did not get him; and, as is thought, pressed him to pursue and take revenge of Armstrong. The third day, in the morning, after James Armstrong was gone by, Musemeelin said to the two young men that hunted with him, "Come, let us go toward the Great Hills to hunt bears;" accordingly they went all three in company. After they had gone a good way, Musemeelin, who was foremost, was told by the two young men that they were out of their course. "Come you along," said Musemeelin; and they accordingly followed him till they came to the path that leads to the Ohio. Then Musemeelin told them he had a good mind to go and fetch his horse back from Armstrong, and desired the two young men to come along. Accordingly they went. It was then almost night, and they travelled till next morning. Musemeelin said, "Now they are not far off. We will make ourselves black; then they will be frightened, and will deliver up the horse immediately; and I will tell Jack that if he don't give me the horse I will kill him;"

and when he said so, he laughed. The young men thought he joked, as he used to do. They did not blacken themselves, but he did. When the sun was above the trees, or about an hour high, they all came to the fire, where they found James Smith sitting; and they also sat down. Musemeelin asked where Jack was. Smith told him that he was gone to clear the road a little. Musemeelin said he wanted to speak with him, and went that way, and after he had gone a little distance from the fire, he said something, and looked back laughing, but, he having a thick throat, and his speech being very bad, and their talking with Smith hindering them from understanding what he said, they did not mind it. They being hungry, Smith told them to kill some turtles, of which there were plenty, and they would make some bread by-and-by, and would all eat together. While they were talking, they heard a gun go off not far off, at which time Woodworth Arnold was killed, as they learned afterward. Soon after, Musemeelin came back and said, "Why did you not kill that white man, according as I bid you? I have laid the other two down."

At this they were surprised; and one of the young men, commonly called Jimmy, ran away to the river-side. Musemeelin said to the other, "How will you do to kill Catawbas, if you cannot kill white men? You cowards! I'll show you how you must do;" and then, taking up the English axe that lay there, he struck it three times into Smith's head before he died. Smith never stirred. Then he told the young Indian to call the other, but he was so terrified he could not call. Musemeelin then went and fetched him, and said that two of the white men were killed, he must now go and kill the third; then each of them would have killed one. But neither of them dared venture to talk any thing about it. Then he pressed them to go along with him; he went foremost. Then one of the young men told the other, as they went along, "My friend, don't you kill any of the white people, let him do what he will; I have not killed Smith; he has done it himself; we have no need to do such a barbarous thing." Musemeelin being then a good way before them, in a hurry, they soon saw John Armstrong sitting upon an old log. Musemeelin spoke to him and said, "Where is my horse?" Armstrong made answer and said, "He will come by-and-by; you shall have him." "I want him now," said Musemeelin. Armstrong answered, "You shall have him.

Come, let us go to that fire," (which was at some distance from the place where Armstrong sat,) "and let us talk and smoke together."

"Go along, then," said Musemeelin. "I am coming," said Armstrong, "do you go before, Musemeelin; do you go foremost." Armstrong looked then like a dead man, and went toward the fire, and was immediately shot in his back by Musemeelin, and fell. Musemeelin then took his hatchet and struck it into Armstrong's head, and said, "Give me my horse, I tell you." By this time one of the young men had fled again that had gone away before, but he returned in a short time. Musemeelin then told the young men they must not offer to discover or tell a word about what had been done, for their lives; but they must help him to bury Jack, and the other two were to be thrown into the river. After that was done, Musemeelin ordered them to load the horses and follow toward the hill, where they intended to hide the goods. Accordingly they did; and, as they were going, Musemeelin told them that, as there were a great many Indians hunting about that place, if they should happen to meet with any they must be killed to prevent betraying them. As they went along, Musemeelin going before, the two young men agreed to run away as soon as they could meet with any Indians, and not to hurt anybody. They came to the desired place; the horses were unloaded, and Musemeelin opened the bundles, and offered the two young men each a parcel of goods. They told him that as they had already sold their skins, and everybody knew they had nothing, they would certainly be charged with a black action were they to bring any goods to the town, and therefore would not accept of any, but promised nevertheless not to betray him. "Now," says Musemeelin, "I know what you were talking about when you stayed so far behind."

The two young men being in great danger of losing their lives--of which they had been much afraid all that day--accepted of what he offered to them, and the rest of the goods they put in a heap and covered them from the rain, and then went to their hunting-cabin.

Musemeelin, unexpectedly finding two or three more Indians there, laid down his goods, and said he had killed Jack Armstrong and taken pay for his horse, and should any of them discover it, that person he would likewise kill, but otherwise they might all take a part of the goods. The young man called Jimmy went to Shamokin, after Musemeelin was gone to bury the goods, with three more Indians, with whom he had prevailed; one of them was Neshaleeny's son, whom he had ordered to kill James Smith; but these Indians would not have any of the goods. Some time after the young Indian had been in Shamokin, it was whispered about that some of the Delaware Indians had killed Armstrong and his men. A drunken Indian came to one of the Tudolous houses at night and told the man of the house that he could tell him a piece of bad news. "What is that?"

said the other. The drunken man said, "Some of our Delaware Indians have killed Armstrong and his men, which if our chiefs should not resent, and take them up, I will kill them myself, to prevent a disturbance between us and the white people, our brethren." Next morning s.h.i.+ckcalamy and some other Indians of the Delawares were called to a.s.sist Allumoppies in council; when s.h.i.+ckcalamy and Allumoppies got one of the Tudolous Indians to write a letter to me, to desire me to come to Shamokin in all haste--that the Indians were very much dissatisfied in mind. This letter was brought to my house by four Delaware Indians, sent express; but I was then in Philadelphia, and when I came home and found all particulars mentioned in this letter, and that none of the Indians of the Six Nations had been down, I did not care to meddle with Delaware Indian affairs, and stayed at home till I received the governor's orders to go, which was about two weeks after. Allumoppies was advised by his council to employ a _conjuror_, or prophet, as they call it, to find out the murderer. Accordingly he did, and the Indians met. The _seer_, being busy all night, told them in the morning to examine such and such a one that was present when Armstrong was killed, naming the two young men. Musemeelin was present. Accordingly, Allumoppies, Quitheyquent, and Thomas Green, an Indian, went to him that had fled first, and examined him. He told the whole story very freely. Then they went to the other, but he would not say a word, and they went away and left him. The three Indians returned to s.h.i.+ckcalamy and informed them of what discovery they had made, when it was agreed to secure the murderers and deliver them up to the white people. Then a great noise arose among the Delaware Indians, and some were afraid of their lives and went into the woods. Not one cared to meddle with Musemeelin and the other that could not be prevailed on to discover any thing, because of the resentment of their families; but they being pressed by s.h.i.+ckcalamy's son to secure the murderers, otherwise they would be cut off from the chain of friends.h.i.+p, four or five of the Delawares made Musemeelin and the other young man prisoners, and tied them both. They lay twenty-four hours, and none would venture to conduct them down, because of the great division among the Delaware Indians; and Allumoppies, in danger of being killed, fled to s.h.i.+ckcalamy and begged his protection. At last s.h.i.+ckcalamy's son, Jack, went to the Delawares,--most of them being drunk, as they had been for several days,--and told them to deliver the prisoners to Alexander Armstrong, and they were afraid to do it; they might separate their heads from their bodies and lay them in the canoe, and carry them to Alexander to roast and eat them; that would satisfy his revenge, as he wants to eat Indians. They prevailed with the said Jack to a.s.sist them; and accordingly he and his brother, and some of the Delawares, went with two canoes and carried them off.

Conrad Weiser, in a letter to a friend, dated Heidelberg, 1746, adverts to an interesting incident which occurred at the conclusion of this interview at Shamokin. He says, "Two years ago I was sent by the governor to Shamokin, on account of the unhappy death of John Armstrong, the Indian trader, (1744.) After I had performed my errand, there was a feast prepared, to which the governor's messengers were invited. There were about one hundred persons present, to whom, after we had in great silence devoured a fat bear, the eldest of the chiefs made a speech, in which he said, that by a great misfortune three of the brethren, the white men, had been killed by an Indian; that, nevertheless, the sun was not set, (meaning there was no war;) it had only been somewhat darkened by a small cloud, which was now done away. He that had done evil was like to be punished, and the land remain in peace; therefore he exhorted his people to thankfulness to G.o.d; and thereupon he began to sing with an awful solemnity, but without expressing any words; the others accompanying him with great earnestness of fervor, spoke these words: 'Thanks, thanks be to thee, thou great Lord of the world, in that thou hast again caused the sun to s.h.i.+ne, and hast dispersed the dark cloud! The Indians are thine.'"

Among the first settlers in Aughwick Valley was Captain Jack, certainly one of the most noted characters of his day. He flourished about Aughwick between 1750 and 1755, when, with two or three companions, he went to the Juniata and built himself a cabin near a beautiful spring.

His sole pursuit, it would appear, was hunting and fis.h.i.+ng; by which he procured the means of subsistence for his family. There was a mystery about him which no person ever succeeded in fathoming, and even his companions never learned his history or his real name.

He was a man of almost Herculean proportions, with extremely swarthy complexion. In fact, he was supposed by some to be a half-breed and by others a quadroon. Colonel Armstrong, in a letter to the governor, called him the "Half-Indian." The truth of it, however, is that he was a white man, possessing a more than ordinary share of intelligence for a backwoodsman, but his early history is altogether shrouded in mystery. It appears that in the summer of 1752 Captain Jack and his companions were on a fis.h.i.+ng excursion. Returning late in the evening, Jack found his cabin in ruins and his wife and two children murdered.

From that moment he became an altered man, quit the haunts of men, and roamed the woods alone, sleeping in caves, hollow logs, or wherever he could find a shelter. The loss of his family, no doubt, crazed him for a time, as he did not appear among the settlers until the fall of 1753. In the interim, however, he was frequently seen, and, we may add, frequently __, by the savages, but he studiously avoided all intercourse with his fellow-men. If we may judge of his subsequent career, there is every reason to believe that on the discovery of the wrongs done him by the savages he made a vow to devote the balance of his life to slaying Indians. If he did, right faithfully was his vow kept, for his fame spread far and wide among the red-skins, and many a one bit the dust by his trusty rifle and unerring aim. The settlers about Aughwick, as well as those in Path Valley and along the river, frequently found dead savages, some in a state of partial decay, and others with their flesh stripped by the bald-eagles and their bones bleaching in the sun on the spot where Jack's rifle had laid them low.

On one occasion Captain Jack had concealed himself in the woods by the side of the Aughwick Path, where he lay in wait for a stray Indian.

Presently a painted warrior, with a red feather waving from his head and his body bedizened with gewgaws recently purchased from a trader, came down the path. A crack from Captain Jack's rifle, and the savage bounded into the air and fell dead without a groan in the path. It appears that three others were in company, but had tarried at a spring, who, on hearing the discharge of the rifle, under the impression that their companion had shot a deer or bear, gave a loud "whoop." Captain Jack immediately loaded, and when the Indians came up to the dead body Jack again shot, and killed a second one. The Indians then rushed into the thicket, and one of them, getting a glimpse of Jack, shot at him, but missed him. The wild hunter, seeing that the chances were desperate, jumped out and engaged in a hand-to-hand encounter--the fourth savage being only armed with a tomahawk. He soon despatched the third one by beating his brains out with his rifle; but the fourth one, an athletic fellow, grappled, and a long and b.l.o.o.d.y fight with knives followed, and only ceased when both were exhausted by the loss of blood. The Indian managed to get away, and left the Black Hunter the victor on the field of battle. Weak and faint as Jack was, he scalped the three savages, fixed their scalps upon bushes overhanging the path, and then, without deigning to touch their gewgaws or their arms, he managed to work his way to the settlement, where his wounds, consisting of eight or ten stabs, were dressed. The settlers, then squatters, cared little about the loss of the Indians, since they deemed it right for Captain Jack to wreak his vengeance on any and every savage whom chance should throw in his way; and so little did they care about the proprietors knowing their whereabouts that no report of the case was ever made to the government of this combat.

It is said that one night the family of an Irishman named Moore, residing in Aughwick, was suddenly awakened by the report of a gun.

This unusual circ.u.mstance at such a late hour in the night caused them to get up to discover the cause; and on opening the door they found a dead Indian lying upon the very threshold. By the feeble light which shone through the door they discovered the dim outline of the wild hunter, who merely said "I have saved your lives," and then plunged into the dark ravine and disappeared.

With an eye like the eagle, an aim that was unerring, daring intrepidity, and a const.i.tution that could brave the heat of summer as well as the frosts of winter, he roamed the valley like an uncaged tiger, the most formidable foe that ever crossed the red man's path. Various were the plans and stratagems resorted to by the Indians to capture him, but they all proved unavailing. He fought them upon their own ground, with their own weapons, and against them adopted their own merciless and savage mode of warfare. In stratagem he was an adept, and in the skilful use of the rifle his superior probably did not exist in his day and generation.

These qualifications not only made him a terror to the Indians, but made him famous among the settlers, who for their own protection formed a scout, or company of rangers, and tendered to Captain Jack the command, which he accepted. This company was uniformed like Indians, with hunting-s.h.i.+rts, leather leggings, and moccasins, and, as they were not acting under sanction of government, styled themselves "Captain Jack's Hunters." All the _hunting_ done, however, after securing game to supply their wants, was probably confined to _hunting_ for scalps of Indians; and, as it was a penal offence then to occupy the hunting-grounds of the Juniata Valley, much more so to shed the blood of any of the savages, it is not likely that the _hunters_ ever furnished the Quaker proprietors with an official list of the "killed and wounded." These exploits gave Captain Jack a number of names or sobriquets in the absence of his real name; he was known as the "Black Rifle," "Black Hunter," "Wild Hunter of the Juniata," &c. On one occasion, with his band, he followed a party of marauding Indians to the Conococheague, and put them to rout. This act reached the authorities in Philadelphia, and Governor Hamilton granted him a sort of irregular roving commission to hold in check the unfriendly Indians of the frontier. With this authority he routed the savages from the Cove and several other places, and the general fear he inspired among them no doubt prevented a deal of mischief in the Juniata Valley.

Early in June, Captain Jack offered the services of himself and his band of hunters to government to accompany Braddock on his expedition against Fort Duquesne. His merits were explained to Braddock by George Crogan, who said, "They are well armed, and are equally regardless of heat or cold. They require no shelter for the night, _and ask no pay_." This generous offer on the part of Captain Jack was not accepted by Braddock, because, as he alleged, "the proffered services were coupled with certain stipulations to which he could not consent."

What these stipulations were was not mentioned. It is presumed, however, that Captain Jack wished his company to go as a volunteer force, free from the restraints of a camp life which a rigid disciplinarian like Braddock would be likely to adopt. Braddock had already accepted the services of a company of Indians under George Crogan, and, as he wished to gain laurels for himself and his troops by achieving a victory over the French and Indians by open European fighting, his own selfishness probably prompted him to refuse the a.s.sistance of any more who adopted the skulking Indian mode of warfare.

He did not live, however, to discover his error. Hazzard, in his Pennsylvania Register, in speaking of the non-acceptance of Captain Jack's offer, says, "It was a great misfortune for Braddock that he neglected to secure the services of such an auxiliary." Very true; for such men as Jack's Hunters would never have suffered themselves to be fired upon by an ambuscaded enemy or an enemy hid away in a ravine.

They would not have marched over the hill with drums beating and colors flying, in pride and pomp, as if enjoying a victory not yet won; but they would have had their scouts out, the enemy and his position known, and the battle fought without any advantages on either side; and in such an event it is more than probable that victory would have crowned the expedition.

Of the final end of Captain Jack we have nothing definite. One account says he went to the West; another that he died an old man in 1772, having lived the life of a hermit after the end of the war of 1763. It is said that his bones rest near the spring, at the base of the mountain bearing his name; and this we are inclined to believe. The early settlers of the neighborhood believed that Captain Jack came down from the mountain every night at twelve o'clock to slake his thirst at his favorite spring; and half a century ago we might readily have produced the affidavits of twenty respectable men who had seen the Black Hunter in the spirit roaming over the land that was his in the flesh. The present generation, however, knows little about the wild hunter. Still, though he sleeps the sleep that knows no waking, and no human being who ever saw him is above the sod now, the towering mountain, a hundred miles in length, bearing his name, will stand as an indestructible monument to his memory until time shall be no more.

George Crogan figured extensively about Aughwick for many years, both before and after Fort s.h.i.+rley was built. He was an Irishman by birth, and came to the colony probably as early as 1742, and soon after took up the business of an Indian trader. At first he located at Harris's trading-house, on the Susquehanna, and from thence moved over the river into c.u.mberland county, some eight miles from his first place of abode.

From there he made excursions to Path Valley and Aughwick, and finally to the Ohio River by way of the old Bedford trail. His long residence among the Indians not only enabled him to study Indian character thoroughly, but he acquired the language of both the Delaware and Shawnee tribes, and was of great use to the proprietary government; but we incline to the opinion that his services were illy requited.

His first letter, published in the Colonial Records, is dated "May y^e 26th, 1747," and is directed to Richard Peters. It was accompanied by a letter from the Six Nations, some wampum, and a French scalp, taken somewhere on Lake Erie.

In a letter from Governor Hamilton to Governor Hardy, dated 5th July, 1756, in speaking of Crogan, who was at one time suspected of being a spy in the pay of the French, Hamilton says:--"There were many Indian traders with Braddock--Crogan among others, who acted as a captain of the Indians under a warrant from General Braddock, and I never heard of any objections to his conduct in that capacity. For many years he had been very largely concerned in the Ohio trade, was upon that river frequently, and had a considerable influence among the Indians, speaking the language of several nations, and being very liberal, or rather profuse, in his gifts to them, which, with the losses he sustained by the French, who seized great quant.i.ties of his goods, and by not getting the debts due to him from the Indians, he became bankrupt, and since has lived at a place called Aughwick, in the back parts of this province, where he generally had a number of Indians with him, for the maintenance of whom the province allowed him sums of money from time to time, but not to his satisfaction. After this he went, by my order, with these Indians, and joined General Braddock, who gave the warrant I have mentioned. Since Braddock's defeat, he returned to Aughwick, where he remained till an act of a.s.sembly was pa.s.sed here granting him a freedom from arrest for ten years. This was done that the province might have the benefit of his knowledge of the woods and his influence among the Indians; and immediately thereupon, while I was last at York, a captain's commission was given to him, and he was ordered to raise men for the defence of the western frontier, which he did in a very expeditious manner, but not so frugally as the commissioners for disposing of the public money thought he might have done. He continued in the command of one of the companies he had raised, and of Fort s.h.i.+rley, on the western frontier, about three months; during which time he sent, by my direction, Indian messengers to the Ohio for intelligence, but never produced me any that was very material; and, having a dispute with the commissioners about some accounts between them, in which he thought himself ill-used, he resigned his commission, and about a month ago informed me that he had not received pay upon General Braddock's warrant, and desired my recommendation to General s.h.i.+rley; which I gave him, and he set off directly for Albany; and I hear he is now at Onondago with Sir William Johnston."

Crogan settled permanently in Aughwick in 1754, and built a stockade fort, and must have been some kind of an agent among the Indians, disbursing presents to them for the government. In December of that year he wrote to Secretary Peters, stating the wants of his Indians, and at the same time wrote to Governor Morris as follows:--

"_May it please your honor_:--

"I am Oblig^d to advertize the Inhabitance of c.u.mberland county in y^r honour's Name, nott to barter or Sell Spiretus Liquers to the Indians or any person to bring amongst them, to prevent y^e Indians from Spending there Cloase, tho' I am oblig^d to give them a kag Now and then my self for a frolick, but that is Atended with no Expence to y^e Government, nor no bad consequences to y^e Indians as I do itt b.u.t.t onst a Month. I hope your honour will approve of this Proceeding, as I have Don itt to Prevent ill consequences atending y^e Indians if they should be Kept always Infleam^d with Liquors."

In September, 1754, notwithstanding the precautions taken by the government to conciliate the Indians by profuse presents, and immediately after Conrad Weiser, the Indian interpreter, and Crogan, had held a conference at Aughwick, which it was supposed had terminated satisfactorily to all parties concerned, an Indian, named Israel, of the Six Nations, after leaving the conference, perpetrated a brutal murder in Tuscarora Valley. The following is Crogan's report of it to government:--

_Aughwick, September 17, 1754._

_May it please Your Honor_:--

Since Mr. Weiser left this, an Indian of the Six Nations, named Israel, killed one Joseph Cample, an Indian trader, at the house of one Anthony Thompson, at the foot of the Tuscarora Valley, near Parnall's k.n.o.b. As soon as I heard it I went down to Thompson's, and took several of the chiefs of the Indians with me, when I met William Maxwell, Esq. The Indian made his escape before I got there. I took the qualification of the persons who were present at the murder, and delivered them to Mr. Maxwell, to be sent to your honor, with the speech made by the chiefs of the Indians on that occasion, which I suppose your honor has received.

I have heard many accounts from Ohio since Mr. Weiser left this, all of which agree that the French have received a reinforcement of men and provision from Canada to the fort. An Indian returned yesterday to this place whom I had sent to the fort for intelligence; he confirms the above accounts, and further says there were about sixty French Indians had come while he stayed there, and that they expected better than two hundred more every day. He says that the French design to send those Indians with some French, in several parties, to annoy the back settlements, which the French say will put a stop to any English forces marching out this fall to attack them. This Indian likewise says that the French will do their endeavor to have the half-king Scarrayooday, Captain Montour, and myself, killed this fall. This Indian, I think, is to be believed, if there can be any credit given to what an Indian says. He presses me strongly to leave this place, and not live in any of the back parts. The scheme of sending several parties to annoy the back settlements seems so much like French policy that I can't help thinking it true.

I hear from Colonel Innes that there certainly have been some French Indians at the camp at Wills's Creek, who fired on the sentry in the dead of the night. If the French prosecute this scheme, I don't know what will become of the back parts of c.u.mberland county, which is much exposed. The back parts of Virginia and Maryland are covered by the English camp, so that most of the inhabitants are safe.

I would have written to your honor before now on this head; I only waited the return of this Indian messenger, whose account I really think is to be depended on. The Indians here seem very uneasy at their long stay, as they have heard nothing from the Governor of Virginia nor of your honor since Mr. Weiser went away; nor do they see the English making any preparations to attack the French, which seems to give them a great deal of concern. I believe several of the Indians will soon go to the Six Nation country, and then, I suppose, the rest will be obliged to fall in with the French. If this happens, then all the back settlements will be left to the mercy of an outrageous enemy.

I beg your honor's pardon for mentioning the consequences which must certainly attend the slow motion of the English government, as they are well known to your honor, and I am sensible your honor had done all in your power for the security of those parts. I hope as soon as his honor, Governor Morris, is arrived, I shall hear what is to be done with those Indians. I a.s.sure your honor it will not be in my power to keep them together much longer.

I am your honor's most humble and most obedient servant,

GEO. CROGAN.

The Indian Israel was arrested, taken to Philadelphia, and tried, but, in consequence of the critical situation of affairs, the French having tampered with the Six Nations until they were wavering, he was let off, returned to his tribe, and the matter smoothed over as best it could under the circ.u.mstances.

The number of Indians under Crogan at Braddock's defeat was thirty; but what part they performed on that eventful day was not recorded. That Crogan and his Indians were of some service would appear from the fact that the a.s.sembly pa.s.sed a law exempting him from arrests--for debt, it is supposed--for ten years, and commissioning him a captain in the colonial service.

The supposition that Crogan was a spy in the pay of the French was based upon the idea that he was a Roman Catholic, inasmuch as he was born in Dublin. His loyalty was first brought into question by Governor Sharpe, in December, 1753, who wrote to Governor Hamilton, informing him that the French knew every move for defence made in the colonies, and asked his opinion of Crogan. In answer, Governor Hamilton said:--

I observe what you say of Mr. Crogan; and, though the several matters of which you have received information carry in them a good deal of suspicion, and it may be highly necessary to keep a watchful eye upon him, yet I hope they will not turn out to be any thing very material, or that will effect his faithfulness to the trust reposed in him, which, at this time, is of great importance and a very considerable one. At present I have no one to inquire of as to the truth of the particulars mentioned in yours but Mr.

Peters, who a.s.sures me that Mr. Crogan has never been deemed a Roman Catholic, nor does he believe that he is one, though he knows not his education, which was in Dublin, nor his religious profession.

Whatever Mr. Crogan's religious faith may have been, he paid much less attention to it than he did to Indian affairs; and that he was deeply devoted to the proprietary government is evident from his subsequent career. To keep the Indians loyal, he advanced many presents to them, as appears by Governor Morris's letter to Governor Hardy, for which he never was reimbursed; and the company of Indians he commanded was fitted out at his own expense; and it was the attempt to get what he advanced on that occasion that led to his quarrel with the commissioners and his resignation.

From Philadelphia he went to Onondago, in September, 1756, and soon after was appointed deputy-agent of Indian affairs by Sir William Johnston. On his arrival in Philadelphia, his appointment was announced to the council by Governor Denny.

"The council, knowing Mr. Crogan's circ.u.mstances, was not a little surprised at the appointment, and desired to see his credentials;"

which he produced, and again took an active part in Indian affairs.

After the French had evacuated Fort Duquesne, in 1758, Crogan resided for a time in Fort Pitt. From there he went down the river, was taken prisoner by the French, and taken to Detroit. From thence he returned to New York, where he died in 1782.

On the 6th of October, 1754, the reigning chief of Aughwick, called _Tanacharrisan_, or Half-King, died at Paxton. In communicating his death to the governor, John Harris said:--