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HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY:
HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY:
EMBRACING AN ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY PIONEERS, AND THE TRIALS AND PRIVATIONS INCIDENT TO THE SETTLEMENT OF THE VALLEY, PREDATORY INCURSIONS, MASSACRES, AND ABDUCTIONS BY THE INDIANS DURING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS, AND THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION, &c. By U. J. JONES. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY HENRY B. ASHMEAD, GEORGE ST., ABOVE ELEVENTH. 1856. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1856, by U. J. JONES, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eas
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Dedication.
Dedication.
TO MAJOR B. F. BELL, BELL'S MILLS, BLAIR COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. Dear Sir :—I hope your well-known modesty will not be shocked when your eyes encounter this notice. In dedicating to you the fruits of my first historical labors in the field of literature, allow me to say that I am governed by reasons that will justify me. In the first place, I may cite your well-known and often-expressed veneration and esteem for the memory of the brave old Pioneers of our Valley, their heroic deeds, and their indo
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
The design, object, and aim of the following pages can be summed up without any circumlocution. Some ten or twelve years ago, a large volume of "Historical Collections of Pennsylvania" was published by Sherman Day, which gave a brief history, among others, of the counties composing the Valley of the Juniata. This work was followed by a compilation, by I. D. Rupp, Esq., entitled "A History of Northumberland, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Centre, Union, Clinton, Juniata, and Columbia counties." The last, a
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CHAPTER I. THE ABORIGINES OF THE VALLEY — THEIR HABITS AND THEIR CUSTOMS.
CHAPTER I. THE ABORIGINES OF THE VALLEY — THEIR HABITS AND THEIR CUSTOMS.
When the persevering and adventurous Anglo-Saxon first entered the wilds of the Juniata, his eye, as far as it could reach, beheld nothing but a dense forest; but his quick penetration observed its natural beauties, its advantages, and the fertility of its soil. Hence he did not long stand upon the crest of the Tuscarora Mountain, debating the advantages to be derived from making it his home, or the risk he was taking upon himself in doing so, but plunged boldly down into the valley and called i
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CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
It appears from all authentic evidence that white traders ventured into the valley as early as 1740, but always left again after transacting their business. It was about the year 1741 that bold and daring men pushed into the valley with the evident determination of making it their home. They were nearly all Scotch-Irish,—a hardy race of devout Christians, whose ancestors had been persecuted in the north of Scotland, by Charles I., and driven to the north of Ireland, and who, fearful of the provi
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CHAPTER III. JUNIATA ISLAND — AN INDIAN PARADISE — REV. DAVID BRAINERD AMONG THE SAVAGES — THE EARLY SETTLERS, HULINGS, WATTS, AND BASKINS — INDIAN BATTLES — REMARKABLE ESCAPE OF MRS. HULINGS, ETC.
CHAPTER III. JUNIATA ISLAND — AN INDIAN PARADISE — REV. DAVID BRAINERD AMONG THE SAVAGES — THE EARLY SETTLERS, HULINGS, WATTS, AND BASKINS — INDIAN BATTLES — REMARKABLE ESCAPE OF MRS. HULINGS, ETC.
Juniata Island—now called Duncan's Island, in consequence of the Duncan family being the proprietors for many years—is formed by the confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna. Stretching northward, it presents a lovely and fertile plain, surrounded by gorgeous and romantic scenery, surpassed by few places in the State. This must have been a very paradise for the sons of the forest. Facing to the west, before them lay their beautiful hunting-grounds; facing to the south, the eye rested upon the "
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CHAPTER IV. INDIAN TOWNS ALONG THE JUNIATA — LOST CREEK VALLEY DISCOVERED — MEXICO FIRST SETTLED BY CAPTAIN JAMES PATTERSON IN 1751 — INDIAN ATTACK UPON SETTLERS AT THE HOUSE OF WILLIAM WHITE — MASSACRE OF WHITE — CAPTURE OF A LAD NAMED JOHN RIDDLE — HIS RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY, ETC.
CHAPTER IV. INDIAN TOWNS ALONG THE JUNIATA — LOST CREEK VALLEY DISCOVERED — MEXICO FIRST SETTLED BY CAPTAIN JAMES PATTERSON IN 1751 — INDIAN ATTACK UPON SETTLERS AT THE HOUSE OF WILLIAM WHITE — MASSACRE OF WHITE — CAPTURE OF A LAD NAMED JOHN RIDDLE — HIS RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY, ETC.
[For the facts on which the two chapters following are based we are indebted to a gentleman named Andrew Banks , an old resident of Lost Creek Valley, Juniata county. He was born near York, and settled near his late place of residence in 1773, and was nearly eighty-nine years of age when we called upon him early in December, 1855. We found him enjoying the evening of a long and well-spent life, with his sense of hearing somewhat impaired, but his intellect and memory both good. He was a man of c
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CHAPTER V. EARLY SETTLERS AT LICKING CREEK — RELICS OF AN INDIAN BATTLE — HOUSE OF ROBERT CAMPBELL ATTACKED — JAMES CAMPBELL WOUNDED AND TAKEN PRISONER — SCOUT SENT FROM SHERMAN'S CREEK — ENCOUNTERED INDIANS AT BUFFALO CREEK — FIVE OF THE SCOUT KILLED, ETC.
CHAPTER V. EARLY SETTLERS AT LICKING CREEK — RELICS OF AN INDIAN BATTLE — HOUSE OF ROBERT CAMPBELL ATTACKED — JAMES CAMPBELL WOUNDED AND TAKEN PRISONER — SCOUT SENT FROM SHERMAN'S CREEK — ENCOUNTERED INDIANS AT BUFFALO CREEK — FIVE OF THE SCOUT KILLED, ETC.
The neighborhood of the mouth of Licking Creek was settled about 1750. The first settler was Hugh Hardy, a Scotch-Irishman, who located about a mile from the mouth of the creek. He was followed by families named Castner, Wilson, Law, Scott, Grimes, and Sterrit, all Scotch-Irish, and the last two traders in Indian goods. At the time of their advent at Licking Creek, the Indians were exceedingly friendly, and pointed out to them a famous battle-ground near the creek. The oral tradition of the batt
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CHAPTER VI. TUSCARORA VALLEY — ITS EARLY SETTLERS — ITS MOUNDS AND ITS FORTS — MASSACRES, ETC.
CHAPTER VI. TUSCARORA VALLEY — ITS EARLY SETTLERS — ITS MOUNDS AND ITS FORTS — MASSACRES, ETC.
Tuscarora Path Valley, as it was formerly called, is one of the most fertile and beautiful within the Juniata range. It embraces an extent of probably thirty miles in length, beginning in Franklin county, and ending at the river at Perrysville, in Juniata county. The name of "Path" was given to it in consequence of the old western Indian path running through it nearly its entire length. Tuscarora, in its day, must have been a famous place for the Indians. Its great natural advantages, and the ab
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CHAPTER VII. FORT GRANVILLE — OLD INDIAN TOWN — THE EARLY SETTLERS — CAPTAIN JACOBS — ASSAULT ON AND CAPTURE OF THE FORT.
CHAPTER VII. FORT GRANVILLE — OLD INDIAN TOWN — THE EARLY SETTLERS — CAPTAIN JACOBS — ASSAULT ON AND CAPTURE OF THE FORT.
Previous to the settlement by the whites, the flat on which the eastern part of Lewistown now stands was an Indian town of considerable importance. It was the outlet of a large and fertile valley, through which ran a north-western Indian path, and in which dwelt five or six tribes, who found this the natural outlet to the Juniata. The council-house stood upon the east side of the creek, near its mouth, and the line of wigwams stretched toward the north. The first white settlers in this neighborh
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CHAPTER VIII. ORGANIZATION OF MIFFLIN COUNTY — DISPUTE WITH HUNTINGDON COUNTY ABOUT THE BOUNDARY LINE — RIOT IN LEWISTOWN, ETC.
CHAPTER VIII. ORGANIZATION OF MIFFLIN COUNTY — DISPUTE WITH HUNTINGDON COUNTY ABOUT THE BOUNDARY LINE — RIOT IN LEWISTOWN, ETC.
[ Note. —It was not the author's original intention to publish any thing of modern occurrence in the Juniata Valley, but to confine himself exclusively to its early history; but several friends in Lewistown made a particular request that we should insert an account of the dispute arising from the boundary question, and the riot of 1791. The latter has been repeatedly published. Still, as it occurred sixty-four years ago, and few, if any, living witnesses of the occurrence are to be found, it may
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CHAPTER IX. KISHICOQUILLAS VALLEY — THE SHAWNEE CHIEF KISHICOKELAS — THE MINGO CHIEF LOGAN.
CHAPTER IX. KISHICOQUILLAS VALLEY — THE SHAWNEE CHIEF KISHICOKELAS — THE MINGO CHIEF LOGAN.
Among the many valleys composing the Juniata Valley, or, indeed, among all the fine and productive valleys of the State, few, if any, can surpass Kishicoquillas. Its outlet is at Lewistown, from whence it stretches west a distance of nearly thirty miles, varying in breadth from two to four miles. After the treaty of Fort Stanwix, the whites returned to the neighborhood of Granville, and some of them commenced exploring the valley. The land was then included in what was termed the new purchase, a
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CHAPTER X. COL. JOHN ARMSTRONG'S EXPEDITION AGAINST KITTANING — LIST OF THE KILLED AND WOUNDED — DELAWARE CHIEFS, CAPTAIN JACOBS AND SHINGAS.
CHAPTER X. COL. JOHN ARMSTRONG'S EXPEDITION AGAINST KITTANING — LIST OF THE KILLED AND WOUNDED — DELAWARE CHIEFS, CAPTAIN JACOBS AND SHINGAS.
The following account of the famous expedition against the Indian town of Kittaning we deem worthy of being recorded, not only because the companies of Captains Potter and Steel belonged to the Juniata Valley, but on account of its being an interesting detail of an important event in the early settlement of the country. The expedition was planned and carried out with great secresy, for the sole purpose of punishing the Indians engaged in the Juniata Valley massacres, and who it was known had the
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CHAPTER XI. OLD INDIAN TOWN — INDIAN PATHS — AUGHWICK — MURDER OF JOHN ARMSTRONG AND PARTY — CAPTAIN JACK, THE WILD HUNTER OF THE JUNIATA — GEORGE CROGAN, ETC.
CHAPTER XI. OLD INDIAN TOWN — INDIAN PATHS — AUGHWICK — MURDER OF JOHN ARMSTRONG AND PARTY — CAPTAIN JACK, THE WILD HUNTER OF THE JUNIATA — GEORGE CROGAN, ETC.
As we ascend the river, the nearer we approach the base of the Alleghany Mountains the fewer places we find even mentioned in quite early history. On the flat eight or nine miles west of Lewistown, near a large spring, stood an old Shawnee town. It is mentioned as early as 1731, in a report of the number of Indians accompanying the deposition of some traders. The town was called Ohesson , on the "Choniata," and supposed to be sixty miles distant from the Susquehanna. As this is Indian computatio
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CHAPTER XII. RAYSTOWN BRANCH — EARLY SETTLEMENT OF RAYSTOWN — GENERAL FORBES'S EXPEDITION — COLONELS WASHINGTON AND BOQUET — COLONEL ARMSTRONG'S LETTER — SMITH AND HIS BLACK BOYS — BLOODY RUN — ROBBERY — INDIAN MASSACRES — REVOLUTIONARY LIEUTENANTS OF BEDFORD COUNTY, ETC.
CHAPTER XII. RAYSTOWN BRANCH — EARLY SETTLEMENT OF RAYSTOWN — GENERAL FORBES'S EXPEDITION — COLONELS WASHINGTON AND BOQUET — COLONEL ARMSTRONG'S LETTER — SMITH AND HIS BLACK BOYS — BLOODY RUN — ROBBERY — INDIAN MASSACRES — REVOLUTIONARY LIEUTENANTS OF BEDFORD COUNTY, ETC.
The earliest settlement on the Raystown Branch of the Juniata was made by a man named Ray, in 1751, who built three cabins near where Bedford now stands. In 1755 the province agreed to open a wagon-road from Fort Louden, in Cumberland county, to the forks of the Youghiogheny River. For this purpose three hundred men were sent up, but for some cause or other the project was abandoned. This road was completed in 1758, when the allied forces of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania marched against F
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CHAPTER XIII. RAYSTOWN BRANCH, CONTINUED — MURDER OF SANDERS AND HIS FAMILY — ENGLISHMAN AND WIFE TAKEN PRISONERS — FELIX SKELLY AND MRS. ELDER TAKEN CAPTIVES — THEIR RETURN, ETC.
CHAPTER XIII. RAYSTOWN BRANCH, CONTINUED — MURDER OF SANDERS AND HIS FAMILY — ENGLISHMAN AND WIFE TAKEN PRISONERS — FELIX SKELLY AND MRS. ELDER TAKEN CAPTIVES — THEIR RETURN, ETC.
The country between the mouth of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata and what is called the Crossings was thinly settled prior to the Revolution. The land, and general appearance of things, did not strike settlers very favorably; hence it may be assumed that it was only taken up about 1772, when the new-comers from the eastern counties had already taken up the choice tracts lying contiguous to the river. The first depredation committed on the Branch, near its mouth, by the savages, occurred in Ma
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CHAPTER XIV. STANDING STONE, ANCIENT AND MODERN — MURDER OF FELIX DONNELLY AND HIS SON FRANCIS, ETC.
CHAPTER XIV. STANDING STONE, ANCIENT AND MODERN — MURDER OF FELIX DONNELLY AND HIS SON FRANCIS, ETC.
As an Indian post of ancient date, none is more universally known than "Standing Stone," where Huntingdon now stands. The very earliest traders could never ascertain by Indian tradition how long it had been a village, but that it dated back to a very remote period may be judged from the fact that the land on the flat between Stone Creek and Huntingdon was under cultivation one hundred and five years ago. It was used as one extensive corn-field, with the exception of that portion lying near the m
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CHAPTER XV. TRIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS — THEIR FORTS, AND OTHER MEANS OF DEFENCE.
CHAPTER XV. TRIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS — THEIR FORTS, AND OTHER MEANS OF DEFENCE.
The first outbreak of the war in 1775 found the frontier inhabitants few in number and without arms. Living in a remote part of the State, where no invading foe would be likely to come, many young and vigorous men went forward and joined the army. This fancied security, however, proved a sad delusion to the frontier-men; and the absence of any regular means of defence was only severely felt when the savages came down from the mountain, ripe for rapine, blood, and theft. The fact that the northwe
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CHAPTER XVI. THE EARLY SETTLERS — OLD HART, THE INDIAN TRADER, ETC.
CHAPTER XVI. THE EARLY SETTLERS — OLD HART, THE INDIAN TRADER, ETC.
We have been unable to procure any thing like a full and complete list of the early settlers of the entire valley; yet we deem it necessary to give what we have procured, as a necessary adjunct to our work. It will be perceived that many of the names are familiar, and the descendants are still scattered profusely over this section of the country, as well as the Union. Mr. Bell, in his Memoir, states that, at the time of his earliest recollection, between the Stone (Huntingdon) and the mountain,
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CHAPTER XVII. THE CONTINENTAL MILLS OF THE VALLEY.
CHAPTER XVII. THE CONTINENTAL MILLS OF THE VALLEY.
Among the vicissitudes incident to the settlement of the valley was a very serious one, in the shape of sometimes an absolute want of flour—not always owing to a lack of grain, but the want of mills. Especially did this operate seriously during the Revolution. The few mills at such great distances apart rendered it necessary for parties of neighbors to join in company, arm themselves, and go to mill together—all waiting until the grain was turned into flour. The want of adequate machinery preven
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CHAPTER XVIII. THE COVE — EARLY SETTLEMENT BY DUNKARDS — INDIAN MASSACRES AND CAPTIVES — MASSACRE OF ULLERY — A RESISTANT DUNKARD, ETC.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE COVE — EARLY SETTLEMENT BY DUNKARDS — INDIAN MASSACRES AND CAPTIVES — MASSACRE OF ULLERY — A RESISTANT DUNKARD, ETC.
"The Great Cove, Little Cove, and Canolloways," are mentioned frequently in government papers as far back as 1749, Indian traders having penetrated them at a much earlier date than that; yet they only figure prominently from that period. The Great Cove, now known as Morrison's, commences at Pattonsville, in Bedford county, and ends at Williamsburg, on the Juniata—bounded by Dunning's and Lock Mountains on the west, and Tussey Mountain on the east. For fertile limestone land, beautiful scenery, a
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CHAPTER XIX. TOMMY COLEMAN, THE INDIAN FIGHTER — SURPRISE OF THE DUNKARD MURDERERS, ETC.
CHAPTER XIX. TOMMY COLEMAN, THE INDIAN FIGHTER — SURPRISE OF THE DUNKARD MURDERERS, ETC.
Among all the early pioneers of the upper end of the Juniata Valley none was better known to the Indians than Thomas Coleman. His very name inspired them with terror; and, in all their marauding, they carefully avoided his neighborhood. He was, emphatically, an Indian-hater,—the great aim and object of whose life appeared to be centred in the destruction of Indians. For this he had a reason—a deep-seated revenge to gratify, a thirst that all the savage blood in the land could not slake,—superind
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CHAPTER XX. SINKING VALLEY — THE LEAD MINES — FORT ROBERDEAU — INDIAN MURDER, AND HEROIC CONDUCT OF A WOMAN — ENCOUNTER WITH A SAVAGE — MURDER OF ROLLER AND BEBAULT, ETC.
CHAPTER XX. SINKING VALLEY — THE LEAD MINES — FORT ROBERDEAU — INDIAN MURDER, AND HEROIC CONDUCT OF A WOMAN — ENCOUNTER WITH A SAVAGE — MURDER OF ROLLER AND BEBAULT, ETC.
One of the most prominent points in Pennsylvania, during the Revolution, was Sinking Valley, owing, in a great measure, to the fact that it had a fort, under military discipline,—where the sentry marched upon ramparts, where the reveille aroused the inmates at the dawn of day, and where people felt secure in the immediate presence of muskets with bristling bayonets, a pair of cannon, and an abundance of ammunition, and where, for a long time, the greater part of the lead used by the Continental
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CHAPTER XXI. TORIES OF THE VALLEY — THEIR UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION TO JOIN THE INDIANS AT KITTANING — CAPTAIN JOHN WESTON, THE TORY LEADER — CAPTAIN THOMAS BLAIR — CAPTURE OF THE BROTHERS HICKS — HANGING A TORY — NARROW ESCAPE OF TWO OF WESTON'S MEN, ETC.
CHAPTER XXI. TORIES OF THE VALLEY — THEIR UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION TO JOIN THE INDIANS AT KITTANING — CAPTAIN JOHN WESTON, THE TORY LEADER — CAPTAIN THOMAS BLAIR — CAPTURE OF THE BROTHERS HICKS — HANGING A TORY — NARROW ESCAPE OF TWO OF WESTON'S MEN, ETC.
A successful rebellion is a revolution; an unsuccessful attempt at revolution is a rebellion. Hence, had the Canadians been successful in their attempt to throw off the British yoke in 1837, the names of the leaders would have embellished the pages of history as heroes and patriots, instead of going down to posterity as convicts transported to the penal colonies of England. Had the efforts of the Cubanos to revolutionize the island of Cuba been crowned with success, the cowardly " fillibusteros
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CHAPTER XXII. THE TORY HARE — MURDER OF LOUDENSLAGER — ABDUCTION AND MURDER OF MRS. EATON AND CHILDREN — TREATMENT OF HARE BY THE SETTLERS, ETC.
CHAPTER XXII. THE TORY HARE — MURDER OF LOUDENSLAGER — ABDUCTION AND MURDER OF MRS. EATON AND CHILDREN — TREATMENT OF HARE BY THE SETTLERS, ETC.
During the troubles which followed immediately after the declaration of war, a great many depredations were committed by the tories, that were invariably charged to the Indians. As we have stated in the preceding chapter, the patriots and the tories, in point of numbers, were about equally divided in many of the settlements of what now constitutes Huntingdon county; yet the victims of tory wrongs could not for a long time bring themselves to believe that they were inflicted by their neighbors. B
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CHAPTER XXIII. MOSES DONALDSON — CAPTURE AND MURDER OF HIS WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN.
CHAPTER XXIII. MOSES DONALDSON — CAPTURE AND MURDER OF HIS WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN.
Moses Donaldson lived in Hartslog settlement, where Hatfield's iron-works are now located, near Alexandria. In 1777, after the first Indian outrages had been committed, the neighboring settlers met, and resolved for their better protection to build a stockade fort somewhere near the river. After the building was decided upon, the location became a subject of contention—one party wanting the fort at Lytle's, another at Donaldson's, and for a while party strife ran high. Lytle, however, succeeded
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CHAPTER XXIV. DEPREDATIONS AT THE MOUTH OF SPRUCE CREEK — MURDER OF LEVI HICKS — SCALPING OF HIS CHILD.
CHAPTER XXIV. DEPREDATIONS AT THE MOUTH OF SPRUCE CREEK — MURDER OF LEVI HICKS — SCALPING OF HIS CHILD.
We have already mentioned the Hicks family in a preceding chapter, and incidentally mentioned their captivity for a number of years among the Indians. We have made the most unremitting exertions, yet we have failed to ascertain any thing like a satisfactory account of this remarkable family. The name of Gersham Hicks figures in Miner's "History of Wyoming" as an Indian guide, while in the Archives he is noticed as an Indian interpreter, previous to the war of the Revolution. Where they were take
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CHAPTER XXV. STONE VALLEY — McCORMICK'S FORT — MURDER OF MRS. HOUSTON AND JAMES McCLEES — A DEALER IN GRAIN OF THE OLDEN TIME.
CHAPTER XXV. STONE VALLEY — McCORMICK'S FORT — MURDER OF MRS. HOUSTON AND JAMES McCLEES — A DEALER IN GRAIN OF THE OLDEN TIME.
In consequence of the rumors so rife in 1778 of the country being filled with Indians, the people of Stone Valley, north of Huntingdon, determined to build a fort. While concerting the measures for its erection, a Mr. McCormick stated that, inasmuch as the population of the valley was not very large, and the labor and expense attending the erection of a fortress very great, he would agree that his house should be put into repair, pierced for defence, and that the people should fort with him. Thi
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CHAPTER XXVI. TUCKAHOE — MURDER OF JOHN GUILLIFORD.
CHAPTER XXVI. TUCKAHOE — MURDER OF JOHN GUILLIFORD.
In the Valley of Tuckahoe, stretching from Altoona to the mouth of the Bald Eagle, there were some depredations committed, but never any of a very serious nature, except upon one occasion. The cause of this can be traced, in a great measure, to the fact that Thomas and Michael Coleman and Michael Wallack lived in the upper end of the valley. These men were so well known and so much feared by the Indians, that, although the Kittaning Path, leading to the Bald Eagle Valley, ran directly through Tu
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CHAPTER XXVII. EARLY SETTLEMENT OF SCOTCH VALLEY — THE MOORE FAMILY — MASSACRE OF WILLIAM MOORE — INDIAN SHOT BY A BOY, ETC.
CHAPTER XXVII. EARLY SETTLEMENT OF SCOTCH VALLEY — THE MOORE FAMILY — MASSACRE OF WILLIAM MOORE — INDIAN SHOT BY A BOY, ETC.
The Moore family, whose name is identified with Scotch Valley as the original settlers, came to this country probably about the year 1768, from Scotland. It consisted of Samuel Moore, his seven sons and two daughters,—viz.: Daniel, William, John, Samuel, James, David, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Jane. Their first stopping-place in the interior was in Kishicoquillas Valley, where the hardy Scots commenced clearing land; but the yield not being such as they were led to expect, the two elder brothers, D
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CHAPTER XXVIII. WOODCOCK VALLEY — MASSACRE OF ELDER — THE BRECKENRIDGE FAMILY — FIGHT WITH, AND DESTRUCTION OF, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS'S SCOUT BY THE INDIANS — CRUEL MASSACRE OF TEN MEN.
CHAPTER XXVIII. WOODCOCK VALLEY — MASSACRE OF ELDER — THE BRECKENRIDGE FAMILY — FIGHT WITH, AND DESTRUCTION OF, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS'S SCOUT BY THE INDIANS — CRUEL MASSACRE OF TEN MEN.
Woodcock Valley, located north of Huntingdon, is one of the oldest-settled valleys in the county. In the days of Indian depredations, it was a favorite haunt of the savage, whose great war-path from the West to the East went through a part of it. The first murder committed in it during the Revolutionary struggle occurred at Coffey Run, near the present residence of Mr. Entriken. The victim was a man named Elder, the husband of the woman mentioned in a preceding chapter as having been carried a c
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CHAPTER XXIX. WATER STREET — THE BEATTY FAMILY — CAPTAIN SIMONTON — MASSACRE OF THE DEAN FAMILY — CAPTIVITY OF JOHN SIMONTON, ETC.
CHAPTER XXIX. WATER STREET — THE BEATTY FAMILY — CAPTAIN SIMONTON — MASSACRE OF THE DEAN FAMILY — CAPTIVITY OF JOHN SIMONTON, ETC.
Water Street is an old place, and was settled prior to the Revolution. A stream of water from the Canoe Mountain, supposed to be the Arch Spring of Sinking Valley, passes down a ravine and empties into the Juniata at this place. For some distance through a narrow defile, the road passed directly through the bed of this stream,—a circumstance which induced the settlers to call it Water Street when the original settlement was made. This for a long time was an important point, being the canoe-landi
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CHAPTER XXX. HOLLIDAYSBURG — THE HOLLIDAY FAMILY — DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HOLLIDAY AT THE BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE — MASSACRE OF A PORTION OF WILLIAM HOLLIDAY'S FAMILY — JOHN HOLLIDAY, ETC.
CHAPTER XXX. HOLLIDAYSBURG — THE HOLLIDAY FAMILY — DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HOLLIDAY AT THE BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE — MASSACRE OF A PORTION OF WILLIAM HOLLIDAY'S FAMILY — JOHN HOLLIDAY, ETC.
William and Adam Holliday, cousins, emigrated from the North of Ireland about 1750, and settled in the neighborhood of the Manor, in Lancaster county. The feuds which existed between the Irish and German emigrants, as well as the unceasing efforts of the proprietary agents to keep emigrants from settling upon their lands, induced the Hollidays to seek a location farther west. Conococheague suggested itself to them as a suitable place, because it was so far removed from Philadelphia that the prop
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CHAPTER XXXI. OLD INDIAN TOWN OF FRANKSTOWN — INDIAN BURIAL-PLACES — MASSACRE OF THE BEDFORD SCOUT, ETC.
CHAPTER XXXI. OLD INDIAN TOWN OF FRANKSTOWN — INDIAN BURIAL-PLACES — MASSACRE OF THE BEDFORD SCOUT, ETC.
Frankstown is probably the oldest place on the Juniata River—traders having mentioned it as early as 1750. The Indian town was located at the mouth of a small run, near where McCune's Mill now stands, and at one time contained a considerable number of inhabitants. The Indian name of the place was Assunepachla , which signifies a meeting of many waters, or the place where the waters join. This would seem to be an appropriate name, since, within a short distance of the place, the river is formed b
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CHAPTER XXXII. SHAVER'S CREEK — MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF OLD SHAVER — HEROIC CONDUCT OF TWO CHILDREN — ABDUCTION OF MISS EWING AND MISS McCORMICK — PETER CRUM, THE LAST VICTIM OF THE SAVAGES, ETC.
CHAPTER XXXII. SHAVER'S CREEK — MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF OLD SHAVER — HEROIC CONDUCT OF TWO CHILDREN — ABDUCTION OF MISS EWING AND MISS McCORMICK — PETER CRUM, THE LAST VICTIM OF THE SAVAGES, ETC.
The original settlement at Shaver's Creek was made in 1770, by an old gentleman named Shaver. He was followed by Anderson, Maguire, the Donnelleys, and some few others. Old Shaver met his death in a most singular manner. One evening he left his home just at twilight, for the purpose of putting his horse into a pasture-field. He did not return; but his absence created no special alarm, as this was before the war, and before any savages had appeared in the valley with murderous intent. Next mornin
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CHAPTER XXXIII. WARRIOR RIDGE — WARRIOR'S MARK — JOB CHILLAWAY, SHANEY JOHN, AND CAPTAIN LOGAN, THE LAST RED MEN IN THE JUNIATA VALLEY.
CHAPTER XXXIII. WARRIOR RIDGE — WARRIOR'S MARK — JOB CHILLAWAY, SHANEY JOHN, AND CAPTAIN LOGAN, THE LAST RED MEN IN THE JUNIATA VALLEY.
Warrior Ridge, between Alexandria and Huntingdon, derives its name from an Indian path which ran along the summit of it. The Pulpit Rocks, not unlike the altars of the Druids, shaped into fantastic forms by the hand of nature, as well as the wild romantic scenery around them, at once suggest the idea of a place of meeting of the warriors,—a spot where the councils of the brave were held, with the greensward of the mountain for a carpet and the blue vault of heaven for a canopy. Were we not so we
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CHAPTER XXXIV. CONCLUSION.
CHAPTER XXXIV. CONCLUSION.
Pushing the light canoe on the lagoons in search of fish and lassoing the wild horse on the pampas of the South, chasing the buffalo on the boundless prairies and hunting the antlered stag in the dense forests of the West, is now the Indian's occupation; and there he may be found, ever shunning the haunts of civilization. The Delaware Indians have been exterminated, and their very name ( Lenni Lenape ) blotted from existence, save where it appears upon the pages of history. Of the Shawnees, once
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APPENDIX. THE VALLEY AS IT IS.
APPENDIX. THE VALLEY AS IT IS.
The preceding pages fulfil the original intention of presenting to the public, as far as possible, a "History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley." Its modern history, fraught with rare incidents, is left to the pen of some future enterprising historian, who may collect the incidents necessary to construct it when but a moiety of the generation (still numerous) who know the valley and its multifarious changes for half a century past shall be dwellers in our midst. Still, such prospect
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