Capture, Escape and Death of Tom.
After the death of Muswink, the authorities attempted to arrest Tom,
and bring him to trial. Not that they thought him guilty of any serious
crime, but that he might be the means of bringing on another Indian War.
Most of the people justified the killing of Muswink. First, because
he was the murderer of his father; secondly, the provocation given by
Muswink at Decker’s Tavern justified Tom in slaying him.
But at last he was arrested, tied and put in a sleigh to be taken to
Newton where he was to be tried for murder. But with the assistance of
some friends, he made his escape, ran to the river, and plunged in,
amid ice and snow, and crossed to the west bank of the river, where he
was concealed and fed by his friends for two months, and then made his
appearance in public again, and died at the house of Jacobus Rosencrance
in 1756.
Tradition says, he died of Smallpox. That the Indians hearing of his
death, dug up his remains, and distributed them among several tribes of
Indians. The Smallpox became prevalent and several tribes were nearly
annihilated. Thus, Samsonlike, “he slew more at his death than he did
when living.”
Tom Quick’s death was in keeping with his life. He firmly believed that
he was appointed by God to avenge his father’s death. At times he had
fears that his father’s spirit would be offended because he had not sent
more Indians to the Spirit world.
Tom loved his rifle and called the scalps he had taken “his crowns, his
jewels,” his passports to the Spirit world.
A short time before his death, he said to the persons that were around
him: I am going to meet my father, and fell back on his pillow. When he
awoke, he seemed to be disappointed, and looked around in a bewildered
gaze: “Where am I? Is this heaven? No this is earth. But I am in sight of
heaven. I see the silver lining behind the cloud. I see the portals open.
I hear my father say—Come Tom, come. Where is my old companion? (His gun
is handed him). Faithful to the last. Where are my jewels, my crowns? (A
string of scalps is handed him.) These are crowns of glory, my passports
to the Spirit World. Father, I come.” And dropped back dead.
Thus ended Thomas Quick, Jr. One of the most remarkable characters that
ever lived in the Delaware Valley. His ashes now repose on the spot
where he was born. (Milford, Pa.) And after nearly one hundred years, a
suitable monument has been erected, to perpetuate his memory.
The reader may ask, What excuse is there for his several crimes? A
conversation that took place between his mother and Maggie Quick his
niece, answers the question: Grandma what makes Uncle Tom act so queer,
and stay away from home so much?
Her grandma answered: The murder of his father _turned his head_, and now
he is not responsible for anything he _says or does_.
Yes it was the murder of his father that turned his head, and made him
the _avenger_ of the Delaware Valley.
Gardner, in his life of Tom Quick, page 17, says: It was this sad
event that fired the heart of the bereaved and frantic son. Tom was
transformed. He was from that time forward known as the “Indian Slayer,”
or as he called himself, “the Avenger of the Delaware.” Rough in his
manners, having been accustomed from infancy as much to Indian as to
civilized life, he had a heart which beat with the warmest affection
toward all his kindred, especially his father.
The spot where his father fell beneath the ball and the scalping knife of
the Indians, was a Carthaginian altar to him. Hamlibar, brought his son
Hannibal to the altar of the Gods, that he might swear eternal enmity to
Rome.
Tom Quick’s consecration to the destruction of the race whose warriors
had wrought the death of his father, lacked indeed the forms of religious
rites, but possessed the substance, and no more steadily on a wider field
did the son of Hamlibar follow out the pledges of his youth, than did Tom
Quick press on to the fulfillment of his vow of vengeance, thinking as
he did, “that the blood of the whole Indian race was not sufficient to
atone for the blood of his father.” His oath was not violated. He lived
to see the day when he could traverse the river from one end to the other
without encountering a red man.
But as we have said before, Tom Quick was now transformed. He took to
himself the title of the “Avenger of the Delaware.” He who had before
been a friend to both white and Indian, now carried with him a double
spirit, having no sentiment but that of friendship for the settlers and
love for his kindred, he had intense hatred and loathing toward the
Indians.
Cato, on a broader field, in the presence of the Roman Senate, and with
comparatively little provocation, was accustomed to close his speeches
with the exclamation: “Delenda est Carthage,” Let Carthage be destroyed!
Those who heard him applauded, and his name appears high in history as
a Roman patriot. The appeal of Cato was prompted by jealousy of the
rising and rival power of Carthage. “Let the Indians be destroyed,” was
the sentiment of Tom Quick. Between the two, as regards provocation, Tom
Quick stands upon the higher ground.
Some allowance should be made in Tom’s favor. The times in which he
lived should be taken into consideration. He was born in 1734 and died
in 1796, therefore he lived through the tragic times of the French and
English, and Revolutionary Wars. He lived at a time when an enemy’s life
was cheap; he lived at a time when a reward was paid for Indian scalps.
Orders were issued to that effect from the Government: “You are to
acquaint the men, that if in their ranging if they meet with or at any
time are attacked by the enemy and kill any of them, Forty Dollars will
be allowed and paid by the Government for each scalp of an Indian enemy
so killed.”
This was in 1756. In 1764 the bounties by Penn were:—“For every male
above ten years captured $150, scalped, being killed $134; for every
female Indian enemy, and every male under ten years of age, captured
$130; for every female above ten years of age, scalped being killed $30.”
But we have no record that Tom received any bounty. The presumption is
that he scalped to revenge his father’s death and not for money. But
the strongest proof that Tom’s actions were approved by the people, and
that he was looked upon by the settlers as a protector of their homes
and the guardian of their wives and children, is the fact that he was
always welcome to their houses, and a plate placed for him at the table.
Not only this, but the fact that they universally screened him from the
Government officers. In a word, they were proud to think that one of
their number had the courage to face the whole Indian nation of red skins.
Such was the opinion of the early settlers of the character of our hero,
and time has not changed that opinion.
His life and character has been published to the world. Historians have
eulogized his merits. Dramatists have exemplified his life and character
on the stage, and the descendants of the early settlers have raised a
monument over his dust in his native town, at the spot where he was born
to perpetuate his memory.
His historians have been James Quinlan of Monticello, N. Y., P. H. Smith,
of Newburgh, N. Y., Wm. Bross, of Chicago, Ills., and A. S. Gardner, of
Milford, Pa.
In 1888, James M. Allerton of Port Jervis, N. Y., published a drama in
five acts entitled, “Tom Quick the Avenger, or One Hundred for One,”
which was well received by the public.
And then to crown all, his descendants on the 28th of August 1889,
unveiled a monument to his memory, in the presence of a thousand persons,
amid the roar of cannon and the huzzahs of a thousand voices.
The monument stands in a street sixty feet wide, a street which is
destined to be a part of one of the leading pleasure drives of Milford.
From the monument can be seen a range of hills extending all around the
village. Also in the distance the Shawangunk mountains in New Jersey.
Near by is the Van de Mark, which comes from a distance among the hills
towards the northwest, and flows southeastward until it empties at
Milford eddy into the Delaware.
The inscriptions on the monument are as follows:
On the side looking east: Emblem on shaft, a wreath. Inscription on die:
Tom Quick was the first white child born within the limits
of the present Borough of Milford. This spot was
his birth-place and home till the cruel death of
his father by the Indians, 1756.
On the base next to the die:
Tom Quick, the Indian Slayer;
or
The Avenger of the Delaware.
On side of monument looking south: Emblem on shaft the following grouped
together and united by a shield: Tomahawk, canoe paddle, scalping knife,
calumet, wampum. Inscription on die:
Maddened by the death of his father in the hands of the
Savages, Tom Quick never abated his hostility to
them until the day of his death, a period of
over forty years.
On base next to the die:
Tom Quick died in 1796, at the house of James Rosecrantz
on the banks of the Delaware, five miles northeast of this
spot, and was buried on the farm of his friend in
what is now the Rose Cemetery, two miles south
of Matamoras. His remains were taken up
on the 110th anniversary of the battle of
the Minisink, July 22d, 1889, and
placed beneath this
monument.
On north side: Emblem on shaft, plow. Inscription on die:
Thomas Quick, Sr., Father of Tom Quick, his oldest child
emigrated from Holland to America, and settled on
this spot in 1733. He was the first white settler in
this part of the upper Delaware, and his Log
Cabin Saw Mill and Grist Mill, built on
this bank of the Van De Mark, were
the first structures ever erected
by white men
in the settlement of this region.
On the base next the die:
After a peaceful residence here of twenty years, and of
unbroken friendship with the Indians, Thomas Quick,
Sr., while crossing the Delaware on the ice, carrying
a grist on his shoulder, was shot and
scalped by his supposed friends, the
Delawares, who were lying in ambush
along the bluff on the south
side of the mouth of the Van
De Mark, and half a mile
east of his humble
home.
On west side: Emblem on shaft, flag of the United States on standard and
partly furled. Inscription on die:
This monument was erected by a descendant of Thomas
Quick, of the fourth generation; in youth a resident
of Milford, in age, one of the founders of the
“Chicago Tribune,” and from 1865 to 1869
Lieutenant Governor of the State
of Illinois.
Inscription on base next to die:
Done under the direction of Rev. A. S. Gardiner, Pastor
of the First Presbyterian Church of Milford, 1889.
APPENDIX.
=Page 6.—High Point.= Is situated in Sussex Co., 5½ miles southeast of
Port Jervis, and is the most elevated land in the State of New Jersey,
being 1804 feet above the level of the sea and 1395 feet above the
Delaware Valley at Tri-States Rock. From its peak twenty-seven cities
and villages can be seen. The scenery is grand and sublime. Extending
north to the Catskills, south to the Water Gap, east to the Highlands
and west across the Delaware, Neversink and Mamakating Valleys; while
the pure air from the pine forests of Sullivan County drives the malaria
and mosquitoes toward the Atlantic. It is crowned by a beautiful lake,
supplied by pure crystal spring water, and a first-class hotel, where the
wants of the inner man can be supplied.
=Page 9.—Peenpack Ford.= Was the usual place of crossing the Neversink
River in early times, and was located south-east of the present residence
of Peter D. Swartwout. It is now crossed by an iron bridge.
=Page 15.—Steneykill.= A small stream of water that rises near the “Old
Jersey claim line,” in lot 36 of the first division of the Minisink
Patent, at the outlet of Long Swamp, which was originally a Beaver Dam,
and runs through lot 40 of the 7th division of the Minisink Patent, and
empties into the Shinglekill on lot 41; on the farm formerly owned by
John Van Etten and now owned by F. H. Maguire.
=Page 19.—Shinglekill.= A stream of water flowing out of Big Pond about
two miles west of Peenpack (Huguenot,) and flows through lots 41 and 42
of the 7th division of the Minisink Patent, and empties into the Delaware
River at Bolton Basin. Shinglekill Island where Drake landed the raft is
just west of the mouth of the Shinglekill Brook, and the Beneykill is the
water that flows between the Island and the west shore.
=Page 23.—Charles Webb.= In 1704, Her Late Majesty Queen Ann granted
to Matthew Ling and others, the land now included within the Minisink
Patent. John Thomas and Stephen Crane were appointed Commissioners, and
Charles Webb, surveyor. Between 1704 and 1763, Charles Webb surveyed the
several divisions and filed the map in the office of the Secretary of
State on the 14th day of February 1763. The only remaining copy of that
map is in the possession of the author, and it was while Charles Webb was
making this survey that he found Walter Wallace, one of the heroes of our
tale.
=Page 34.—Bottle Rock.= A large rock in the Neversink River in the shape
of a bottle, on land formerly owned by Abraham J. Cuddeback.
=Page 35.—Sand Hill.= This was the Indian Cemetery and is situated on
the west side of the Neversink River, about three miles northeast of the
“Tri-States Rock,” on the farm now (1892) owned by Levi Van Etten. The
river has washed the most of it away, and frequently skeletons of Indians
that were buried hundreds of years ago are exposed to view.
=Page 36.—Handy Hill.= Is a ridge of land extending northeasterly from
Big Pond to Hartwood. A noted hunter by the name of Handy formerly lived
there. The Handy Town road was the first road laid out in the town of
Deerpark leading from the Neversink Valley to Sullivan County.
=Page 38.—The Grave= of Mary Powers was on the bank of the Delaware
River, about forty rods northwest of the Shinglekill. The stone wall
around it was visible in 1840, since that the bank has slid down into the
canal.
=Page 60.—Flat Boat.= This was a craft about thirty feet long and twelve
feet wide, and was used in early times by the Indian traders to transport
their goods to the head waters of the Delaware, where they exchanged
their goods with the Indians for furs. They towed or poled the boat up
the River, and floated down with the current.
=Page 86.—Hollicot Glen.= This was a narrow gulch on the old Mill Dam
Brook, about one mile west of Peenpack.
=Page 87.—Spring Brook.= In the early history of the Valley a Spring
Brook run from about where the Erie Railroad Round House in Port Jervis
is, to the Delaware River.
=Page 89.—Battle of the Neversink.= Tradition says, that the bodies of
those that perished in the Battle of the Neversink, were buried in three
pits near the bank of the Delaware River. In the year 1847, the New
York and Erie Railroad was built through the Village of Port Jervis. In
excavating and removing the earth near the bank of the river southwest
of Front Street, and about two hundred feet from the south side of the
street, on or near the land formerly owned by J. H. Dimmick, and used by
him as a lumber yard, three places were opened containing human bones.
They were remarkably preserved. The author saw several skulls in which
their teeth retained their whiteness. Joseph Van Inwegen was foreman of
the work, and Thomas Goble was one of the teamsters. They are both dead
now. A few days before the death of Goble, the author requested Dr. W. L.
Cuddeback to call on Goble and inquire of him in relation to the finding
of human bones at the time they were building the railroad through Port
Jervis. The Doctor called on Goble, who related the fact of finding the
bones substantially as stated by the author. The place of these pits was
pointed out to the author by Jacob C. Wilson.
=Page 96.—Skull Rock.= This rock is situated in the Town of Lumberland,
Sullivan County, N. Y. About one and a half miles east of Pond Eddy, and
one fourth of a mile west of Fish Cabin Brook. The projecting rock shown
in the engraving at page 96 was blasted off during the building of the
Delaware and Hudson Canal.
=Page 105.—Bushkill Falls.= These Falls are on the Bushkill Brook which
rises at the Sand Springs on the Texas property, and about a half a mile
west of Rio Post Office, and three fourths of a mile east of the Mongaup
River. The Rattle Snake den has been blasted out to get quarry stone.
Formerly trout were numerous in this stream, which is located in lot No.
38 of the 7th Division, of the Minisink Patent in the Town of Deerpark.
=Page 175.—Yah House, or Hunting House.= Was situated at or near
Wurtsboro, Sullivan Co., N. Y. It was at this house that Charles Webb
commenced the survey of the Minisink Patent.
=Page 210.—Fort Dewitt, now Port Clinton.= Is situated on the south side
of the Neversink River, one mile south of Cuddebackville, and about one
eighth of a mile east of the aqueduct over the Delaware and Hudson Canal.
Governor Dewitt Clinton was born in this house. His parents resided in
the Town of Montgomery, and his mother was on a visit to the Dewitt
family at the time of his birth, where she had been detained for several
days by a long northeast snow storm.
=Page 210.—Cahoonshee Trail.= The road running from Huguenot to Mongaup
bridge is nearly on this trail and strikes the Mongaup River opposite
Grassy Brook. The trail continued northwest to Cochecton in Sullivan Co.
This was the trail taken by Brandt after his raid in the Neversink Valley
in July 1779, in which he was followed by Colonel Hawthorn and Tusten,
and ended in the Battle of Minisink, in the Town of Highland, Sullivan
Co., on the 22nd day of July 1779.
=Page 212.—Grave of Cahoonshee.= Cahoonshee was buried on Sub. Div. Lot
No. 7 of the 17th Div. of the Minisink Patent, about one hundred feet
east of the Plank Road, and directly in the rear of the Baptist Church
on the farm formerly owned by the author, later by John L. Chase and now
owned by Jacob Bauer. In 1839 the grave of Cahoonshee was pointed out to
the author by an old resident of the Town of Deerpark by the name of
Jacob C. Wilson. He was a man of limited education, but of an enquiring
mind and retentive memory. He was well read in history, both ancient
and modern, especially English, French, Holland, Roman and Egyptian.
He had American History at his tongue’s end, and especially that part
that related to the North American Indians. He was conversant with the
traditional history of the Delaware, Neversink and Mamakating Valleys,
and to him more than any other one the author is indebted for the facts
contained in this book. The pits containing the remains of those that
fell in the battle of the Neversink, and the grave of Mary Powers he
pointed out to me when I was a boy. Soon after he showed me the grave
of Cahoonshee. At that time I trimmed up a small pine tree, that was
then about 4 inches in diameter, which stood about eight feet north of
Cahoonshee’s grave. This tree grew to be about three feet in diameter. In
1885 it was struck by lightening, and is now (1892) dead, and only a dead
white stump about twelve feet high marks the resting place of the Indian
Warrior Cahoonshee. I deem it proper to say that when Jacob C. Wilson
died, he was buried but a few feet from Cahoonshee in this secluded
cemetery. But a few years later his remains were removed to Quarry Hill
Cemetery. I am indebted to several other persons for the traditions upon
which the “Hawk’s Nest” is founded among which are Boltos Nearpass, David
Canfield and Jonathan Corey.
=Page 213.—Johannes Casparus Freyenmout.= Was the first Minister of the
Gospel that preached in the Delaware Valley. His church was built of
logs, and was situated within the present limits of the Village of Port
Jervis, on land now (1892) owned by Eli Van Inwegen, on the northeast
corner of New Jersey Avenue, and Main Street, opposite the old burying
ground, and was destroyed by Brandt in 1779.
=Page 220.—Farming.= It is the opinion of the author that at the
commencement of the Revolutionary War, there was more land under
cultivation than there is at the present time. Their farming implements
consisted of a wooden mould board plough, grain sickle, grass scythe and
hoe. With these simple tools they harvested more grain, cut more grass
and made more money than the farmers of the present day.
=Page 223.—Tom Quick’s Gun.= Is in the possession of the author. It has
been cut off and now measures five feet ten inches, and weighs seventeen
and a half pounds.