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 mouth of the creek, where the Indian town stood, and
where also was a public ground, used on great occasions for councils or
dances.
The Standing Stone--that is, the _original_ stone--was, according
to John Harris, fourteen feet high and six inches square. It stood on
the right bank of Stone Creek, near its mouth, and in such a position
as to enable persons to see it at a considerable distance, either from
up or down the river.
About this self-same Standing Stone there still exist contradictory
opinions. These we have endeavored to ascertain; and, after weighing
them carefully, we have come to the conclusion that no person now
living ever saw part or parcel of the _original_ stone, notwithstanding
Dr. Henderson delivered what some are disposed to believe a portion of
it to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
The original Standing Stone, we are induced to believe, in addition to
serving a similar capacity to that of a guide-board at a cross-road,
was the official record of the tribe. On it, no doubt, were engraved
all the important epochs in its history,--its wars, its mighty deeds,
its prowess in battle, and its skill in the chase. It might, too, have
served as a sacred tablet to the memory of many a noble chief who fell
by the arrow of an enemy. These things were, no doubt, in cabalistic
characters; and, although each inscription may have been small, its
meaning may have taken in almost an unbounded scope, as Indian brevity
generally does.
This stone was once the cause of a war. The Tuscaroras, residing some
thirty or forty miles down the river,--probably in Tuscarora
Valley,--wished to declare war against the tribe at Standing Stone, for
some real or fancied insult, and for this purpose sent them repeated
war-messages, which the tribe at the Stone refused to give ear to,
knowing as they did the strength and power of the enemy. Taking
advantage of the absence of a large part of the tribe on a hunt, the
Tuscaroras, in great force, came upon the village, captured the stone,
and carried it off. Immediately after the return of the warriors, the
entire available war-force was despatched after the depredators, who
were soon overtaken. A bloody conflict ensued, and the trophy was
recaptured and carried back in triumph.
Dr. Barton, it is said, discovered that the word _Oneida_ meant
"Standing Stone," in the language of the Southern Indians.[2] The
_Oneida_ tribe of the Iroquois had a tradition that their forefathers
came from the South; consequently, the tribe at Standing Stone may have
been part of the Oneida tribe instead of Delawares, as was generally
supposed. The Tuscaroras, according to history, came from the South and
became one of the Iroquois confederation in 1712. The language of the
two tribes in question, although not identical, bore a strong affinity
to each other. Hence we may surmise that the characters upon the stone
were understood by the Tuscaroras, and that it possessed, in their
eyes, sufficient value to move it some forty or fifty miles, under what
we should call disadvantageous circumstances, especially when it is
known that stones of a better finish could have been found anywhere
along the Juniata River.
[2] Morgan, in his "League of the Iroquois," gives it a
different interpretation.
There is no doubt at all but what the original stone was removed by the
Indians and taken with them in 1754 or 1755, for it is a
well-ascertained fact that the Indians in the valley, with some few
exceptions, (Aughwick, for instance,) joined the French in the above
years.
The first survey of the land on which Huntingdon now stands was made by
Mr. Lukens, in behalf of a claimant named Crawford, in 1756. It is
therein named as "George Crogan's improvement." It is not improbable
that Crogan may have claimed the improved fields and site of the
deserted village, but that he ever made any improvement beyond probably
erecting a trading-post there is a matter of some doubt. His whole
history proves that he was no _improving_ man.
On the second stone erected were found the names of John and Charles
Lukens, Thomas Smith, and a number of others, with dates varying from
1768 to 1770, cut or chiselled. This stone was most unquestionably
erected, by some of the men whose names it bore, on the same spot where
the original stone stood, but was subsequently removed to or near where
the old court-house in Huntingdon formerly stood. This position it
occupied for many years, and might still stand as a monument of the
past, had not some Vandal taken it into his head to destroy it. One
piece of it still remains in a wall of the foundation of a house in
Huntingdon.
The old Indian graveyard (and an extensive one it must have been) was
on the high ground, near where the present Presbyterian church stands.
To the credit of the Huntingdon folks be it said, they have never
permitted a general exhumation of the bones of the Indians, to fill
scientific cabinets, gratify the morbid appetites of the curious, or
even to satisfy the less objectionable zeal of the antiquarian.
The few white settlers who lived at the Stone, in 1762, partially
erected a stockade fort; but before the spring of 1763 they were forced
to abandon it, as well as their houses, and fly to Carlisle for
protection. When the settlers returned, in 1770, the fort still stood,
though partially decayed. Immediately on the breaking out of the war of
the Revolution, the fort was rebuilt on a more extended scale by the
few inhabitants of the town and surrounding country. It was located
near where the court-house now stands, immediately on the bluff, and,
according to the traces of it discovered by the present generation,
must have covered ten acres of ground. It was strongly built; and, when
the savages were in the midst of their depredations, it was the only
reliable refuge--before the erection of the Lead Mine Fort, in Sinking
Valley--for all the people residing as far west as the base of the
Alleghany Mountains.
No actual attempt was ever made against Standing Stone Fort; neither
were there ever any Indians seen, except on two or three occasions,
very close to it. A party of lurking savages were once surprised and
shot at by a number of scouts on the hill where the graveyard now
stands; but they made good their escape without any injury being done.
At another time, by a display of cool courage, as well as shrewdness,
that would do any general credit, the commander of the fort
unquestionably saved the place from total annihilation. One morning a
large body of savages appeared upon the ridge on the opposite side of
the river, and, by theirmanoeuvering, it was clearly evident that
they meditated an attack, which, under the circumstances, must have
proved disastrous to the settlers, for not more than ten men able to
bear arms were in the fort at the time--the majority having left on a
scouting expedition. The commander, with judgment that did him infinite
credit, marshalled his men, and paraded them for half an hour in such a
manner as to enable the Indians to see a constant moving of the middle
of the column, but neither end of it, while the drums kept up a
constant clatter. In addition to this, he ordered all the women out,
armed them with frying-pans, brooms, or whatever he could lay his hands
upon, and marched them about the enclosure after the same manner in
which he did the men. The enemy could only make out the dim outlines of
the people and hear the noise. The stratagem succeeded, and, after a
very short council of war, the Indians disappeared.
Among those who figured about Standing Stone, at the beginning of the
Revolution, were the Bradys. Hugh Brady's name appears in some of the
old title-deeds; and the father of Sam. Brady (rendered famous by R. B.
McCabe, Esq.) lived at the mouth of the little run opposite Huntingdon.
Within the walls of Standing Stone Fort, General Hugh Brady and a
twin-sister were born. All the Bradys went to the West Branch of the
Susquehanna during the Revolution. Hugh entered the army at an early
age, and, step by step, rose from the ranks to the exalted position he
occupied at the time of his death. A characteristic anecdote is related
of him. At one time he was lying ill at Erie, and his physician told
him he could not survive. "Let the drums beat," said he; "my knapsack
is swung, and Hugh Brady is ready to march!" He recovered, however, and
died only a few years ago, at Sunbury.
The only massacre by Indians in the immediate vicinity of Standing
Stone occurred on the 19th of June, 1777, at what was then known as the
"Big Spring," two miles west of the fort. In consequence of hostile
bands of Indians having been seen at a number of places in the
neighborhood, and the general alarm which followed, people commenced
flocking to the forts from every direction.
On the day above named, Felix Donnelly and his son Francis, and
Bartholomew Maguire and his daughter, residing a short distance from
the mouth of Shaver's Creek, placed a number of their movable effects
upon horses, and, with a cow, went down the river, for the purpose of
forting at Standing Stone. Jane Maguire was in advance, driving the
cow, and the Donnellys and Maguire in the rear, on the horses. When
nearly opposite the Big Spring, an Indian fired from ambuscade and
killed young Donnelly. His father, who was close to him, caught him,
for the purpose of keeping him upon the horse. Maguire urged the old
man to fly, but he refused to leave his son. Maguire then rode to his
side, and the two held the dead body of Francis. While in this
position, three Indians rushed from their ambuscades with terrific
yells, and fired a volley, one bullet striking Felix Donnelly, and the
other grazing Maguire's ear, carrying away a portion of his hair. The
bodies of both the Donnellys fell to the ground, and Maguire rode
forward, passing (probably without noticing her) his daughter. The
Indians, after scalping the murdered men, followed Jane, evidently with
the intention of making a prisoner of her. The fleetest of them
overtook her, and grasped her by the dress, and with uplifted tomahawk
demanded her to surrender; but she struggled heroically. The strings of
her short-gown gave way, and by an extraordinary effort she freed
herself, leaving the garment in the hand of the savage; then, seizing
the cow's tail, she gave it a twist, which started the animal running,
and gave her an impetus which soon enabled her to pass her father. The
savage still followed, but in the mean time Maguire had recovered from
the consternation caused by the massacre, and immediately aimed his
rifle at the Indian, when the latter took shelter behind a tree. At
this juncture, a number of men who were pitching quoits at Cryder's
Mill, on the opposite side of the river, who had heard the firing and
the whoops of the savages, put off in a canoe to engage the Indians;
but they were soon discovered, and the Indian, shaking Jane Maguire's
short-gown derisively at them, disappeared. The men, doubtful as to the
number of the enemy, returned to the mill, to await the arrival of a
greater force.
Maguire and his daughter reached the fort in a state better imagined
than described. The garrison was soon alarmed, and a number of armed
men started in pursuit of the savages. At the mill they were joined by
the men previously mentioned; and, although every exertion was made in
their power, they could not get upon their trail, and the pursuit was
abandoned.
The dead bodies of the Donnellys were taken to Standing Stone, and
buried upon what was then vacant ground; but the spot where they now
rest is pointed out in a garden in the heart of the borough of
Huntingdon.
Jane Maguire, who certainly exhibited a very fair share of the heroism
of the day in her escape from the savage, afterward married a man named
Dowling, and moved to Raystown Branch, where she reared a family of
children, some of whom are still living.
Opposite the mouth of the Raystown Branch lived Colonel Fee, an active
and energetic man during the Revolution. He was in Captain Blair's
expedition against the tories, and for a while served as a private in
the army. His widow (a sister of the late Thomas Jackson, of Gaysport)
is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, and to her
we are indebted for much valuable information in the construction of
these pages.
The Cryders, too, are worthy of a special notice. They consisted of a
father, mother, and seven sons. They built a mill at the Big Spring,
which served for the people of Standing Stone and the surrounding
country. They were all men suitable for the times--rugged and daring. A
majority of them were constantly in service during the war of the
Revolution, either as frontier-men, scouts, or fort guards. Michael
Cryder, the father, used to spend his days at his mill and his nights
at the fort during the troublesome times, and it was himself and five
of his sons who accomplished the then extraordinary achievement of
running the first ark-load of flour down the Juniata River.
The Standing Stone is frequently mentioned in the Archives, but its
name is mostly coupled with rumors, grossly exaggerated, of attacks by
tories, &c. There is no doubt whatever but that great distress,
principally arising from a want of provisions, prevailed there during
the war.
When the alarms were most frequent, and Council had been importuned
time and again to send provisions to Standing Stone, as well as men for
its defence, and munitions, a circular was issued to the county
lieutenants, dated July 16, 1778, from which we extract the following:--
It is proper to acquaint you that Colonel Broadhead's regiment, now
on a march to Pittsburg, is ordered by the Board of War to the
Standing Stone; and we have ordered three hundred militia from
Cumberland, and two hundred from York, to join them.
This promise to the ear of the affrighted settlers was broken to the
hope. Only seventy of the Cumberland militia were taken to the Standing
Stone, and thirty of them soon after removed to garrison the Lead Mine
Fort.
Huntingdon was laid out previous to the commencement of
hostilities--probably in 1775,--but it retained the name of Stone Town
for many years. With the exception of Frankstown, it is the oldest town
on the Juniata. On the formation of the county, in 1787, it took the
same name. The county, during the late war with Great Britain,
furnished three full companies; and, although it once was the
stronghold of tories, we can now safely say that it stands among the
most patriotic in the State.
[Illustration: SCENE BELOW WILLIAMSBURG.]