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 taken, or when released, is not positively
known. One thing, however, is quite certain: that is, that they made
themselves masters of both the habits and language of many of the
Indians.
Mrs. Fee thinks they came to Water Street immediately after their
release from captivity, and settled there. During their captivity they
imbibed the Indian habit to such a degree that they wore the Indian
costume, even to the colored eagle-feathers and little trinkets which
savages seem to take so much delight in. Gersham and Moses were
unmarried, but Levi, the elder, brought with him a half-breed as his
wife, by whom he had a number of children. They all settled at Water
Street, and commenced the occupation of farming. Subsequently, Levi
rented from the Bebaults the tub-mill at or near the mouth of Spruce
Creek.
[Illustration: TUNNEL ON THE PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL ROAD AT THE MOUTH OF
SPRUCE CREEK.]
When the Indian troubles commenced in the spring of 1778, he was
repeatedly urged to go either to Lytle's or Lowry's Fort, and let the
mill stand until the alarm had subsided. Hicks, however, obstinately
refused, declaring that he was safe. It is thus apparent that he relied
upon his intimate knowledge of the Indian character and language for
safety, in case any of the marauders should find their way to what he
looked upon as a sort of an out-of-the-way place,--a fatal case of
misplaced confidence, notwithstanding it was asserted that the fall
previous a party had attacked his cabin, and that, on his addressing
them in their own language, they had desisted.
On the 12th of May, 1778, Hicks started his mill in the morning, as was
his usual custom, and then repaired to breakfast. While in the house he
procured a needle and thread, returned to the mill, replenished the
hopper, and then seated himself near the door and commenced mending a
moccasin. He had been occupied at this but a minute or two before he
heard a rustling in the bushes some ten or fifteen yards in front of
him. The idea of there being Indians in the vicinity never entered his
head; nobody had seen or heard of any in the settlement. Consequently,
in direct violation of an established custom, he walked forward to
ascertain the cause of the commotion in the bushes, leaving his rifle
leaning against the mill. He advanced but one or two steps before he
was shot through the heart.
His wife, who was in the house at the time, hearing the report, ran to
the door, and in an instant comprehended how matters stood. She opened
the back door, ran down the river to a fording, crossed over, and, with
all the speed she could command, hastened over the mountain to Lytle's
Fort. Near Alexandria she met a man on horseback, who, noticing her
distracted condition, demanded what the matter was. She explained as
best she could, when the man turned back and rode rapidly toward the
fort to apprise the people of what had occurred. It was then that the
woman fairly recovered her senses, and, on looking around for the first
time, she noticed her little son, about ten years old, who had followed
her. The sight of him reminded her of her family of children at home,
at the mercy of the savages, and all the mother's devotion was aroused
within her. She picked up her boy, and, exhausted as she was, hastened
toward the fort with him.
As it subsequently appeared, one of the children of Mrs. Hicks,--a girl
between three and four years of age,--directly after her escape, went
out to see her father, just while the savages were in the act of
scalping him. She was too young to comprehend the act clearly, but,
seeing the blood about his head, she commenced crying, and screamed,
"My pappy! my pappy! what are you doing to my poor pappy?"
One of the Indians drew his tomahawk from his belt and knocked the
child down, after which he scalped it; and, without venturing to the
house, the savages departed. Mrs. Hicks reached the fort, and the news
of the murder soon spread over the country, but the usual delays
occurred in getting up a scout to follow the marauders. Some declared
their unwillingness to go unless there was a large force, as the
depredators might only be some stragglers belonging to a large party;
others, that their rifles were out of order; and others again pleaded
sickness. In this way the day slipped around, and in the mean time the
savages got far beyond their reach, even in case the scout could have
been induced to follow them.
Next morning, however, a party mustered courage and went over to the
mill, where they found Hicks scalped on the spot where he fell, and his
rifle gone.
The inside of the house presented one of the saddest spectacles ever
witnessed in the annals of savage atrocities. Two of the children were
lying upon the floor crying, and the infant in the cradle, for the want
of nourishment had apparently cried until its crying had subsided into
the most pitiful moanings; while the little girl that had been scalped
sat crouched in a corner, gibbering like an idiot, her face and head
covered with dry clotted blood!
Of course, considering the start the Indians had, it was deemed useless
to follow them; so they buried Hicks near the mill, and removed the
family to the fort.
It may seem a little singular, nevertheless it is true, that the child,
in spite of its fractured skull and the loss of its scalp, actually
recovered, and lived for a number of years after the outrage, although
its wounds were never dressed by a physician. It was feeble-minded,
however, owing to the fracture.
As no other family resided near the mill, no person could be induced to
take it after Hicks was murdered, and it stood idle for years.
The murder of Hicks created the usual amount of alarm, but no
depredations followed in the immediate neighborhood for some time after
his death.