Frances became the wife of Shepoconah, a chief of the Miami tribe. Soon
thereafter her foster-parents died and Frances and her husband removed
to Fort Wayne.
In 1801 they, with their two sons and a daughter, removed to the Osage
Village, on the Mississineva River, about one mile from its confluence
with the Wabash. Here Shepoconah was made war chief, and Frances was
admitted into the Miami tribe and given the name Maconaquah, signifying
“A Young Bear.” Shepoconah died in 1832.
After the capture of Frances her father was killed, but many efforts
were made to obtain clues as to the whereabouts of Frances. After peace
was declared her brothers made a journey to Fort Niagara, where they
offered a reward of 100 guineas for the recovery of their sister. These
brothers never gave up the search. They visited many Indian villages and
traveled thousands of miles, even enlisting the Government and large
parties of Indians in their search. They attended every gathering of
Indians where white children captives were to be given up. They believed
she still lived, and until 1797 every possible search was made, but the
Slocums could get no trace of their captive sister during the life of
their mother.
In January, 1835, Colonel George W. Ewing, an Indian trader, was
quartered in the home of Maconaquah and she related the story of her
life to him. The next day he marveled at its mystery and wrote a
narrative of this woman, and addressed it to the postmaster at
Lancaster, Pa. No one was interested. Two years later John W. Forney
became the publisher of the Intelligencer and ran across this letter and
published it, July, 1837.
Immediately it was read by those who knew the story of the “Lost Sister
of Wyoming.” Correspondence was started, and Joseph Slocum and two
nephews traveled to the home of Maconaquah, where she was positively
identified and acknowledged him as her brother, but expressed no
inclination to leave her wigwam to partake of the comforts of his
comfortable mansion in Wilkes-Barre.
She said in reply to their pleadings: “No, I cannot. I have always lived
with the Indians: they have always used me very kindly; I am used to
them. The Great Spirit has always allowed me to live with them, and I
wish to live and die with them.”
She had indeed become an Indian even in looks. She thought, felt and
reasoned like an Indian.
The Slocums had this comfort, their “Lost Sister of Wyoming” was not
degraded in her habits or character; her Anglo-Saxon blood had not been
tainted by savage touch, but bore itself gloriously amid long series of
trials through which it had passed.
Correspondence was kept up between the relatives until the death of
Frances, which occurred March 9, 1847.
----------
George Major, Chief Burgess of Mahanoy
City, Murdered by Mollie Maguires,
November 3, 1874
George Major, the popular chief burgess of Mahanoy City, died Tuesday,
November 3, 1874, from the effects of pistol shot wounds received the
Saturday previous, the assassins being members of the notorious Mollie
Maguires.
A great strike was in progress in the anthracite coal regions of
Pennsylvania, and during such periods of intense excitement the Mollies
were as active as a community of hornets whose nest some schoolboys had
invaded with paddles.
George Major had long since gained the enmity of this nefarious
organization, and was a doomed man.
James McParlan, a young Irishman from Chicago, was the Pinkerton
detective who lived among the Mollies, became one of them, and who
successfully rid the State of the whole organization.
On the day of this murder James McKenna (as McParlan was known to the
Mollies), was in Shenandoah, but soon received intelligence of the
affair. He was an officer of the Mollie organization and, in his
official capacity, was detailed with Charles Hayes to go to the scene of
the shooting and gather such particulars as it was possible to obtain.
This information, of course, was for the use of the Mollies in event any
of their members should be arrested for the crime, that an alibi could
be prepared for them.
McKenna and Hayes arrived on the scene early Monday morning, while the
victim was yet alive, but not expected to survive that day.
McKenna appeared particularly sad and dejected, declaring to his fellow
Mollies that his income from his (supposed) crooked peculations had run
several months behind, so that he had no funds to expend in too many
treats. This was an excuse to provide him with a safe cover from which
to carry on his observations, and he at once commenced hunting up the
facts connected with the shooting of Burgess Major.
Major had been shot through the left breast, two inches above the heart.
This fact was learned by McKenna as soon as he arrived at Clark’s house,
the rendezvous of the Mollies.
The proprietor, Clark, was not a member of the order, but his two sons
were Mollies. He was alone when McKenna arrived, and soon started to
talk about the shooting.
After the usual greetings, McKenna asked Clark if he knew who fired the
shot.
“That I can’t, for the life of me, tell! There’s two stories about it.
One of them puts it on Dan Dougherty, but I believe him just as innocent
as the babe unborn—and the other charges it on Major’s own brother,
William, hitting him be mischance, when firing after the Hibernian
company’s boys—for ye must know that the whole trouble came about
through a quarrel between the Hibernian an' the Citizen Fire Companies.
One is wholly made up of our countrymen, an' the other of
Modocs—English, German, Welsh an' what not! I suppose ye know that?
“Yes! But who started the row?” queried McKenna.
Clark replied that he was sure it was not Dougherty. He told McKenna of
the fire which had called out the companies, and the fact that many
firemen were drunk. That on the way home some firemen got to fighting,
when Chief Burgess George Major came out of his house, flourished his
revolver, and during the confusion shot a dog that was barking nearby.
This led to more shooting, when someone in the crowd took off the Chief
Burgess, and his brother shot Dougherty in the neck.
McKenna then met Clark’s brother, who was a Mollie, and they went to
Dougherty’s home, and soon gained permission to see the wounded man.
Dougherty was almost delirious, and barely recognized his friends. He
was terribly wounded, the surgeons even thinking it unsafe to probe for
the bullet.
McKenna and Clark then went to McCann’s and soon gained the landlady’s
confidence and she invited them upstairs, where McCann was found in bed,
also wounded. He claimed Major had fired three shots at him.
Here the scheme was hatched to swear out a warrant for the Chief Burgess
before he should die, charging him with an assault with a deadly weapon.
That, they contended, would place McCann on the witness-stand and
prevent him from being brought to the bar as a defendant. Others present
desired McCann to make his escape.
The Chief Burgess succumbed to his wounds Tuesday, November 3, and
received burial, with suitable honors, the ensuing day.
McKenna returned to Shenandoah and reported to the Mollies the issue of
his trip. He had previously sent to Mr. Allan Pinkerton daily bulletins
of his inquiries and their results.
Dougherty recovered, had his trial, early in May, and was acquitted.
McKenna was not ready to call his work at an end. Sufficient evidence
had not yet been obtained to bring the band of criminals to justice.
But it was only a few months later when the murderers of Alexander Rae,
Gomer James, William and Jesse Major, F. W. S. Langdon, Morgan Powell,
Thomas Sanger, William Uren, and others were brought to trial and such
evidence obtained that the usual Mollie alibi was broken down and those
guilty were made to suffer the penalty which they deserved.
----------
Captain John Hambright Leads Expedition
from Fort Augusta Against Great
Island, November 4, 1756
Fort Augusta was built and garrisoned during the summer and fall of 1756
under the direction of Colonel William Clapham and 400 Provincial
soldiers recruited for that purpose. This formidable fortress was
situated at Shamokin, at the Forks of the Susquehanna, in what is now
the city of Sunbury.
The soldiers had barely landed at Shamokin until reports were brought
there that the French were coming in great force to besiege the fort.
The Indians, hostile to the English, committed such depredations that
Colonel Clapham sent out expeditions against the Indian towns on the
Juniata, at Chincklamoose (now Clearfield); at Great Island (now Lock
Haven), and up both branches of the Susquehanna River.
During October, 1756, intelligence was received that Indian families,
resident at the Great Island, were making many incursions against the
settlements. Several of them had visited Shamokin in August, when they
killed a bullock guard at the spring. And as they had formerly lived at
Shamokin, they were capable of very great mischief.
Colonel Clapham directed Captain John Hambright, of Lancaster, to lead a
company of picked men and destroy the village.
The instructions for this perilous expedition are peculiar and of
unusual interest to the present day residents along the West Branch of
the Susquehanna as far up as Lock Haven and, because they reveal the
dangers such enterprises always encountered, they are given in full:
“Sir:
“You are to march with a Party of 2 Serjts., 2 Corporals and 38 Private
men, under your Command to attack, burn and destroy an Indian Town or
Towns, with their Inhabitants, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, to
which Monsieur Montour will conduct you, whose advice you are directed
to pursue in every Case.
“You are to attack the Town agreeable to the Plan and Disposition
herewith given you, observing to Intermix the men with Bayonets equally
among the three Partys in the attack, and if any Indians are found there
you are to kill, Scalp, and captivate as many as you can, and if no
Indians are there you are to endeavor to act in such manner, and with
such Caution, as to prevent the Discovery of your having been there by
any Party, which may arrive Shortly after you, for which Reason you are
strictly forbid to burn, take away, Destroy or Meddle with anything
found at such Places, and immediately dispatch Monsieur Montour, with
one or two more to me with Intelligence.
“When ye come near the Place of action you are to detach Monsieur
Montour, with as many men as he shall Judge necessary to reconnoiter the
Parts, and to wait in concealment in the mean Time with your whole Party
till his Return, then to form your measures accordingly.
After having burnt and destroyed the Town, you are in your Retreat to
post an officer and twelve men in Ambush, close to the Road side, at the
most convenient Place for such Purpose which may offer, at about Twelve
miles Distance from the Place of action, who are to surprise and cut off
any Party who may attempt to pursue, or may happen to be engaged in
Hunting thereabouts, and at the same Time secure the Retreat of your
main Body.
“'Tis very probable, that on these Moon Light Nights, you will find them
engag’d in Dancing, in which case embrace that opportunity, by all
means, of attacking them, which you are not to attempt at a greater
distance than 20 to 25 yards, and be particularly careful to prevent the
Escape of the Women and Children, whose lives Humanity will direct you
to preserve as much as possible.
“If it does not happen that you find them Dancing, the attack is to be
made in the morning, just at a season when you have Light enough to
Execute it, in which attempt your party are to march to the several
houses, and bursting open the Doors, to rush in at once. Let the Signal
for the general attack be the Discharge of one Firelock, in the Centre
Division.
“If there are no Indians at the Several Towns, you are in such case to
proceed with the utmost Caution and Vigilance to the Road which leads to
Fort Duquesne, there to lye in Ambush and to intercept any Party or
partys of the Enemy on the march to or from the English Settlements, and
there to remain with the Design till the want of Provisions obliges you
to return.
“I wish you all imaginable Success, of which the Opinion I have of your
self, the Officers and Party under your Command, leave me no Room to
doubt,
& am, Sir,
“Your Humble Servant,
“William Clapham.
“P. S.—You will not omit to post the Sergeant with a party on the other
side of the River during the attack, according to Direction, in order to
prevent the Enemy from escaping that way and to reserve always one half
of your Fire.
“Given at Fort Augusta, Nov. 4th, 1756.”
A close examination of the route of march reveals to those at all
familiar with the topography of that part of the State that the
expedition crossed the river at Fort Augusta and marched through the
ravine to the lower side of Blue Hill, into what is now known as
Granger’s Hollow, and continued up the country on the west side of the
river, passing through what is now Winfield, Lewisburg, West Milton, New
Columbia and White Deer, where they evidently marched over the present
Loganton road, following alongside White Deer Creek and then into the
Nippenose Valley; thence over the hills and down again into McElhattan
Gap, emerging at the river near Great Island.
This is the most direct route, and, as the Indians were good civil
engineers and usually found the easy grades for their beaten trails,
there is little doubt but that Captain Hambright and his sturdy band of
chosen men surely experienced a hard, rough march, even for that early
period.
He surely carried out his instructions, but what actually happened on
this march is unknown, as no records of his report are to be found among
the papers of that period. This is a matter of sincere regret, for the
expedition was one of great importance.
It is believed from notes made on a time-stained paper now in the State
Library that the first village visited was situated a few miles above
the mouth of Pine Creek, opposite what is now the village of Pine,
Clinton County. The paper bears the following indorsement: “4th Nov.,
1756. Route of Capt. Hambright’s Secret Expedition, Inclos’d in Col. W.
Clapham’s Ler of” (This sentence was unfinished).
Antiquarians inform us that many years ago great quantities of Indian
relics were found at this site. It is only a short distance east of
Great Island, and nearly the exact distance from Fort Augusta, by
following the river, that is noted in Colonel Clapham’s letter.
----------
Disputed Boundary Lines Settled at Fort
Stanwix November 5, 1768
Notwithstanding the surrender to the Six Nations by the Proprietaries of
Pennsylvania, in September, 1758, of “all the territory lying to the
northward and westward of the Allegheny Mountains,” the white settlers
continued to encroach on the hunting grounds of the Indians.
At the great treaty held at Albany, the Proprietaries purchased and
received a deed dated July 6, 1754, for the land of the Province above
Penn’s Creek, in what is now Snyder County.
The Indians afterward asserted they were defrauded in this sale; that
the territory included lands they did not purpose selling and there was
much dissatisfaction.
To settle their trouble a compromise was made at the Easton treaty,
October, 1758, by the terms of which the Proprietaries authorized
Richard Peters and Conrad Weiser to release and reconvey to the Six
Nations all the territory lying northward and westward of the Allegheny
Mountains which had been conveyed to the Proprietaries by the deed of
July 6, 1754, “provided the Six Nations fully stipulate and settle the
exact and certain bounds of the residue of the said lands included in
the before-mentioned purchase.”
Following the successful termination of the Pontiac Conspiracy in 1764,
the whites were less fearful of the Indians and settled in the Indian
country with much more confidence. The Indians were quick to grasp the
situation and made vigorous complaint to the Governor and all the other
provincial authorities.
Proclamations were issued against the settlers without effect, and
finally, February 3, 1768, the Pennsylvania Assembly passed an act on
the subject. It was enacted that if any persons, already settled or
afterward moved on unpurchased lands, neglected or refused to remove
from the same within thirty days after they were required to do so by
the Governor after notice prohibiting occupancy as aforesaid, being
legally convicted, were to be punished with death without the benefit of
clergy.
Three weeks after the enactment of the foregoing law Governor Penn
issued a proclamation to every person to remove themselves and their
families off and from the said lands on or before the first day of May
next ensuing.
But proclamations, edicts and acts seemed to be of no avail, and the
disputes between the whites and Indians became most acute. At length, in
the summer of 1768, Sir William Johnson, the great English agent and
true friend of the Six Nations Indians, determined to hold a great
council with the Indians “not only for the purpose of renewing the
ancient covenant chain between the English and the Indians, but to
establish a scientific frontier.”
In preparation for this great council twenty large bateaux, laden with
presents best suited to propitiate the Indians, had been conveyed to
Fort Stanwix, now Rome, N. Y. Sir William Johnson ordered sixty barrels
of rice and seventy barrels of provisions. When the council opened 3200
Indians were present, “each of whom,” wrote Sir William, “consumes daily
more than two ordinary men amongst us, and would be extremely
dissatisfied if stinted when convened for business.”
The Indians invited to the council began to assemble at Fort Stanwix
early in October, 1768, and by the middle of the month the various
officials expected to be present were on the ground. From Pennsylvania
came Governor John Penn, the Reverend Richard Peters, Benjamin Franklin
and James Tilghman.
Governor Penn remained only for the preliminary negotiations, as
important business of the Province compelled his early presence in
Philadelphia.
Messrs Peters and Tilghman represented Pennsylvania as Commissioners.
Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia and New York were also represented by
high officials.
Eight tribes of Indians, including the Delaware, the Shawnee and all the
tribes of the Six Nations, were present in larger numbers, while many
other tribes were represented by small delegations.
The Seneca went to this great conference armed as if going on the
warpath. There were also present a large number of private citizens
either through curiosity or by reason of some personal interest in the
proceedings.
The records of this great council would indicate that Sir William
Johnson and the Commissioners dined together. They formally drank
various toasts, as was usual in those times. Frequently these toasts
were drunk to the King’s health, and on one or two occasions the
language used gave offense to certain of the King’s officers at the
table. Once a minister proposed a toast “not to the King of England, but
to the King that hears our prayers.” The trouble with the mother country
was even then brewing.
Sir William opened the council by telling the Indians that “the King was
resolved to terminate the grievances from which they suffered for want
of a boundary, and that the King had ordered presents proportionate to
the nature and extent of the interests involved.” The Indians retired
and for several days were in private council.
The new boundary had been practically agreed upon at a treaty held in
1765, its course being diagonally through Pennsylvania from a point one
mile above the mouth of John Penn’s Creek, Snyder County, to a point
then called Oswegy, now Oswego, N. Y. Beyond that point, the direction
in which the line should be run seems to have occasioned the greatest
discussion.
The question was finally and satisfactorily settled, and a deed was made
and signed November 5, 1768, by a representative from each tribe of the
Six Nations, fixing and describing the boundary-line and granting the
land east of it to the King of England. The actual sum paid for this
vast territory was about $50,600.
From a point on the Allegheny River several miles above Pittsburgh, this
historic line of property ran in a northeasterly direction to the head
of Towanda Creek, proceeding down the stream to the Susquehanna; thence
it went northward along the river to Tioga Point, eastward to Owego, and
crossed the country to the Delaware, reaching it at a point a few miles
below Hancock. From here it went up the Delaware to what is now Deposit,
Broome County, N. Y. Thence the line went directly across the hills to
the Unadilla, and up that stream “to the west branch, to the head
thereof.”
The “Fort Stanwix Treaty Lines” through Pennsylvania included all or
part of the present counties of Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, Lackawanna,
Luzerne, Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming, Montour, Northumberland, Lycoming,
Union, Clinton, Center, Clearfield, Cambria, Indiana, Armstrong,
Allegheny, Westmoreland, Somerset, Fayette, Green, Washington and
Beaver.
It was also at this treaty that the Proprietaries were actively
concerned in the purchase of the Wyoming lands then claimed by the State
of Connecticut. In this object the Pennsylvanians were successful.
----------
First Siege of Yellow Fever Checked in
Philadelphia November 6, 1793
Philadelphia was visited twice by the dreaded pestilence of yellow
fever, first in the year 1793 and again in 1798. The general
consternation which incited many to flee from the destroyer “produced
scenes of distress and misery,” wrote Matthew Carey, “of which parallels
are rarely met with, and which nothing could palliate but the
extraordinary public panic and the great law of self-preservation. Men
of affluent fortunes, who gave daily employment and sustenance to
hundreds, were abandoned to the care of a Negro after their wives,
children, friends, clerks and servants had fled away and left them to
their fate.
“In some cases, at the commencement of the disorder, no money could
procure proper attendance. With the poor the case was, as might be
expected, infinitely worse than the rich, and many of these perished
without a human being to hand them a drink of water, to administer
medicine or to perform any charitable office for them. Various instances
occurred of dead bodies being found lying in the streets, of persons who
had no house or habitation and could procure no shelter.”
The cessation of business, in consequence of the plague, threw hundreds
of poor people out of employment. Want and famine made their appearance.
While the fatal atmosphere of contagion overspread the devoted city the
most frightful exaggerations of the real condition of things were spread
throughout the country, the consequence of which very soon became
serious.
In nearly all the cities and towns, near and far, with a few humane
exceptions, all intercourse with Philadelphia was prohibited. This added
to the general distress.
The deadly disease swept away whole families. Eleven persons died in one
house within a day.
Philadelphia with 50,000 population in 1792 was then not only the
largest and busiest city of the Nation but its seat of government. The
Congress moved from the city to Germantown; President George Washington
and the members of his Cabinet and their families departed the city, and
every person who could afford it followed their example.
One out of every five who remained in Philadelphia died. Churches and
schools, as well as the stores and mills closed their doors. Half the
houses stood empty. Those who ventured to walk abroad held over their
nostrils handkerchiefs soaked in vinegar and avoided shaking hands with
any one.
Grass grew high in the main streets. Carts passed the main thoroughfares
to carry the bodies of those who had perished. The drivers called out at
intervals, “Bring out your dead!”