Part 22 (1/2)

[Footnote 381: Extract from a MS. Letter--Thomas Apty to Governor Penn:-- ”Sir:-- ”Agreeable to your Honour's orders, I pa.s.sed on through the Province of New Jersey, in order to take the Indians under my care into New York; but no sooner was I ready to move from Amboy with the Indians under my care, than I was greatly surpriz'd & embarra.s.s'd with express orders from the Governor of New York sent to Amboy, strictly forbidding the bringing of these poor Indians into his Province, & charging all his ferrymen not to let them pa.s.s.”]

[Footnote 382: Letters to Governor Penn from General Gage, Governor Franklin of New Jersey, and Governor Colden of New York. See Votes of a.s.sembly, V. 300-302. The plan was afterwards revived, at the height of the alarm caused by the march of the rioters on Philadelphia; and Penn wrote to Johnson, on the seventh of February, begging an asylum for the Indians. Johnson acquiesced, and wrote to Lieutenant-Governor Colden in favor of the measure, which, however, was never carried into effect. Johnson's letters express much sympathy with the sufferers.]

[Footnote 383: For indications of the state of feeling among the Presbyterians, see the numerous partisan pamphlets of the day. See also Appendix, E.]

[Footnote 384: Gordon, Hist. Penn. 406. Penn. Gaz. No. 1833.]

[Footnote 385: Haz. Pa. Reg. XII. 10.]

[Footnote 386: Loskiel, Part II. 223.]

[Footnote 387: Historical Account of the Late Disturbances, 4.]

[Footnote 388: Haz. Pa. Reg. XII. 11. Memoirs of a Life pa.s.sed chiefly in Pennsylvania, 39. Heckewelder, Narrative, 85. Loskiel, Part II., 223. Sparks, Writings of Franklin, VII. 293.

The best remaining account of these riots will be found under the first authority cited above. It consists of a long letter, written in a very animated strain, by a Quaker to his friend, containing a detailed account of what pa.s.sed in the city from the first alarm of the rioters to the conclusion of the affair. The writer, though a Quaker, is free from the prejudices of his sect, nor does he hesitate to notice the inconsistency of his brethren appearing in arms. See Appendix, E.

The scene before the barracks, and the narrow escape of the German butchers, was made the subject of several poems and farces, written by members of the Presbyterian faction, to turn their opponents into ridicule; for which, indeed, the subject offered tempting facilities.]

[Footnote 389: Haz. Pa. Reg. XII. 11.]

[Footnote 390: Haz. Pa. Reg. XII. 12.]

[Footnote 391: This statement is made in ”The Quaker Unmasked,” and other Presbyterian pamphlets of the day; and the Quakers, in their elaborate replies to these publications, do not attempt to deny the fact.]

[Footnote 392: Sparks, Writings of Franklin, VII. 293.]

[Footnote 393: Barton, Memoirs of Rittenhouse, 148. Rupp, Hist. York and Lancaster Counties, 362.]

[Footnote 394: David Rittenhouse, in one of his letters, speaks with great horror of the enormities committed by the Paxton Boys, and enumerates various particulars of their conduct. See Barton, Mem. of Rittenhouse, 148.]

[Footnote 395: ”Whether the Paxton men were 'more sinned against than sinning,' was a question which was agitated with so much ardor and acrimony, that even the schoolboys became warmly engaged in the contest. For my own part, though of the religious sect which had been long warring with the Quakers, I was entirely on the side of humanity and public duty, (or in this do I beg the question?) and perfectly recollect my indignation at the sentiments of one of the ushers who was on the opposite side. His name was Davis, and he was really a kind, good-natured man; yet from the dominion of his religious or political prejudices, he had been led to apologize for, if not to approve of an outrage, which was a disgrace to a civilized people. He had been among the riflemen on their coming into the city, and, talking with them upon the subject of the Lancaster ma.s.sacre, and particularly of the killing of Will Sock, the most distinguished of the victims, related with an air of approbation, this rodomontade of the real or pretended murderer. 'I,' said he, 'am the man who killed Will Sock--this is the arm that stabbed him to the heart, and I glory in it.'”--Memoirs of a Life chiefly pa.s.sed in Pennsylvania, 40.]

[Footnote 396: ”Persons who were intimate now scarcely speak; or, if they happen to meet and converse, presently get to quarrelling. In short, harmony and love seem to be banished from amongst us.”

The above is an extract from the letter so often referred to. A fragment of the ”Paxtoniad,” one of the poems of the day, is given in the Appendix. Few of the party pamphlets are worth quoting, but the t.i.tles of some of them will give an idea of their character: The Quaker Unmasked--A Looking-Gla.s.s for Presbyterians--A Battle of Squirt--Plain Truth--Plain Truth found to be Plain Falsehood--The Author of Plain Truth Stripped Stark Naked--Clothes for a Stark Naked Author--The Squabble, a Pastoral Eclogue--etc., etc.

The pamphlet called Plain Truth drew down the especial indignation of the Quakers, and the following extract from one of their replies to it may serve as a fair specimen of the temper of the combatants: ”But how came you to give your piece the t.i.tle of Plain Truth; if you had called it downright Lies, it would have agreed better with the Contents; the t.i.tle therefore is a deception, and the contents manifestly false: in short, I have carefully examined it, and find in it no less than 17 Positive Lies, and 10 false Insinuations contained in 15 pages, Monstrous, and from what has been said must conclude that when you wrote it, Truth was banished entirely from you, and that you wrote it with a truly Pious Lying P----n Spirit, which appears in almost every Line!”

The peaceful society of Friends found among its ranks more than one such champion as the ingenious writer of the above. Two collections of these pamphlets have been examined, one preserved in the City Library of Philadelphia, and the other in that of the New York Historical Society.]

[Footnote 397: See Appendix, E.]

[Footnote 398: Loskiel, Part II. 231.]

[Footnote 399: MS. Johnson Papers.]

[Footnote 400: ”The three companies of Royal Americans were reduced when I met them at Lancaster to 55 men, having lost 38 by desertion in my short absence. I look upon Sir Jeffrey Amherst's Orders forbidding me to continue to discharge as usual the men whose time of service was expired, and keeping us for seven years in the Woods,--as the occasion of this unprecedented desertion. The encouragement given everywhere in this Country to deserters, screened almost by every person, must in time ruin the Army, unless the Laws against Harbourers are better enforced by the American (provincial) government.”--Bouquet to Gage, 20 June, 1764.]

[Footnote 401: In the correspondence of General Wolfe, recently published in Tait's Magazine, this distinguished officer speaks in high terms of Bradstreet's military character. His remarks, however, have reference solely to the capture of Fort Frontenac; and he seems to have derived his impressions from the public prints, as he had no personal knowledge of Bradstreet. The view expressed above is derived from the letters of Bradstreet himself, from the correspondence of General Gage and Sir William Johnson, and from a MS. paper containing numerous details of his conduct during the campaign of 1764, and drawn up by the officers who served under him.

This paper is in the possession of Mrs. W. L. Stone.]

[Footnote 402: Henry, Travels and Adventures, 171.

The method of invoking the spirits, described above, is a favorite species of imposture among the medicine men of most Algonquin tribes, and had been observed and described a century and a half before the period of this history. Champlain, the founder of Canada, witnessed one of these ceremonies; and the Jesuit Le Jeune gives an account of a sorcerer, who, having invoked a spirit in this manner, treacherously killed him with a hatchet; the mysterious visitant having a.s.sumed a visible and tangible form, which exposed him to the incidents of mortality. During these invocations, the lodge or tabernacle was always observed to shake violently to and fro, in a manner so remarkable as exceedingly to perplex the observers. The variety of discordant sounds, uttered by the medicine man, need not surprise us more than those accurate imitations of the cries of various animals, to which Indian hunters are accustomed to train their strong and flexible voices.]

[Footnote 403: MS. Johnson Papers.

The following extract from Henry's Travels will exhibit the feelings with which the Indians came to the conference at Niagara, besides ill.u.s.trating a curious feature of their superst.i.tions. Many tribes, including some widely differing in language and habits, regard the rattlesnake with superst.i.tious veneration; looking upon him either as a manitou, or spirit, or as a creature endowed with mystic powers and attributes, giving him an influence over the fortunes of mankind. Henry accompanied his Indian companions to Niagara; and, on the way, he chanced to discover one of these snakes near their encampment:-- ”The reptile was coiled, and its head raised considerably above its body. Had I advanced another step before my discovery, I must have trodden upon it.

”I no sooner saw the snake, than I hastened to the canoe, in order to procure my gun; but the Indians, observing what I was doing, inquired the occasion, and, being informed, begged me to desist. At the same time, they followed me to the spot, with their pipes and tobacco-pouches in their hands. On returning, I found the snake still coiled.

”The Indians, on their part, surrounded it, all addressing it by turns, and calling it their grandfather, but yet keeping at some distance. During this part of the ceremony, they filled their pipes; and now each blew the smoke toward the snake, who, as it appeared to me, really received it with pleasure. In a word, after remaining coiled, and receiving incense, for the s.p.a.ce of half an hour, it stretched itself along the ground, in visible good humor. Its length was between four and five feet. Having remained outstretched for some time, at last it moved slowly away, the Indians following it, and still addressing it by the t.i.tle of grandfather, beseeching it to take care of their families during their absence, and to be pleased to open the heart of Sir William Johnson, so that he might show them charity, and fill their canoe with rum.

”One of the chiefs added a pet.i.tion, that the snake would take no notice of the insult which had been offered him by the Englishman, who would even have put him to death, but for the interference of the Indians, to whom it was hoped he would impute no part of the offence. They further requested, that he would remain, and not return among the English; that is, go eastward.

”After the rattlesnake was gone, I learned that this was the first time that an individual of the species had been seen so far to the northward and westward of the River Des Francais; a circ.u.mstance, moreover, from which my companions were disposed to infer, that this manito had come, or been sent, on purpose to meet them; that his errand had been no other than to stop them on their way; and that consequently it would be most advisable to return to the point of departure. I was so fortunate, however, as to prevail with them to embark; and at six o'clock in the evening we again encamped.

”Early the next morning we proceeded. We had a serene sky and very little wind, and the Indians therefore determined on steering across the lake, to an island which just appeared in the horizon; saving, by this course, a distance of thirty miles, which would be lost in keeping the sh.o.r.e. At nine o'clock A. M. we had a light breeze, to enjoy the benefit of which we hoisted sail. Soon after, the wind increased, and the Indians, beginning to be alarmed, frequently called on the rattlesnake to come to their a.s.sistance. By degrees the waves grew high; and at eleven o'clock it blew a hurricane, and we expected every moment to be swallowed up. From prayers, the Indians proceeded now to sacrifices, both alike offered to the G.o.d-rattlesnake, or manito-kinibic. One of the chiefs took a dog, and after tying its fore legs together, threw it overboard, at the same time calling on the snake to preserve us from being drowned, and desiring him to satisfy his hunger with the carca.s.s of the dog. The snake was unpropitious, and the wind increased. Another chief sacrificed another dog, with the addition of some tobacco. In the prayer which accompanied these gifts, he besought the snake, as before, not to avenge upon the Indians the insult which he had received from myself, in the conception of a design to put him to death. He a.s.sured the snake that I was absolutely an Englishman, and of kin neither to him nor to them.

”At the conclusion of this speech, an Indian, who sat near me, observed, that if we were drowned it would be for my fault alone, and that I ought myself to be sacrificed, to appease the angry manito; nor was I without apprehensions, that, in case of extremity, this would be my fate; but, happily for me, the storm at length abated, and we reached the island safely.”--Henry, Travels, 175.]

[Footnote 404: Articles of Peace concluded with the Senecas, at Fort Niagara, July 18, 1764, MS.]

[Footnote 405: MS. Johnson Papers. MS. Minutes of Conference with the chiefs and warriors of the Ottawas and Menomonies at Fort Niagara, July 20, 1764. The extracts given above are copied verbatim from the original record.]

[Footnote 406: Henry, Travels, 183.]

[Footnote 407: Every article in a treaty must be confirmed by a belt of wampum; otherwise it is void. Mante, the historian of the French war, a.s.serts that they brought four belts. But this is contradicted in contemporary letters, including several of General Gage and Sir William Johnson. Mante accompanied Bradstreet's expedition with the rank of major; and he is a zealous advocate of his commander, whom he seeks to defend, at the expense both of Colonel Bouquet and General Gage.]

[Footnote 408: Preliminary Treaty between Colonel Bradstreet and the Deputies of the Delawares and Shawanoes, concluded at L'Ance aux Feuilles, on Lake Erie, August 12, 1764, MS.]

[Footnote 409: MS. Letter--Gage to Bradstreet, Sept. 2:-- Bradstreet's instructions directed him to offer peace to such tribes as should make their submission. ”To offer peace,” writes Gage, ”I think can never be construed a power to conclude and dictate the articles of peace, and you certainly know that no such power could with propriety be lodged in any person but in Sir William Johnson, his majesty's sole agent and superintendent for Indian affairs.”]

[Footnote 410: Extract from a MS. Letter--Gage to Bradstreet, Sept. 2:-- ”I again repeat that I annul and disavow the peace you have made.”

The following extracts will express the opinions of Gage with respect to this affair.

MS. Letter--Gage to Bradstreet, Oct. 15:-- ”They have negotiated with you on Lake Erie, and cut our throats upon the frontiers. With your letters of peace I received others, giving accounts of murders, and these acts continue to this time. Had you only consulted Colonel Bouquet, before you agreed upon any thing with them (a deference he was certainly ent.i.tled to, instead of an order to stop his march), you would have been acquainted with the treachery of those people, and not have suffered yourself to be thus deceived, and you would have saved both Colonel Bouquet and myself from the dilemma you brought us into. You concluded a peace with people who were daily murdering us.”

MS. Letter--Gage to Johnson, Sept. 4:-- ”You will have received my letter of the 2d inst., enclosing you the unaccountable treaty betwixt Colonel Bradstreet and the Shawanese, Delawares, &c. On consideration of the treaty, it does not appear to me that the ten Indians therein mentioned were sent on an errand of peace. If they had, would they not have been at Niagara? or would the insolent and audacious message have been sent there in the lieu of offers of peace? Would not they have been better provided with belts on such an occasion? They give only one string of wampum. You will know this better, but it appears strange to me. They certainly came to watch the motions of the troops.”]

[Footnote 411: MS. Letter--Bouquet to Gage, Sept. 3.]

[Footnote 412: MS. Minutes of Conference between Colonel Bradstreet and the Indians of Detroit, Sept. 7, 1764. See, also, Mante, 517.]

[Footnote 413: MS. Letter--Johnson to the Board of Trade, Oct. 30.]

[Footnote 414: MS. Remarks on the Conduct of Colonel Bradstreet--found among the Johnson Papers.