FREDERIC Manheim, an industrious German, with his family, consisting of his wife, Catharine, a daughter of eighteen years of age, and Maria and Christina, his youngest children (twins,) about sixteen, resided near the river Mohawk, eight miles west of Johnston. On the 19th of October, 1779, the father being at work at some distance from his habitation, and the mother and eldest daughter on a visit at a neighbour's, two hostile Canasadaga Indians rushed in, and captured the twin sisters.

The party to which these savages belonged, consisted of fifty warriors, who, after securing twenty-three of the inhabitants of that neighbourhood, (among whom was the unfortunate Frederic Manheim,) and firing their houses, retired for four days with the utmost precipitancy, till they were quite safe from pursuit. The place where they halted on the evening of the day of rest, was a thick pine swamp, which rendered the darkness of an uncommonly gloomy night, still more dreadful. The Indians kindled a fire, which they had not done before, and ordered their prisoners, whom they kept together, to refresh themselves with such provisions as they had. The Indians ate by them­selves. Instead of retiring to rest after supping, the ap­palled [Page 6] captives observed their enemies busied in ope­rations which boded nothing good. Two saplings were pruned clear of branches up to the very top, and all the brush cleared away for several rods around them. While this was doing, others were splitting pitch pine billets into small splinters about five inches in length, and as small as one's little finger, sharpening one end, and dipping the other in melted turpentine.

At length, with countenances distorted by infernal fury, and with hideous yells, the two savages who had captured the hapless Maria and Christina, leaped into the midst of their circle, and dragged those ill­fated maidens, shrieking, from the embraces of their companions. These warriors had disagreed about whose property the girls should be, as they had jointly seized them; and, to terminate the dispute, agreeably to the abominable usage of the savages, it was determined by the chiefs of the party, that the prisoners, who gave rise to the contention, should be destroyed; and that their captors should be the principal agents in the execrable business. These furies assisted by their com­rades, stripped the forlorn girls, already convulsed with apprehensions, and tied each to a sapling, with their hands as high extended above their heads as pos­sible; and then pitched them from their knees to their shoulders with upwards of six hundred of the sharp­ened splinters above described, which, at every punc­ture, were attended with screams of distress, that echoed and re-echoed through the wilderness. And then to complete the infernal tragedy, the splinters, all standing erect on the bleeding victims, were every one set on fire, and exhibited a scene of monstrous misery, beyond the power of speech to describe, or even the imagination to conceive. It was not until near three hours had elapsed from the commencement of their torments, and that they had lost almost every resemblance of the human form, that these helpless virgins sunk down in the arms of their deliverer, Death.

THE following is a just and true account of the tragical scene, of my family's falling by the sa­vages, which I related when at your house in Philadel­phia, and you requested me to forward in writing. On the second sabbath in May, in the year 1782, being my appointment at one of my meeting houses, about a mile from my dwelling house, I set out with my dear wife and five children, for public worship. Not suspecting any danger, I walked behind 200 yards, with my bible in my hand, meditating—as I was thus employed, all on a sudden, I was greatly alarmed with the frightful shrieks of my dear family before me—I immediately ran with all the speed I could, vainly hunting a club as I ran, till I got within 40 yards of them: my poor wife seeing me, cried to me make my escape—an Indian ran up to shoot me. I had to strip, and by so doing out-ran him. My wife had a sucking child in her arms: this little infant they killed, and scalped. They then struck my wife at sundry times, but not getting her down, the Indian, who aimed to shoot me, ran to her, shot her through the body, and scalped her: my little boy, an only son, about six years old, they sunk the hatchet into his brains, and thus dispatched him. A daughter, besides the infant, they also killed and scalped. My eldest daughter, who is yet alive, was hid in a tree, about 20 yards from the place where the rest were killed, and saw the whole proceedings. She seeing the Indians all go off, as she thought, got up, and deliberately crept out from the hollow trunk; but one of them espying her, ran hastily up, knocked her down, and scalped her.—also her only surviving sister, on whose head they did not [Page 8] leave more than one inch round, either of flesh or skin, besides taking a piece out of her skull. She, and the before mentioned one, are still miraculously preserved, though, as you must think, I have had, and still have, a great deal of trouble and expense with them, besides anxiety about them, insomuch that I am, as to worldly circumstances, almost ruined. I am yet in hopes of seeing them cured; they still, blessed be God, retain their senses, notwithstanding the painful operations they have already and must yet pass through. At the time I ran round to see what was become of my family, and found my dear and affectionate wife, with five children, all scalped in less than ten minutes, from the first outset—no one, my dear brother, can conceive how I felt—this, you may well suppose, was killing to me. I instantly fainted away, and was borne off by a friend, who by this time had found us out—When I recovered, oh the anguish of my soul!—I cried—would to God I had died for them, would to God I had died with them. O how dark and mysterious did this trying providence then appear to me! but—

‘Why should I grieve—when grieving, I must bear?’

This, dear sir, is a faithful, though short narrative of that fatal catastrophe—and my life amidst it all, for what purpose, Jehovah only knows, redeemed from surrounding death—Oh, may I spend it to the praise and glory of his grace, who worketh all things after the council of his own will. The government of the world and of the church, is in his hands.—May it be taught the important lesson of acquiescing in all his dis­pensations. I conclude with wishing you every blessing, and subscribe myself,

I WROTE you a note a few days ago, in which I promised you the particulars of an affair between a white man of this county, and two Indians: now I mean to relate the whole story, and it is as follows:

The white man is upwards of sixty years of age; his name is David Morgan, a kinsman to col. Morgan, of the rifle battalion. This man had, through fear of the Indians, fled to a fort about twenty miles above the province line, and near the east side of Mononga­hela river. From thence he sent some of his younger children to his plantation, which was about a mile distant, there to do some business in the field. He af­terwards thought fit to follow, and see how they fared. Getting to his field, and seating himself upon the fence, within view of his children, where they were at work, he espied two Indians making towards them; on which he called to his children to make their escape. The Indians immediately bent their course towards him. He made the best haste to escape away, that his age and consequent infirmity would permit; but soon found he would be overtaken, which made him think of defence. Being armed with a good rifle, he faced about, and found himself under the necessity of run­ning four of five perches towards the Indians, in order to obtain shelter behind a tree of sufficient size.

This unexpected manoeuvre obliged the Indians, who were close by, to stop, where they had but small timber to shelter behind, which gave mr. Morgan an op­portunity of shooting one of them dead upon the spot. The other, taking the advantage of Morgan's empty gun, advanced upon him, and put him to flight a se­cond time, and being lighter of foot than the old man, soon came up within a few paces, when he fired at [Page 10] him, but fortunately missed him. On his mr. Morgan faced about again, to try his fortune, and clubbed his firelock. The Indian, by this time, had got his toma­hawk in order for a throw, at which they are very dextrous. Morgan made the blow, and the Indian the throw, almost at the same instant, by which the little finger was cut off Morgan's left hand, and the one next to it almost off, and his gun broke off by the lock. Now they came to close grips. Morgan put the Indian down; but soon found himself overturned, and the In­dian upon him, feeling for his knife, and yelling most hideously, as their manner is, when they look upon victory to be certain. However, a woman's apron, which the Indian had plundered out of a house in the neighbourhood, and tied on him, above his knife, was now in his way, and so hindered him getting at it quickly, that Morgan got one of his fingers fast in his mouth, and deprived him of the use of that hand, by holding it, and disconcerted him considerably by chew­ing it; all the while observing how he would come on with his knife. At length the Indian had got hold of his knife, but so far towards the blade, that Morgan got a small hold of the hinder end; and as the Indian pulled it out of the scabbard, Morgan giving his finger a severe screw with his teeth, twitched it out through his hand, cutting it most grievously. By this time they were both got partly on their feet, and the Indian was endeavouring to disengage himself; but Morgan held fast by the finger, and quickly applied the point of the knife to the side of its savage owner; a bone happening in the way prevented its penetrating any great depth, but a second blow directed more towards the belly, found free passage into his bowels. The old man turned the point upwards, made a large wound, burying the knife therein, and so took his departure instantly to the fort, with the news of his adventure.

On the report of mr. Morgan, a party went out from the fort, and found the first Indian where he had [Page 11] fallen; the second they found not yet dead, at one hundred yards distance from the scene of action, hid in the top of a fallen tree, where he had picked the knife out of his body, after which had come out parched corn, &c. and had bound up his wound with the apron aforementioned; and on first sight he saluted them with, How do do, broder, how do do, broder? but alas! poor savage, their brotherhood to him ex­tended only to tomahawking, scalping, and, to gratify some peculiar feelings of their own, skinning them both; and they have made drum heads of their skins.

I HAVE wrote to mr.—of your city, an ac­count of a very particular affair between a white man and two Indians. I am now to give you a relation in which you will see how a person of your sex acquit­ted herself in defence of her own life, and that of her husband and children.

The lady, who is the burthen of this story, is named Experience Bozarth. She lives on a creek called Dun­kard-creek, in the south-west corner of this county. About the middle of March last, two or three families who were afraid to stay at home, gathered to her house, and there stayed; looking on themselves to be safer than when all scattered about at their own houses.

On a certain day some of the children thus collected, came running in from play in great haste, saying, there were ugly red men. One of the men in the house step­ped to the door, where he received a ball in the side of his breast, which caused him to fall back into the house. The Indian was immediately in over him, and engaged with another man who was in the house. The man tossed the Indian on a bed, and called for a knife to [Page 12] kill him, (Observe these were all the men that were in the house) Now mrs. Bozarth appears the only de­fence, who not finding a knife at hand, took up an axe that lay by, and with one blow cut out the brains of the Indian. At that instant, (for all was instantaneous) a second Indian entered the door, and shot the man dead, who was engaged with the Indian on the bed. Mrs. Bozarth turned to this second Indian, and with her axe gave him several large cuts, some of which let his entrails appear. He bawled out, murder, murder. On this, sundry other Indians (who had hitherto been fully employed, killing some children out of doors) came rushing to his relief; one of whose heads mrs. Bozarth clove in two with her axe, as he stuck it in at the door, which laid him flat upon the soil. Another snatched hold of the wounded bellowing fellow, and pulled him out of doors, and mrs. Bozarth, with the assistance of the man who was first shot in the door, and by this time a little recovered, shut the door after them, and made it fast, where they kept garrison for several days, the dead white man and dead Indian both in the house with them, and the Indians about the house besieging them. At length they were relieved by a party sent for that purpose.

This whole affair, to shutting the door, was not perhaps more than three minutes in acting.

I WAS taken prisoner about 50 miles to the west­ward of Fort Pitt, about 18 years ago, by the In­dians, and was carried by them to the Wabash, with many more white men, who were executed with cir­cumstances of horrid barbarity; it was my good for­tune to call forth the sympathy of Rose, called the good woman of the town, who was permitted to re­deem [Page 13] from the flames, by giving, as my ransom, a horse.

After remaining two years in bondage amongst the Indians, a Spaniard came to the nation, having been sent from Mexico on discoveries. He made application to the chiefs, for redeeming me and another white man in the like situation, a native of Wales, named John Davey; which they complied with, and we took our departure in company with the Spaniard, and tra­velled to the westward, crossing the Mississippi near la riviere Rouge, or Red River, up which we travelled 700 miles, when we came to a nation of Indians re­markably white, and whose hair was of a reddish co­lour, at least mostly so; they lived on the banks of a small river that empties itself into the Red River, which is called the River Post. In the morning of the day after our arrival amongst these Indians, the Welchman informed me, that he was determined to remain with them, giving as a reason that he understood their lan­guage, it being very little different from the Welch. My curiosity was excited very much by this informati­on, and I went with my companion to the chief men of the town, who informed him (in a language I had no knowledge of, and which had no affinity to that of any other Indian tongue I ever heard) that their fore­fathers of this nation came from a foreign country, and landed on the east side of the Mississippi, describing particularly the country now called West-Florida, and that on the Spaniards taking possession of Mexico, they fled to their then abode; and as a proof of the truth of what he advanced, he brought forth rolls of parchment, which were carefully tied up in otter skins, on which were large characters, written with blue ink; the cha­racters I did not understand, and the Welchman being unacquainted with letters, even of his own language, I was not able to know the meaning of the writing. They are a bold, hardy, intrepid people, very warlike, and the women beautiful, when compared with other Indians.

[Page 14] We left this nation, after being kindly treated and requested to remain amongst them, being only two in number, the Spaniard and myself, and we continued our course up the waters of the Red River, till we came to a nation of Indians, called Windots, that never had seen a white man before, and who were unac­quainted with the use of fire arms. On our way, we came to a transparent stream, which to our great sur­prize, we found to descend into the earth, and, at the foot of a ridge of mountains, disappeared, it was re­markably clear, and, near to it, we found the bones of two animals, of such a size that a man might walk under the ribs, and the teeth were very heavy.

The nation of Indians who had never seen a white man, lived near the source of the Red River, and there the Spaniard discovered, to his great joy, gold dust in the brooks and rivulets; and being informed by the Indians, that a nation lived farther west, who were very rich, and whose arrows were pointed with gold, we set out in the hope of reaching their country, and travelled about five hundred miles, till we came to a ridge of mountains, which we crossed, and from which the streams run due west, and at the foot of the moun­tains, the Spaniard gave proofs of joy and great satisfac­tion, having found gold in great abundance. I was not acquainted with the nature of the ore, but I lifted up what he called gold dust from the bottom of the little rivulets issuing from the cavities of the rocks, and it had a yellow cast, and was remarkably heavy: but so much was the Spaniard satisfied, he relinquished his plan of prosecuting his journey, being perfectly con­vinced that he had found a country full of gold.

On our return he took a different route, and, when we reached the Mississipi, we went in a canoe to the mouth of the Missouri, where we found a Spanish post; there I was discharged by the Spaniard, went to the country of the Chickesaws, from thence to the Che­rokees, and soon reached Ninety-six, in South Carolina.

MASSY HERBESON, on her oath, according to law, being taken before John Wilkins, esq. one of the commonwealth's justices of the peace in and for the county of Alleghany, deposeth and saith, that on the 22d day of this instant, she was taken from her own house within two hundred yards of Reed's block house, which is called twenty-five miles from Pitts­burgh; her husband being one of the spies, was from home; two of the scouts had lodged with her that night, but had left her house about sunrise, in order to go to the block house, and had left the door stand­ing wide open. Shortly after the two scouts went away, a number of Indians came into the house, and drew her out of bed by the feet, the two eldest children, who also lay in another bed, were drawn out in the same manner, a younger child, about one year old, slept with the deponent. The Indians then scrambled about the articles in the house; when they were at this work, the deponent went out of the house, and hol­lowed to the people in the block house; one of the Indians then ran up and stopped her mouth, another ran up with his tomahawk drawn, and a third ran and seized the tomahawk and called her his squaw; this last Indian claimed her as his, and continued by her; about fifteen of the Indians then ran down towards the block house, and fired their guns at the block and store house, in consequence of which one soldier was killed, and another wounded, one having been at the spring, and the other in coming or looking out of the store house. This deponent then told the Indians there were about forty men in the block house, and each man had two guns, the Indians then went to them that [Page 16] were firing at the block house, and brought them back. They then began to drive the deponent and her chil­dren away; but a boy, about three years old, being unwilling to leave the house, they took it by the heels, and dashed [...] house; then stabbed and scalped it. They then took the deponent and the two other children, to the top of the hill, where they stop­ped until they tied up the plunder they had got. While they were busy about this, the deponent count­ed them, and the number amounted to thirty-two, in­cluding two white men, that were with them, painted like the Indians.

That several of the Indians could speak English, and that she knew three or four of them very well, having often seen them go up and down the Alleghany river, two of them she knew to be Seneccas, and two Mun­sees, who had got their guns mended by her husband about two years ago. That they sent two Indians with her, and the others took their course towards Puckty. That she, the children, and the two Indians had not gone above two hundred yards, when the Indians caught two of her uncle's horses, put her and the youngest child on one, and one of the Indians and the other child on the other. That the two Indians then took her and the children to the Alleghany river, and took them over in bark canoes, as they could not get the horses to swim the river. After they had crossed the river, the oldest child, a boy of about five years of age, began to mourn for his brother: one of the In­dians then tomahawked and scalped him. That they travelled all day very hard, and that night arrived at a large camp covered with bark, which, by appearance, might hold fifty men; that the camp appeared to have been occupied some time, it was very much beaten, and large beaten paths went out in different directions from it; that night they took her about three hundred yards from the camp, into a large dark bottom, bound her arms, gave her some bed clothes, and lay down [Page 17] one on each side of her. That the next morning they took her into a thicket on the hill side, and one re­mained with her till the middle of the day, while the other went to watch the path, least some white people should follow them. They then exchanged places dur­ing the remainder of the day; she got a piece of dry venison, about the bulk of an egg, that day, and a piece about the same size the day they were marching; that evening, (Wednesday the 23d) they moved her to a new place, and secured her as the night before: during the day of the 23d, she made several attempts to get the Indian's gun or tomahawk, that was guard­ing her, and, could she have got either, she would have put him to death. She was nearly detected in trying to get the tomahawk from his belt.

The next morning (Thursday) one of the Indians went out as on the day before to watch the path. The other lay down and fell asleep. When she found he was sleeping, she stole her short gown, handkerchief and a child's frock, and then made her escape—the sun was then about half an hour high—that she took her course from the Alleghany, in order to deceive the Indians, as they would naturally pursue her that way; that day she travelled along Conequenessing creek. The next day she altered her course, and, as she be­lieves, fell upon the waters of Pine creek, which emp­ties into the Alleghany. Thinking this not her best course, took over some dividing ridges, fell in on the heads of Squaw run, she lay on a dividing ridge on Friday night, and on Saturday came to Squaw run, continued down the run until an Indian, or some other person shot at a deer; she saw the person about one hundred and fifty yards from her, the deer running and the dog pursuing it, which, from the appearance, she supposed to be an Indian dog.

She then altered her course, but again came to the same run, and continued down it until she got so tired that she was obliged to lie down, it having rained on [Page 18] her all that day and the night before; she lay there that night, it rained constantly; on Sunday morning she proceeded down the run until she came to the Al­leghany river, and continued down the river till she came opposite to Carter's house, on the inhabited side, where she made a noise, and James Closier brought her over the river to Carter's house.

This deponent further says, that in conversing with one of the Indians, that could talk English very well, which she suspects to be George Jelloway, he asked her if she knew the prisoner that was taken by Jeffers and his Seneccas, and in gaol in Pittsburg? She an­swered no—he said, you lie. She again said she knew nothing about him; he said she did, that he was a spy, and a great captain; that he took Butler's scalp, and that they would have him or twenty scalps; he again said, that they would exchange for him; that he and two more was sent out to see what the Americans were doing; that they came round from Detroit to Venango; the Indian took paper, and shewed her that he, at Fort Pitt, could write and draw on it;—he also asked her if a campaign was going out against the In­dians this summer—she said no—he called her a liar, and said they were going out, and that the Indians would serve them as they did last year; he also said the English had guns, ammunition, &c. to give them to go to war, and that they had given them plenty last year; this deponent also says, that she saw one of the Indians have captain Crib's sword, which she well knew. That one of the Indians asked her if she knew Thomas Girty, she said she did—he then said that Girty lived near Fort Pitt; that he was a good man, but not as good as his brother at Detroit; but that his wife was a bad woman; she tells lies on the Indians, and is a friend to America. Sworn before me the day and year first above written.

I WAS born within ten miles of the town of Aber­deen, in the north of Scotland, of reputable parents; at eight years of age, being a sturdy boy, I was taken notice of by two fellows belonging to a vessel, em­ployed (as the trade then was) by some of the worthy merchants of Aberdeen, in that villainous and execra­ble practice, of stealing young children from their pa­rents, and selling them as slaves in the plantations abroad, and on board the ship easily cajoled by them, where I was conducted between decks, to some others they had kidnapped in the same manner, and in about a month's time set sail for America. When arrived at Philadelphia, the captain sold us at about sixteen pounds per head. What became of my unhappy com­panions I never knew; but it was my lot to be sold for seven years, to one of my countrymen, who had in his youth been kidnapped like myself, but from ano­ther town.

Having no children of his own, and commiserating my condition, he took care of me, indulged me in going to school, where I went every winter for five years, and made a tolerable proficiency. With this good master, I continued till he died, and, as a re­ward for my faithful service, he left me two hundred pounds currency, which was then about an hundred and twenty pounds sterling, his best horse, saddle, and all his wearing apparel.

Being now seventeen years old, and my own mas­ter, having money in my pocket, and all other neces­saries, I employed myself in jobbing for near seven years; when I resolved to settle, and married the daughter of a substantial planter. My father-in-law made me a deed of gift of a tract of land that lay (un­happily for me, as it has since proved) on the frontiers of the province of Pennsylvania, near the forks of De­laware, [Page 20] containing about two hundred acres, thirty of which were well cleared and fit for immediate use, on which were a good house and barn. The place pleasing me well, I settled on it. My money I expended in buying stock, houshold furniture, and implements for out-of-door work; and being happy in a good wife, my felicity was compleat: but in 1754, the Indians, who had for a long time before ravaged and destroyed other parts of America unmolested, began now to be very troublesome on the frontiers of our province, where they generally appeared in small skulking par­ties, committing great devastations.

Terrible and shocking to human nature were the barbarities daily committed by these savages! Scarce did a day pass but some unhappy family or other fell victims to savage cruelty. Terrible, indeed, it proved to me, as well as to many others; I that was now hap­py in an easy state of life, blessed with an affectionate and tender wife, became on a sudden one of the most unhappy of mankind: scarce can I sustain the shock which for ever recurs on recollecting the fatal second of October, 1754. My wife that day went from home, to visit some of her relations; as I staid up later than usual, expecting her return, none being in the house besides myself, how great was my surprize and terror, when about eleven o'clock at night, I heard the dismal war­whoop of the savages, and found that my house was beset by them. I flew to my chamber window, and perceived them to be twelve in number. Having my gun loaded, I threatened them with death, if they did not retire. But how vain and fruitless are the efforts of one man against the united force of so many blood thirsty monsters! One of them that could speak English, threatened me in return, ‘That if I did not come out, they would burn me alive,’ adding, however, ‘That if I would come out and surrender myself prisoner, they would not kill me.’ In such deplorable circum­stances, I chose to rely on their promises, rather than [Page 21] meet death by rejecting them; and accordingly went out of the house, with my gun in my hand, not know­ing that I had it. Immediately on my approach they rushed on me like tigers, and instantly disarmed me. Having me thus in their power, they bound me to a tree, went into the house, plundered it of every thing they could carry off, and then set fire to it, and con­sumed what was left before my eyes. Not satisfied with this, they set fire to my barn, stable, and out-houses, wherein were about 200 bushels of wheat, six cows, four horses, and five sheep, all which were consumed to ashes.

Having thus finished the execrable business, about which they came, one of the monsters came to me with a tomahawk ^* and threatened me with the worst of deaths, if I would not go with them. This I agreed to, and then they untied me, and gave me a load to carry, under which I travelled all that night, full of the most terrible apprehensions, lest my unhappy wife should likewise have fallen into their cruel power. At day break, my infernal masters ordered me to lay down my load, when tying my hands again round a tree, they forced the blood out at my fingers' ends. And then kindling a fire near the tree to which I was bound, the most dreadful agonies seized me, conclud­ing I was going to be made a sacrifice to their barba­rity. The fire being made, they for some time danced round me after their manner, whooping, hollowing and shrieking in a frightful manner. Being satisfied with this sort of mirth, they proceeded in another manner; taking the burning coals, and sticks flaming with fire at the ends, holding them to my face, head hands, [Page 22] and feet, and at the same time threatening to burn me entirely if I cried out: thus tortured as I was, almost to death, I suffered their brutalities, without being al­lowed to vent my anguish otherwise, than by shedding silent tears; and these being observed, they took fresh coals, and applied them near my eyes, telling me my face was wet, and that they would dry it for me, which indeed they cruelly did. How I underwent these tortures has been matter of wonder to me, but God enabled me to wait with more than common pa­tience for the deliverance I daily prayed for.

At length they sat down round the fire, and roasted the meat, of which they had robbed my dwelling. When they had supped, they offered some to me: though it may easily be imagined I had but little appe­tite to eat, after the tortures and miseries I had suffered, yet was I forced to seem pleased with what they offered me, lest by refusing it, they should re-assume their hel­lish practices. What I could not eat, I contrived to hide, they having unbound me till they imagined I had eat all; but then they bound me as before; in which de­plorable condition I was forced to continue the whole day. When the sun was set, they put out the fire, and covered the ashes with leaves, as is their usual custom, that the white people might not discover any traces of their having been there.

Going from thence along the Susquehanna, for the space of six miles, loaded as I was before, we arrived at a spot near the Apalachian mountains, or Blue-hills, where they hid their plunder under logs of wood. From thence they proceeded to a neighbouring house, occupied by one Jacob Snider and his unhappy family, consisting of his wife, five children, and a young man his servant. They soon got admittance into the unfor­tunate man's house, where they immediately, without the least remorse, scalped both parents and children: nor could the tears, the shrieks, or cries of poor inno­cent children, prevent their horrid massacre: having [Page 23] thus scalped them, and plundered the house of every thing that was movable, they set fire to it, and left the distressed victims amidst the flames.

Thinking the young man belonging to this unhappy family, would be of service to them in carrying part of their plunder, they spared his life, and loaded him and myself with what they had here got, and again marched to the Blue-hills, where they stowed their goods as before. My fellow sufferer could not support the cruel treatment which we were obliged to suffer, and complaining bitterly to me of his being unable to proceed any farther, I endeavoured to animate him, but all in vain, for he still continued his moans and tears, which one of the savages perceiving, as we travelled along, came up to us, and with his tomahawk gave him a blow on the head, which felled the unhappy youth to the ground, whom they immediately scalped and left. The suddenness of this murder shocked me to that degree, that I was in a manner motionless, expecting my fate would soon be the same: however, recovering my distracted thoughts, I dissembled my anguish as well as I could from the barbarians; but still, such was my terror, that for some time I scarce knew the days of the week, or what I did.

They still kept on their course near the mountains where they lay skulking four or five days, rejoicing at the plunder they had got. When provisions became scarce, they made their way towards Susquehanna, and passing near another house, inhabited by an old man, whose name was John Adams, with his wife and four small children, and meeting with no resistance, they immediately scalped the mother and her children before the old man's eyes. Inhuman and horrid as this was, it did not satisfy them; for when they had murdered the poor woman, they acted with her in such a brutal manner, as decency will not permit me to mention. The unhappy husband, not being able to avoid the sight, intreated them to put an end to his miserable [Page 24] being; but they were as deaf to the tears and entrea­ties of this venerable sufferer, as they had been to those of the others, and proceeded to burn and destroy his house, barn, corn, hay, cattle, and every thing the poor man, a few hours before, was master of. Having saved what they thought proper from the flames, they gave the old man, feeble, weak, and in the miserable condition he then was, as well as myself, burdens to carry, and loading themselves likewise with bread and meat, pursued their journey towards the Great Swamp. Here they lay for eight or nine days diverting them­selves, at times, in barbarous cruelties on the old man; sometimes they would strip him naked, and paint him all over with various sorts of colours: at other times they would pluck the white hairs from his head, and tauntingly tell him, 'He was a fool for living so long, and that they should shew him kindness in putting him out of the world.' In vain were all his tears, for daily did they tire themselves with the various means they tried to torment him; sometimes tying him to a tree, and whipping him; at other times, scorching his furrowed cheeks with red-hot coals, and burning his legs quite to the knees. One night after he had been thus tormented, whilst he and I were condoling each other at the miseries we daily suffered, 25 other Indians arrived, bringing with them 20 scalps and 3 prisoners, who had unhappily fallen into their hands in Conogocheague, a small town near the river Susque­hanna, chiefly inhabited by the Irish. These prissoners gave us some shocking accounts of the murders and devastations committed in their parts; a few instances of which will enable the reader to guess at the treat­ment the provincials have suffered for years past. This party, who now joined us, had it not, I found, in their power to begin their violences so soon as those who visited my habitation; the first of their tragedies being on the 25th of October, 1754, when John Lewis, with his wife and three small children, were [Page 25] inhumanly scalped and murdered; and his house, barn, and every thing he possessed burnt and destroyed. On the 2 [...]th, Jacob Miller, with his wife and six of his family, with every thing on his plantations, shared the same fate. The 30th, the house, mill, barn, 20 head of cattle, two teams of horses, and every thing belonging to George Folke, met with the like treat­ment, himself, wife, and all his miserable family, consisting of nine in number, being scalped, then cut in pieces and given to the swine. One of the substan­tial traders, belonging to the province, having business that called him some miles up the country, fell into the hands of these ruffians, who not only scalped him, but immediately roasted him before he was dead; then, like cannibals, for want of other food, eat his whole body, and of his head made, what they called, an In­dian pudding.

From these few instances of savage cruelty, the de­plorable situation of the defenceless inhabitants, and what they hourly suffered in that part of the globe, must strike the utmost horror, and cause in every breast the utmost detestation, not only against the au­thors, but against those who, through inattention, or pusillanimous or erroneous principles, suffered these savages at first, unrepelled, or even unmolested, to commit such ourages, depredations, and murders.

The three prisoners that were brought with these additional forces, constantly repining at their lot, and almost dead with their excessive hard treatment, con­trived at last to make their escape; but being far from their own settlements, and not knowing the country, were soon after met by some others of the tribes, or na­tions at war with us, and brought back. The poor creatures, almost famished for want of sustenance, having had none during the time of their escape, were no sooner in the power of the barbarians, than two of them were tied to a tree, and a great fire made round them, where they remained till they were terribly [Page 26] scorched and burnt; when one of the villains with his scalping knife, ripped open their bellies, took out their entrails, and burned them before their eyes, whilst the others were cutting, piercing, and tearing the flesh from their breasts, hands, arms, and legs, with red-hot irons, till they were dead. The third un­happy victim was reserved a few hours longer, to be, if possible, sacrificed in a more cruel manner; his arms were tied close to his body, and a hole being dug, deep enough for him to stand upright, he was put into it, and earth rammed and beat in all round his body up to his neck, so that his head only appeared above ground; they then scalped him, and there let him remain for three or four hours, in the greatest agonies; after which they made a small fire near his head, causing him to suffer the most excruciating torments; whilst the poor creature could only cry for mercy by killing him immediately, for his brains were boiling in his head; inexorable to all he said, they continued the fire, till his eyes gushed out of their sockets; such ago­nizing torments did this unhappy creature suffer for near two hours before he was quite dead. They then cut off his head, and buried it with the other bodies; my task being to dig the graves; which, feeble and terrified as I was, the dread of suffering the same fate enabled me to do.

A great snow now falling, the barbarians were fear­ful, lest the white people should, by their tracks, find out their skulking retreats, which obliged them to make the best of their way to their winter-quarters, about two hundred miles farther from any plantations or inhabitants. After a long and painful journey, being almost starved, I arrived with this infernal crew at Alamingo. There I found a number of wigwams, full of their women and children. Dancing, singing, and shouting were their general amusements. And in all their festivals and dances, they relate what successes they have had, and what damages they have sustained [Page 27] in their expeditions; in which I now unhappily be­came part of their theme. The severity of the cold in­creasing, they stripped me of my cloaths for their own use, and gave me such as they usually wore themselves, being a piece of blanket, and a pair of mockasons, or shoes, with a yard of coarse cloth, to put round me instead of breeches.

At Alamingo I remained near two months, till the snow was off the ground. Whatever thoughts I might have of making my escape, to carry them into execu­tion was impracticable, being so far from any planta­tions or white people, and the severe weather render­ing my limbs in a manner quite stiff and motionless: however, I contrived to defend myself against the in­clemency of the weather as well as I could, by making myself a little wigwam with the bark of the trees, covering it with earth, which made it resemble a cave; and, to prevent the ill effects of the cold, I kept a good fire always near the door. My liberty of going about, was, indeed, more than I could have expected, but they well knew the impracticability of my escap­ing from them. Seeing me outwardly easy and submis­sive, they would sometimes give me a little meat, but my chief food was Indian corn. At length the time came when they were preparing themselves for another expedition against the planters and white people; but before they set out, they were joined by many other Indians.

As soon as the snow was quite gone, they set forth on their journey towards the ba [...]k parts of the province of Pennsylvania; all leaving their wives and children be­hind in their wigwams. They were now a formidable bo­dy, amounting to near 150. My business was to carry what they thought proper to load me with, but they never in­trusted me with a gun. We marched on several days without any thing particular occurring, almost famish­ed for want of provisions; for my part, I had nothing but a few stalks of Indian corn, which I was glad to [Page 28] eat dry: nor did the Indians themselves fare much better, for as we drew near the plantations they were afraid to kill any game, lest the noise of their guns should alarm the inhabitants.

When we again arrived at the Blue-hills, about thirty miles from the Irish settlements before-men­tioned, we encamped for three days, though God knows, we had neither tents nor any thing else to de­fend us from the inclemency of the air, having nothing to lie on by night but the grass. Their usual method of lodging, pitching, or encamping, by night, being in parcels of ten or twelve men to a fire, where they lie upon the grass or brush, wrapped up in blanket, with their feet to the fire.

During our stay here, a sort of council of war was held, when it was agreed to divide themselves into companies of about twenty men each; after which every captain marched with his party where he thought proper. I still belonged to my old masters, but was left behind on the mountains with ten Indians, to stay till the rest should return; not thinking it proper to carry me nearer to Conogocheague, or the other plan­tations.

Here I began to meditate an escape, and though I knew the country round extremely well, yet I was very cautious of giving the least suspicion of any such intention. However the third day after the grand body left us, my companions thought proper to traverse the mountains in search of game for their subsistance, leav­ing me bound in such a manner that I could not escape: at night, when they returned, having unbound me, we all sat down together to supper on what they had killed, and soon after (being greatly fatigued with their day's excursion) they composed themselves to rest, as usual. I now tried various ways to try whether it was a scheme to prove my intentions or not; but after making a noise and walking about, sometimes touch­ing them with my feet, I found there was no fallacy. [Page 29] Then I resolved, if possible, to get one of their guns, and, if discovered, to die in my defence, rather than be taken: for that purpose I made various efforts to get one from under their heads (where they always se­cured them) but in vain. Disappointed in this, I began to despair of carrying my design into execution: yet, after a little recollection, and trusting myself to the di­vine protection, I set forwards, naked, and defenceless as I was. Such was my terror, however, that in going from them I halted, and paused every four or five yards, looking fearfully towards the spot where I had left them, lest they should awake and miss me; but when I was two hundred yards from them, I mended my pace, and made as much haste as I possibly could to the foot of the mountains; when, on a sudden, I was struck with the greatest terror at hearing the wood-cry, as it is called, which the savages I had left were making, upon missing their charge. The more my terror encreased the faster I pushed on, and, scarce knowing where I trod, drove through the woods with the utmost precipitation, sometimes falling and bruising myself, cutting my feet and legs against the stones in a miserable manner. But faint and maimed as I was I continued my flight till day-break, when, without having any thing to sustain nature, but a little corn left, I crept into a hollow tree, where I lay very snug, and returned my prayers and thanks to the di­vine being, that had thus far favoured my escape. But my repose was in a few hours destroyed at hearing the voice of the savages near the place where I was hid, threatening and talking how they would use me, if they got me again. However, they at last left the spot, where I heard them, and I remained in my apartment all that day without further molestation.

At night I ventured forwards again, frightened; thinking each twig that touched me a savage. The third day I concealed myself in like manner as be­fore, and at night travelled, keeping off the main [Page 30] road as much as possible, which lengthened my journey many miles. But how shall I describe the terror I felt on the fourth night, when, by the rustling I made among the leaves, a party of Indians, that lay round a small fire, which I did not perceive, started from the ground, and, seizing their arms, ran from the fire amongst the woods. Whether to move forward or rest where I was, I knew not, when to my great surprize and joy, I was relieved by a parcel of swine that made towards the place where I guessed the savages to be; who, on seeing them, imagined that they had caused the alarm, very merrily returned to the fire, and lay again down to sleep. Bruised, crippled, and terrified as I was, I pursued my journey till break of day, when, thinking myself safe, I lay down under a great log, and slept till about noon. Before evening I reached the summit of a great hill, and looking out if I could spy any habitations of white people, to my inexpressi­ble joy, I saw some which I guessed to be about ten miles distance.

In the morning I continued my journey towards the nearest cleared lands I had seen the day before, and, about four o'clock in the afternoon, arrived at the house of John Bell, an old acquaintance, where knock­ing at the door, his wise, who opened it, seeing me in such a frightful condition, flew from me, screaming, into the house. This alarmed the whole family, who immedi­ately fled to their arms, and I was soon accosted by the master with his gun in his hand. But on making myself known, (for he before took me to be an Indian) he immedi­ately caressed me, as did all his family with extraordinary friendship, the report of my being murdered by the savages having reached them some months before. For two days and nights they very affectionately sup­plied me with all necessaries, and carefully attended me till my spirits and limbs were pretty well recovered, and I thought myself able to ride, when I borrowed of these good people (whose kindness merits my most [Page 31] grateful returns) a horse and some cloaths, and set for­ward for my father-in-law's house in Chester county, about one hundred and forty miles from thence, where I arrived on the 4th day of January, 1755, (but scarce one of the family could credit their eyes, believing with the people I had lately left, that I had fallen a prey to the Indians) where I was received and em­braced by the whole family with great affection; upon enquiring for my dear wife, I found she had been dead two months! This fatal news greatly lessened the joy I otherwise should have felt at my deliverance from the dreadful state and company I had been in.

THERE is seldom a more difficult task undertaken by man, than the act of writing a narrative of a person's own life; especially where the incident borders on the marvellous. Prodigies but seldom happen; and the veracity of the relaters of them is still less frequently vouched for; however, as the dispensations of Provi­dence towards me have been too striking not to make a deep and grateful impression, and as the principal part of them can be attested to by living evidences, I shall proceed, being confident that the candid reader will pardon the inaccuracies of an illiterate soldier, and that the tender hearted will drop the tear of sympathy, when they realize the idea of the sufferings of such of our unfortunate country folks as fall into the hands of the western Indians, whose tender mercies are cruelties.

I was born and brought up at Falmouth, Casco-bay, where I resided until I attained to the seventeenth year of my age. My parents were poor, the farm we occu­pied, small, and hard to cultivate, their family large and expensive, and every way fitted to spare me to seek [Page 32] a separate fortune; at least these ideas had gained so great an ascendancy in my mind, that I determined, with the consent of my parents, to look out for a mean of supporting myself.

Having fixed on the matter firmly, I took leave of my friends, and sailed, the 1st of May, 1791, on board a coasting schooner for Boston. Being arrived in this capital, and entirely out of employ, I had many uneasy sensations, and more than once sincerely wished myself at home with my parents; however, as I had set out on an important design, and as yet met with no misfor­tune, pride kept me from this act, while necessity urged me to fix speedily on some mode of obtaining a liveli­hood.

My mind was severely agitated on this subject one morning, when a young officer came into my room, and soon entered into conversation on the pleasures of a military life, the great chance there was for an active young man to obtain promotion, and the grand prospect opening for making great fortunes in the western coun­try. His discourse had the desired effect; for after treating me with a bowl or two of punch, I enlisted, with a firm promise on his side to assist me in obtaining a sergeant's warrant before the party left Boston.

An entire new scene now opened before me. Instead of becoming a sergeant, I was treated severely for my ignorance in a matter I had till then scarcely thought of, and insultingly ridiculed for remonstrating against the conduct of the officer. I suffered great uneasiness on these and other accounts, of a similar kind, for some time; at length, convinced of the futility of complaint, I applied myself to study the exercise, and in a few days became tolerable expert. The beginning of July we left Boston, When we arrived at fort Washington, I was ordered to join capt. Phelon's company, and in a few days set out on the expedition under general Harmar. Those alone who have experienced, can tell [Page 33] what hardships, men undergo in such excursions, hun­ger, fatigue and toil were our constant attendants: however as our expectations were raised with the idea of easy conquest, rich plunder, and fine arms in the end, we made a shift to be tolerably merry: for my own part, I had obtained a sergeantcy, and flattered myself I was in the direct road to honour, fame and for­tune. Alas! how fluctuating are the scenes of life! how singularly precarious the fortune of a soldier! Before a singular opportunity presented, in which I could have a chance to signalize myself, it was my lot to be taken in an ambuscade, by a party of Kickappoo Indians, and with ten others constrained to experience scenes, in comparison of which our former distresses sunk into nothing. We were taken on the bank of the Wabash, and immediately conveyed to the upper Miami, at least such of us as survived. The second day after we were taken, one of my companions, by the name of George Aikins, a native of Ireland, be­came so faint with hunger and fatigue, that he could proceed no further. A short council was immediately held among the Indians who guarded us, the result of which was that he should be put to death; this was no sooner determined on, than a scene of torture began. The captain of the guard approached the wretched victim who lay bound upon the ground, and with his knife made a circular incision on the scull; two others immediately pulled off the scalp; after this they each of them struck him on the head with their tomahawks, they then stripped him naked, stabbed him with their knives in every sensitive part of the body, and left him, weltering in blood, though not quite dead, a wretched victim to Indian rage and hellish barbarity.

We were eight days on our march to the upper Mia­mi, during which painful travel, no pen can describe our sufferings from hunger, thirst, and toil. We were met, at the entrance of the town, by above five hun­dred Indians, besides squaws and children, who were [Page 34] apprized of our approach by a most hideous yelling made by our guard, and answered repeatedly from the village. Here we were all severely beaten by the Indi­ans, and four of our number, viz. James Durgee, of Concord, Samuel Forsythe, of Beverly, Robert De­loy, of Marblehead, and Uzza Benton, of Salem, who all fainted under their heavy trials, were immediately scalped and tomahawked in our presence, and tortured to death with every affliction of misery that Indian in­genuity could invent.

It was the 4th of August when we were taken, and our unhappy companions were massacred the thirteenth. News was that day received of the destruction at L'An­guille, &c. of general Harmar's army, numbers of scalps were exhibited by the warriors, and several pri­soners, among whom were three women and six chil­dren, carried through the village destined to a Kickappoo settlement, further westward. The 15th of August, four more of my fellow prisoners, viz. Lemuel Saun­ders, of Boston, Thomas Tharp, of Dorchester, Vin­cent Upham, of Mistick, and Younglove Croxal, of Abington, were taken from us; but whether they were massacred or preserved alive, I am unable to say. After this nothing material occurred for a fortnight, except that we were several times severely whipped on the receipt of bad news, and our allowance of provisions lessened, so that we were apprehensive of starving to death, if we did not fall an immediate sacrifice to the fire or tomahawk: but heaven had otherwise decreed.

On the night following the 30th of August, our guard, which consisted of four Indians, tired out with watching, laid down to sleep, leaving only an old squaw to attend us. Providence so ordered that my compa­nion had, by some means, got one of his hands at li­berty, and having a knife in his pocket, soon cut the withes that bound his feet, and that which pinioned my arms, unperceived by the old squaw, who sat in a drowsy position, not suspecting harm, over a small fire in the wigwam.

[Page 35] I ruminated but a few moments on our situation; there was no weapon near us, except my companion's knife, which he still held, I looked on him to make him observe me, and the same instant sprung and grasped the squaw by the throat to prevent her making a noise, and my comrade in a moment cut her throat from ear to ear, down to the neck bone. He then seized a tomahawk and myself a rifle, and striking at the same instant, dispatched two of our enemies, the sound of these blows awakened the others, but before they had time to rise, we renewed our strokes on them, and luckily to so good effect, as to stun them, and then repeating the blow, we sunk a tomahawk in each of their heads, armed ourselves completely, and tak­ing what provisions the wigwam afforded, we commit­ted ourselves to the protection of Providence, and made the best of our way into the wilderness.

The compass of a volume would scarce contain the events of our progress through the wilderness; but as they were uninteresting to any but us, I shall only ob­serve generally, that the difficulties of the journey, were too great to have been endured by any who had less interest than life at stake, or a less terrible enemy than Indians to fear. Hunger, thirst, and fatigue, were our constant companions. We travelled hard day and night, except the few hours absolutely requisite for repose, that nature might not sink under her oppres­sion, at which period one constantly watched while the other [...]. In this tiresome mode, we proceeded un­til the [...]teenth of September, having often to shift our direction on account of impassable bogs, deep morasses and hideous precipices, without meeting any adven­ture worthy note. On the morning of the fifteenth, as we were steering nearly a north course in order to avoid a bog that intercepted our course, S.E. we found the bodies of one old man, a woman and two children newly murdered, stript and scalped. This horrid spec­tacle chilled our blood; we viewed the wretched vic­tims; [Page 36] and from what we could collect from circum­stances, we concluded that they had been dragged away from their homes, and their feet being worn out, had been inhumanly murdered, and left weltering in their blood. We were at a great loss now to determine what course to steer; at length we pitched upon a di­rection about northwest, and walked on as fast as pos­sible to escape the savages, if practicable. About noon this day, we came to a good spring, which was a great relief to us; but which we had great reason a few minutes after to believe would be the last of our earthly comforts. My companion, Richard Sackville, a cor­poral of captain Newman's company, stepped aside in­to the thicket, on some occasion, and returned with the account that a few rods distant he had discovered four Indians with two miserable wretches bound, sit­ting under a tree eating; and that if I would join him, he would either relieve the captives, or perish in the attempt. The resolution of my worthy comrade pleas­ed me greatly; and as no time was to be lost, we set immediately about the execution of our design: Sack­ville took the lead, and conducted me undiscovered, within fifty yards of the Indians; two of them were laid down, with their musquets in their arms, and ap­peared to be asleep; the other two sat at the head of the prisoners, their musquets resting against their left shoul­ders, and in their right hands each of them a toma­hawk, over the heads of their prisoners. We each chose our man to fire at, and taking aim deliberately, had the satisfaction to see them both fall; the others instantly started, and seeming at a loss to determine from whence the assault was made, sell on their bellies, and looked carefully around to discover the best course to take; mean time we had recharged, and shifting our position a little, impatiently waiting their rising; in a minute they raised on their hands and knees, and having as we supposed discovered the smoke of our guns rising above the bushes, attempted to crawl into [Page 37] a thicket on the opposite side. This gave us a good chance, and we again fired at different men, and with such effect, that we brought them both down; one lay motionless, the other crawled along a few yards, we loaded in an instant, and rushed towards him, yet keeping an eye on him, as he had reached him com­rade's gun, and sat upright in a posture of defence. By our noise in the bushes he discovered the direction to fire; alas too fatally, for by his fatal shot I lost my comrade and friend Sackville. At this moment the two prisoners who were close pinioned, endeavoured to make their escape towards me, but the desperate savage again fired, and shot one of them dead, the other gained the thicket within a few yards of me: I had now once more got ready to fire, and discharged at the wounded Indian; at this discharge I wounded him in the neck, from whence I perceived the blood to flow swiftly, but he yet undauntedly kept his seat, and having new charged his guns, fired upon us with them both, and then fell, seemingly from faintness and loss of blood. I ran instant­ly to the pinioned white man, and having unbound his arms, and armed him with the unfortunate Sackville's musquet, we cautiously approached a few yards nearer the wounded Indian; when I ordered my new comrade to fire, and we could perceive the shot took effect. The savage still lay motionless. As soon as my compa­nion had re-loaded, we approached the Indian, whom we found not quite dead, and a tomahawk in each hand, which he flourished at us, seemingly determined not to be taken alive. I, for my own part, determined to take him alive, if possible; but my comrade p [...] ­vented me by shooting him through the body. [...] enquired of my new companion what course we ought to steer, and whence the party came, from whose power I had relieved him. He informed me with respect to the course, which we immediately took, and on the way let me know, that we were within about three days march of fort Jefferson; that he and three others [Page 38] were taken by a party of ten Wabash Indians four days before, in the neighbourhood of that fort; that two of his companions being wounded, were immediately scalped and killed; that the party, at the time of tak­ing him, had in their possession seven other prisoners, three of whom were committed to the charge of a party of four Indians. What became of them we knew not: the others being worn down with fatigue, were massacred the day before, and which I found to be those whose bodies poor Sackville had discovered in the thicket; that the other two Indians were gone to­wards the settlements, having sworn to kill certain per­sons whose names he had forgotten, and that destruc­tion seemed to be their whole drift.

My comrade, whose name on enquiry, I found to be George Sexton, formerly a resident of Newport, Rhode-Island, I found to be an excellent woodsman, and a man of great spirit, and so grateful for the deli­verance I had been instrumental in obtaining for him, that he would not suffer me to watch for him to sleep, but one hour in the four and twenty, although he was so fatigued as to have absolute need of a much greater proportion; neither would permit me to carry any of our baggage.

From the time of being joined by Sexton, we steer­ed a southeast course, as direct as possible, until the 18th towards night, directing our course by the sun and the moss on the trees by day, and the moon by night: on the evening of the 18th, we providentially fell in with an American scouting party, who conducted us safely, in a few hours, to fort Jefferson, where we were treated with great humanity, and supplied with the best refreshments the fort afforded, which to me was very acceptable, as I had not tasted any thing ex­cept wild berries and ground nuts for above a week.

The week after our arrival at fort Jefferson, I was able to return to my duty in my own regiment, which the latter end of August joined the army on an expe­dition [Page 39] against the Indians of the Miami Village, the place in which I had suffered so much, and so recently, and where I had beheld so many cruelties perpetrated on unfortunate Americans. It is easier to conceive than describe the perturbation of my mind on this oc­casion. The risk I should run in common with my fellow soldiers, seemed heightened by the certainty of torture that awaited me in case of being captured by the savages. However, these reflections only occasioned a firm resolution of doing my duty, vigilantly, and sell­ing my life in action as dear as possible, but by no means to be taken alive if I could evade it by any exertion short of suicide.

My captain shewed me every kindness in his power on the march, indulged me with a horse as often as possible, and promised to use his influence to obtain a commission for me, if I conducted well the present ex­pedition;—poor gentleman! little did he think he was soon to expire gallantly fighting the battles of his coun­try! I hasten now to the most interesting part of my short narrative, the description of general St. Clair's defeat, and the scenes which succeeded it.

On the 3d of November we arrived within a few miles of the Miami Village. Our army consisted of about 1200 regular troops, and nearly an equal num­ber of militia. The night of the 3d, having reason to expect an attack, we were ordered under arms, about midnight, and kept in order until just before day-light, at which time our scouts having been sent out in va­rious directions, and no enemy discovered, we were dismissed from the parade to take some refreshment. The men in general, almost worn out with fatigue, had thrown themselves down to repose a little: but their rest was of short duration, for before sunrisse, the In­dians began a desperate attack upon the militia, which soon threw them into disorder, and forced them to re­tire precipitately, into the very heart of our camp.

Good God! what were my feelings, when, starting [Page 40] from my slumbers, I heard the most tremendous firing all around, with yellings, horrid whoopings and ex­piring groans in dreadful discord sounding in my ears. I seized my arms, ran out of my tent with several of my comrades, and saw the Indians with their bloody tomahawks and murderous knives butchering the fly­ing militia. I fled towards them, filled with despera­tion, discharged my firelock among them, and had the satisfaction to see one of the tawny savages fall, whose tomahawk was that instant elevated to strike a gallant officer, then engaged sword in hand with a savage in front. My example, I have reason to think, ani­mated my companions. Our own company now reached the place we occupied, and aided by the regu­lars of other companies and regiments, who joined us indiscriminately, we drove the Indians back into the bush, and soon after formed in tolerable order, under as gallant commanders as ever died in defence of America. The firing ceased for a few minutes, but it was like the interval of a tornado, calculated by an instantaneous, dreadful reverse, to strike the deeper horror.—In one and the same minute seemingly, the most deadly and heavy firing took place on every part of our camp; the army, exposed to the shot of the enemy, delivered from the ground, fell on every side, and drenched the plains with blood, while the discharge from our troops directed almost at random, I am fearful did but little execution. Orders were now given to charge with bayonets. We obeyed with alacrity; a dreadful swarm of tawny savages rose from the ground, and fled before us; but alas! our officers, rendered conspicuous by their exertions to stimulate the men, became victims to savage ingenuity, and fell so fast in common with the rest, that scarce a shot ap­peared as spent in vain.—Advantages gained by the bayonet, were by this means, and want of due support, lost again, and our little corps obliged in turn, repeat­edly to give way before the Indians.—We were now [Page 41] reduced to less than half our original number of regu­lar troops, and less than a fourth part of our officers, our horses all killed or taken, our artillery men all cut off, and the pieces in the enemy's hands; in this dreadful dilemma we had nothing to do but to attempt a retreat, which soon became a flight, and for several miles, amidst the yells of Indians, more dreadful to my ears, than screams of damned fiends to my ideas, amidst the groans of dying men, and the dreadful sight of bloody massacres on every side, perpetrated by the In­dians on the unfortunate creatures they overtook, I endured a degree of torture no tongue can describe, or heart conceive; yet I providentially escaped unhurt, and frequently discharged my musket, I am persuaded to effect.

Providence was pleased to sustain my spirits, and preserve my strength; and although I had been so far spent previous to setting out on the expedition, as to be unable to go upon fatigue for several days, or even to bear a moderate degree of exercise, I reached fort Jefferson the day after the action about ten in the morning, having travelled on foot all night to effect it.

Thus have I made the reader acquainted with the most interesting scenes of my life; many of them are extraordinary, some of them perhaps incredible; but all of them founded in fact, which can be attested by numbers. General St. Clair, in consequence of my sufferings and what he and others were pleased to call soldier-like exertions, presented me with an ensign's commission, on joining the remains of my old compa­ny, in which station I mean to serve my country again, as far as my slender abilities will permit; trusting that the same kind protecting providence, which hath covered my head in the day of battle, and shielded me repeatedly in the hour of danger, will dispose of me as to infinite wisdom seems best; and if I die in the cause of my country, may the remembrance of my suffer­ings, escapes, perseverance through divine support, and [Page 42] repeated mercies received, kindle a flame of heroism in the breast of many an American youth, and induce him, while he reads the sufferings of his unfortunate countrymen, to exert himself to defend the worthy inhabitants on the frontiers from the depredations of savages; whose horrid mode of war is a scene to be deprecated by civilized nature, whose tender mercies are cruelties and whose faith is by no means to be de­pended on, though pledged in the most solemn trea­ties.

SO early as the 8th of February, 1778, general Schuyler wrote to congress—"There is too much reason to believe, that an expedition will be formed (by the Indians) against the western frontiers of this state (New-York) Virginia and Pennsylvania." The next month he informed them—"A number of Mo­hawks, and many of the Onondagoes, Cayugas, and Senecas, will commence hostilities against us as soon as they can; it would be prudent therefore early to take measures to carry the war into their country; it would require no greater body of troops to destroy their towns than to protect the frontier inhabitants." No effectual measures being taken to repress the hostile spirit of the Indians, numbers joined the tory refugees, and with these commenced their horrid depredations and hostilities upon the back settlers, being headed by colonel Butler, and Brandt, an half blooded Indian, of desperate courage, ferocious and cruel beyond exam­ple. Their expeditions were carried on to great ad­vantage by the exact knowledge which the refugees possessed of every object of their enterprise, and the immediate intelligence they received from their friends on the spot. The weight of their hostilities fell upon [Page 43] the fine, new and flourishing settlement of Wyoming, situated on the eastern branch of the Susquehanna, in a most beautiful country and delightful climate.—It was settled and cultivated with great ardor by a number of people from Connecticut, which claimed the territory as included in its original grant from Charles II. The settlement consisted of eight town­ships, each five miles square, beautifully placed on each side of the river. It had increased so by a rapid population, that the settlers sent a thousand men to serve in the continental army. To provide against the dangers of their remote situation, four forts were con­structed to cover them from the irruptions of the In­dians. But it was their unhappiness, to have a consi­derable mixture of royalists among them; and the two parties were actuated by sentiments of the most violent animosity, which was not confined to particular fami­lies or places; but creeping within the roofs and to the hearths and floors where it was least to be expected, served equally to poison the sources of domestic security and happiness, and to cancel the laws of nature and humanity.

They had frequent and timely warnings of the dan­ger to which they were exposed by sending their best men to so great a distance. Their quiet had been in­terrupted by the Indians, joined by marauding parties of their own countrymen, in the preceding year; and it was only by a vigorous opposition, in a course of suc­cessful skirmishes, that they had been driven off. Se­veral tories, and others not before suspected, had then and since abandoned the settlement; and beside a per­fect knowledge of all their particular circumstances, car­ried along with them such a stock of private resentment, as could not fail of directing the fury, and even giving an edge to the cruelty of their Indian and other invete­rate enemies. An unusual number of strangers had come among them under various pretences, whose be­haviour became so suspicious, that upon being taken up [Page 44] and examined, such evidence appeared against several of them, of their acting in concert with the enemy, on a scheme for the destruction of the settlements, that about twenty were sent off to Connecticut to be there imprisoned and tried for their lives, while the remainder were expelled. These measures excited the rage of the tories in general to the most extreme degree; and the threats formerly denounced against the settlers; were now renewed with aggravated vengeance.

As the time approached for the final catastrophe, the Indians practised unusual treachery. For several weeks previous to the intended attack, they repeatedly sent small parties to the settlement, charged with the strongest professions of friendship. These parties, be­side attempting to lull the people in security, answered the purposes of communicating with their friends, and of observing the present state of affairs. The settlers, however, were not insensible to the danger. They had taken the alarm, and col. Zebulon Butler had several times written letters to congress and gen. Washington, acquainting them with the danger the settlement was in, and requesting assistance; but the letters were never received, having been intercepted by the Pennsylvania tories. A little before the main attack, some small parties made sudden irruptions, and committed several robberies and murders; and, from ignorance or a con­tempt of all ties whatever, massacred the wife and five children of one of the persons sent for trial to Connec­ticut, in their own cause.

At length, in the beginning of July, the enemy sud­denly appeared in full force on the Susquehanna [...] by col. John Butler, a Connecticut tory, and cousin to col. Zeb. Butler, the second in command in the set­tlement. He was assisted by most of those leaders, who had rendered themselves terrible in the present frontier war. Their force was about 1600 men, near a fourth Indians, led by their own chiefs: the others were so disguised and painted, as not to be distinguished [Page 45] from the Indians, excepting their officers, who, being dressed in regimentals, carried the appearance of regu­lars. One of the smaller forts, garrisoned chiefly by tories, was given up or rather betrayed. Another was taken by storm, and all but the women and children massacred in the most inhuman manner.

Colonel Zeb. Butler, leaving a small number to guard fort Wilkesborough, crossed the river with about 400 men, and marched into Kingston fort, whither the women, children and defenceless of all sorts crowded for protection. He suffered himself to be enticed by his cousin a abandon the fortress. He agreed to march out, and hold a conference with the enemy in the open field (at so great a distance from the fort, as to shut out all possibility of protection from it) upon their with­drawing, according to their own proposal, in order to the holding of a parley for the conclusion of a treaty. He at the same time marched out about 400 men well arm­ed, being nearly the whole strength of the garrison, to guard his person to the place of parley, such was his distrust of the enemy's designs. On his arrival he found nobody to treat with, and yet advanced toward the foot of the mountain, where at a distance he saw a flag, the holders of which, seemingly afraid of treachery on his side, retired as he advanced; whilst he, endeavouring to remove this pretended ill-impression, pursued the flag, till his party was thoroughly enclosed, when he was suddenly freed from his delusion, by finding it attacked at once on every side. He and his men, not­withstanding the surprise and danger, fought with re­solution and bravery, and kept up so continual and heavy a fire for three quarters of an hour, that they seemed to gain a marked superiority. In this critical moment, a soldier through a sudden impulse of sear, or premeditated treachery, cried out aloud—"the colonel has ordered a retreat." The fate of the party was now at once determined. In the state of confu­sion that ensued, an unresisted slaughter commenced, [Page 46] while the enemy broke in on all sides without obstruc­tion. Col. Zeb. Butler, and about seventy of his men escaped; the latter got across the river to fort Wilkesbo­rough, the colonel made his way to fort Kingston; which was invested the next day on the land side. The enemy, to sadden the drooping spirits of the weak remaining garrison, sent in, for their contemplation, the bloody scalps of a hundred and ninety-six of their late friends and comrades. They kept up a continual fi [...] upon the fort the whole day. In the evening the colonel quitted the fort and went down the river with his family. He is thought to be the only officer that escaped.

Colonel Nathan Dennison, who succeeded to the command, seeing the impossiblity of an effectual de­fence, went with a flag to col. John Butler, to know what terms he would grant on a surrender: to which application Butler answered with more than savage phlegm in two short words— the hatchet. Dennison having defended the fort, till most of the garrison were killed or disabled, was compelled to surrender at discretion. Some of the unhappy persons in the fort were carried away alive; but the barbarous con­querors, to save the trouble of murder in detail, shut up the rest promiscuously in the houses and barracks; which having set on fire, they enjoyed the savage pleasure of beholding the whole consumed in one ge­neral blaze.

They then crossed the river to the only remaining fort, Wilkesborough, which, in hopes of mercy, sur­rendered without demanding any conditions. They found about seventy continental soldiers, who had been engaged merely for the defence of the frontiers, whom they butchered with every circumstance of horrid cruelty. The remainder of the men, with the women and children, were shut up as before in the houses, which being set on fire, they perished altogether in the flames.

[Page 47] A general scene of devastation was now spread through all the townships. Fire, sword, and the other different instruments of destruction alternately triumph­ed. The settlements of the tories alone generally escaped, and appeared as islands in the midst of the surround­ing ruin. The merciless ravagers having destroyed the main objects of their cruelty, directed their animosity to every part of living nature belonging to them; shot and destroyed some of their cattle, and cut out the tongues of others, leaving them still alive to prolong their agonies.

The following are a few of the more singular circum­stances of the barbarity practised in the attack upon Wyoming. Capt. Bedlock, who had been taken pri­soner, being stripped naked, had his body stuck full of splinters of pine knots, ^* and then a heap of pine knots piled around him; the whole was then set on fire, and his two companions, capts. Ranson and Durgee, thrown alive into the flames and held down with pitchforks. The returned tories, who had at different times aban­doned the settlement in order to join in those savage ex­peditions, were the most distinguished for their cruelty; in this they resembled the tories that joined the British forces. One of these Wyoming tories, whose mother had married a second husband, butchered with his own hands, both her, his father-in-law, his own sisters and their infant children. Another, who during his absence had sent home several threats against the life of his fa­ther, now not only realized them in person, but was himself, with his own hands, the exterminator of his whole family, mother, brothers and sisters and min­gled their blood in one common carnage, with that of the ancient husband and father. The broken parts and scattered relics of families, consisting mostly of [Page 48] women and children, who had escaped to the woods during the different scenes of this devastation, suffered little less than their friends, who had perished in the ruin of their houses. Dispersed and wandering in the forests, as chance and fear directed, without provi­sion or covering, they had a long tract of country to traverse, and many without doubt perished in the woods.