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 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 E 78.B5B89 
 
 Indians of Berks County, Pa 
 
 3 1924 028 635 468 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028635468 
 
D. B. BRUNNER, A. M. 
 
THE INDIANS 
 
 ... OF 
 
 BERKS COUNTY, PA., 
 
 BEING A 
 
 SUMMARY OF ALL THE TANGIBLE RECORDS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 /\^borigines of g^i'ks Qounty, 
 
 WITH CUTS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VARIETIES OF 
 RELICS FOUND WITHIN THE COUNTY. 
 
 SECOND AND REVISED EDITION, 
 
 D. B. BRUNNER. A. M. 
 
 Proprietor and Principal of the Reading Business College, Author of Elements of English 
 
 Grammar and Analysis, A Practical Treatise on Single Entry Book-keeping, 
 
 and A Practical Treatise on Double Entry Book-keeping. 
 
 READING, PA.: 
 
 Eagle Book Pkint, 542 Penn Street. 
 
 1897. 
 
ENTERED ACCORDlNa TO ACT OF CONGRESS, 
 ' IN THE YEAR IB8I, BY 
 
 D. B. BRUNNER, 
 
 IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CON- 
 QRESS, AT WASHINGTON. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In writing the History of the Indians of Berks County, Pa., I 
 attempted to gather all the reliable information upon the subject. It 
 would be more satisfactory if some of the incidents could have been more 
 definitely located, and if the dates of others could have been given with 
 greater accuracy, while many interesting transactions between the whites 
 and Indians, which would add much to this narrative, were never written, 
 and are now beyond our reach. 
 
 The relics in the county are very numerous, and had cuts been given to 
 exhibit all the peculiarities, it would have been necessary to multiply the 
 illustrations. All the important features of the stone implements of the 
 Indians are figured, and will aid the people of our advanced state of civiliza- 
 tion to form an approximate idea of the life of the Indians, when they 
 lived in their original style, before they came in contact with the white 
 people and changed some of their customs by reason of the improved 
 utensils and weapons obtained from them. 
 
 D. B. BRUNNER. 
 
 Reading, Pa., April, 1881. 
 
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 It was the intention of the author at the publication of the first edition, 
 which was a small one, at once to begin the collection of material from 
 such sources as might have been overlooked and issue another edition, a 
 few years later, but the collectors of the county were taking a deeper inter- 
 est in the Indian relics of the countj' and were finding manj'- new and 
 unique specimens, that it was deemed best to postpone the j)ublication for 
 a longer time. The publication of the first edition brought the value of 
 these historical relics to the attention of the people, and they are now 
 collecting them and preserving them. 
 
 It is gratifying to see farmers, who some years ago dumped some fine 
 specimens of axes and pestles with other stones into marsh}- places to make 
 road-beds, now gather up every specimen and place it in a suitable case 
 for exhibition and preservation. And if this edition shall increase this 
 enthusiasm and imbue the collectors Nvith a noble pride to regard these 
 relics as sacred to the county and hand them down from generation to 
 generation, the author feels that he has done a noble and joatriotic work. 
 
 D. B. BRUNNER. 
 
 AiTii-RT 1, 1897. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 We live in an age of research. The genius of man is assiduously striv- 
 ing to discover some new principle in philosophy, or to invent a machine 
 to give a new impulse to our varied enterprises. The geologist, anxious 
 to know the history of the formation of the earth, enters the deepest re- 
 cesses, examines the rocks and fossils, and reads in them the changes 
 through which our globe passed before it became fit for the habitation of 
 man. The student of history is no less diligent in his researches. Not 
 content with a general knowledge of events, he goes through all the avenues 
 of the past to trace out the successive changes of a place and is often com- 
 pelled to lament that so many important items of local history are buried 
 in oblivion. The history of states and counties have been written, contain- 
 ing full descriptions of their organization, progress and development. Even 
 families trace their genealogy back as far as they can ; and these records 
 do not only afford interesting reading for their descendants, but frequently 
 preserve important historical incidents. 
 
 Several histories of Berks County have been published, but some import- 
 ant events connected with our early settlements were omitted, and especi- 
 ally that part which relates to the Indians that peopled this county before 
 its occupation by the Europeans. There can scarcely be anything more in- 
 teresting to us than the thrilling events that occurred in the immediate 
 vicinity of oijr birthplaces. How intensely interesting it would be to read 
 a detailed account of our county, from its first occupation by the aborigines 
 to the present time, giving all its vicissitudes while uiider the dominion of 
 the Indians, and all the hardships, trials and sufferings of our forefathers 
 and their dreadful conflicts with them. Some of the principal transactions 
 during a period of the greatest commotion have been preserved in the- 
 Colonial Records, but some of our old citizens still give us other interesting 
 rehearsals of trials and escapes from Indian barbarity to which there is no- 
 allusion made in the Records, and, yet, when compared with authentic 
 history, the time is correct and there is reason to believe that they are sub- 
 stantially true. 
 
 We long to get the exact details, but they have lost some of their relia- 
 bility and many important particulars have been lost by having passed 
 through several generations. We strive to learn more of the facts, but we; 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 inquire in vain because many traditions fail to give us minutely what we 
 wish to learn, AVe search anxiously in books and old documents, but, 
 alas ! a large part of the historj^ of the past was never written, and now it 
 is gone far beyond our reach. "W'e stand behind the curtain that divides 
 the past from the present, and we wish that the curtain could be raised 
 that we might rescue from oblivion the unwritten history of the trials, suf- 
 ferings and murders of the early settlers of Berks, but the past is irrevocable, 
 and our wishes cannot be gratified. 
 
 There are, however, fragments of the early history of our county extant 
 which, when read in connection with the study of the relics, will give us 
 the most accurate knowledge of the past that it is possible to obtain and 
 will enable us to form some idea of the aborigines of Pennsylvania and the 
 sanguinary conflicts between civilization and barbarity in Berks County. 
 
 In compiling the aboriginal history of Berks County it would be very in- 
 complete without cuts and descriptions of the Indian relics still found 
 abundantly in localities where the Indians had their villages. They are 
 invaluable to the historian, because, in the absence of the written history of 
 the Delawares, they are instruments by which we can conjecture with some 
 certainty what were many of their habits of life and modes of warfare. I 
 desire to call the attention of all persons of Berks County to the importance 
 of collecting and preserving these relics. They are sometimes found, and 
 broken or thrown into places where the eyes of man will never see them 
 again, by men who do not value them as relics worthy of preservation. 
 Let me entreat every person to pick up and preserve all specimens, and if 
 he has no desire to preserve them from destruction let him give them to 
 some enthusiastic collector in the county who will take good care of them. 
 Agents have passed through the county and purchased lots of them for a 
 mere pittance. These relics are disappearing rapidly, and unless we put a 
 higher value upon them and preserve them for the future citizens of our 
 county, these historical mementos of the aborigines of Berks County will 
 pass into the hands of collectors outside of the county, and no money will 
 be able to restore them. 
 
 A few years ago I became deeply interested in the study of the Indian 
 relics of Berks County and immediately commenced to make a collection. 
 I was surprised to find so great a variety and abundance of them. My en- 
 thusiasm increased as rapidly as my collection was augmented, until I 
 deemed it a subject worthy of a description in which many persons would 
 be interested. My first design was to give a mere description of the relics, 
 but this would have covered only that part of the Indians most involved in 
 mystery and would have failed to give what is really known of them and 
 what might prove most interesting to many readers. The interest that I 
 felt in the subject and a desire to awaken an enthusiasm in the minds of 
 the young people to preserve the Indian relics and also the landmarks of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 our forefathers, still in existence, induced me to undertake the task of 
 writing the History of the Indians of Berks County, which, had it been 
 written a generation or two ago, would contain interesting information of a 
 local character that is not to be obtained now. 
 
 If I succeed even partly in the object I have in view I shall feel com- 
 pensated for the time and labor expended in collecting the information and 
 illustrating the work. 
 
 It may seem odd to see the early part of the history at the end of a book, 
 but by going from the known to the unknown some of the surmises that 
 may be made in describing the implements will be more plausible, and the 
 real original life of the Lenni Lenape can be imagined with more certainty. 
 
The Indians of Berks County, Pa. 
 
 NOW AND THEN. 
 
 We live in an age of civilization, education and plenty, and are blessed 
 with everything which our necessities may demand or our luxurious 
 habits of living may crave. If a council of wise men were called to devise 
 measures to increase our earthly comforts or multiply our happiness it is 
 difficult to conjecture what new thing they could suggest to give us a 
 nobler and keener fruition of the blessings that, we already have, except 
 periodical showers of dollars as manna from hea^■en, simply to get within 
 reach of those blessings more conveniently. The man in want of shoes or 
 clothing goes to the store and purchases the articles he needs ; the farmer 
 who is in want of a saw, axe or farming implement goes to the hardware 
 store and purchases the articles he wants, and the housewife goes to the 
 grocery store and purchases the large variety of groceries now used in the 
 support of a family. We have railroads by which our merchandise is 
 shipped from place to place and passengers are conveyed with the greatest 
 dispatch. We have telegraphs by which we receive messages and intelli- 
 gence from every section of the globe, and we have telephones by which 
 we can converse with our friends hundreds of miles away. 
 
 The reader will please accompany me to the top of Xeversink or Mount 
 Penn, where we can take a telescopic view of more than one-half of the 
 county. A magnificent panorama lies before us. At the base of the 
 mountains is the City of Reading with its numerous church spires and 
 smoke stacks of furnaces and factories, and before us lie the Lebanon, 
 Schuylkill and East Penn valleys, containing some of the most beautiful 
 and fertile farm land in the country. The valleys are studded with 
 beautiful and spacious farm buildings and a number of prosperous villages. 
 The Tulpehocken, Ontelaunee, Moselem Creek, the Sacony and Mana- 
 tawny increase the beauty and variety of the scenery. In the distance 
 we see the smoke of the engines which are rapidly approaching Reading 
 with long trains of cars filled with merchandise or passengers. The scene 
 is indescribable. It must be seen to be fully appreciated. But let us 
 shift the ^cene and draw a picture of the country as it looked 200 years 
 ago. Not a single house is to be observed where the city now stands. 
 Along the Schuylkill are many huts or wigwams made of sticks joined 
 together at the top and covered with the skins of animals or the bark of 
 trees in the form of cones. Some of the men are fishing in the Schuylkill, 
 some are engaged in some kind of a game or dance, and others are return- 
 
10 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ing from a hunting excursion with a lot of game. In the distance, in the 
 direction of Conrad Weiser's house, we see a party of chiefs from Shamokin 
 on their way to Philadelphia to hold a consultation with the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. We see them enter Manangy's wigwam to learn what the king 
 of the Schuylkill Indians has to report and what he has to suggest for the 
 good of his tribe, and then we see them depart for tljeir destination. 
 There is no clothing store in their town and yet they must have clothing ; 
 there is no shoe store in their town and yet during the winter they must 
 have shoes ; they had no horses, plows or harrows and yet they cultivated 
 corn and some vegetables. 
 
 To the person who has read but little of the history of the Indians of 
 this country it is difficult to conceive how they lived. But they seemed 
 to enjoy their mode of life so well that the Indians even now are averse 
 to sending their children to school and are slow to adopt the civilized mode 
 of agriculture, commerce, mechanics and social life. It is the object of 
 the author of this book to bring to the attention of his readers a variety of 
 exceedingly interesting incidents and present to them numerous facts 
 which will throw an abundance of light upon the subject and will give to 
 them as intelligent an idea of the life of the Indians of Berks County as 
 it is possible at this late date. 
 
 DELAWARES. 
 
 New Jersey and a large portion of Pennsylvania were inhabited by a 
 powerful tribe of Indians called Delawares, or Lennl Lcnnpe, which in 
 their language signified orif/inni people. They were divided into three sub- 
 tribes called the Unamis or Turtle^ Unalachtgo, or Turlceij, and the Minsi 
 or Wolf. These tribes were again divided and received names from the 
 places where they lived ; each settlement had its chief who was subject and 
 reported to the head sachem. The Wolf tribe extended over the south- 
 eastern part of Pennsylvania, and consequently included the Indians of 
 Berks County. The Delawares divided their government into sub-divisions 
 in a manner similar to our national, state and county organizations. Ta- 
 minent, Allumapes (also called Sassoonan) and Teedyuscung were success- 
 ively the chief sachems of the Wolf tribe from the time of Penn's treaty 
 until the Indians disappeared from this part of the country. They had 
 their. headquarters at Minisink and Shamokin. Manangy was the chief of 
 the Schuylkill Indians and may have exercised authority over all the In- 
 dians of Berks County, except the Ganawese, because the name of no other 
 is found in the Pennsylvania Archives, and Manangy interceded with the 
 Lieutenant-Governor in behalf of the settlement of the Ganawese upon the 
 Tulpehocken. But Virginsville was by far the most populous settlement 
 in the county, and if this whole territory was under the supervision of 
 onlj' one king it is but natural to suppose that the king would have had 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 11 
 
 his home at Virguisville and he would have been more hkely called the 
 king of the Sacnnk Indians. 
 
 The Indian village situated along the Schuylkill Eiver within the present 
 limits of the City of Reading was not the largest in the county, but it was 
 the most important, because it was on the direct road from Shamokin to 
 Philadelphia. It is plausible that the chiefs of the other villages at stated 
 times reported the condition of their settlements, or Jlanangy may have 
 made his tours of inspection and made personal observation of the location 
 and arrangement of their little towns and inquired into their governmental 
 affairs. And when the chiefs of the highest rank at Shamokin made their 
 annual trips to the provincial officers in Philadelphia they passed through 
 the village on the Schuylkill and received such reports as he had to give of 
 the Indians of the county. In view of other and larger villages without 
 the mention of a chief, this theory is plausible and explains why only 
 INIanangy's name is mentioned in the Pennsylvania Archives. That Ma- 
 nangy was a subordinate king is evidenced by the fact that he was never 
 sent as a representative of the Delawares to the Provincial Council in Phila- 
 delphia. Their counsellors were Allumapes, Lingahonoa and Teedyuscung. 
 
 He was present at a sale of land in Philadelphia, May 2;!, IGSo, but 
 Taminent and a few other kings signed the deed. 
 
 There is very strong reason for believing that the Indians along the Man- 
 atawny and in Oley formed another sub-division of the Wolfs, with its 
 chief living somewhere in Amity. This view is corroborated by the fact 
 that on several occasions the chief of the Delawares, in company with other 
 Indian dignitaries, came to Amity to hold an interview with the Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor of Pennsylvania. It is extremely doubtful whether the In- 
 dians would have come from Shamokin and spent a fortnight in Amity un- 
 less it had been a place where they were accustomed to meet to deliberate 
 for the welfare of the tribe and to attend to their diplomatic affairs. There 
 was a large Indian village at Tulpehocken and a very extensive one in 
 Maxatawny, each of which undoubtedly had its chief. 
 NEIGHBORING TRIBES. 
 
 It is difficult to give the boundaries of the different tribes in the eastern 
 part of the state. The Delawares occupied Berks County and the territory 
 north and east. The Shawanese occupied the land along the Susquehanna 
 in the vicinity of Harrisburg, and the Conestoga Indians inhabited the land 
 in Lancaster County along the Conestoga Creek, extending through Caernar- 
 von in Berks County and through Chester County, probably as far as 
 
 French Creek. 
 
 EARLY HISTORY. 
 
 In order to understand more clearly the relation between the early 
 
 settlers and the Indians, and to see whether there were any causes for the 
 
 sanguinary conflicts andjieart-rending murders that occurred in Berks, it 
 
12 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 will be necessary to give a brief statement of that part of the history of 
 Pennsylvania, with which the history of our county is inseparably con- 
 nected, and without which it would have no connecting link with the past. 
 
 "When the Europeans first landed upon the shores of America the Indians 
 were the owners of the land and it would have been hazardous to make 
 any settlements in the wilds of Pennsylvania without first obtaining their 
 consent and goodwill. Penn sent his cousin, "\Mlliam ^Nlarkham, to Amer- 
 ica in advance of his arrival, who, under the instruction of Penn, commenced 
 that conciliatory course with the Indians by which Penn afterwards gained 
 their unwavering confidence and universal esteem. 
 
 On the 27th, of October, 1682, nine weeks after the departure from Deal, 
 the Welcome moored off New Castle, in the territories lately ceded by the 
 Duke of York, and William Penn first set foot in the New World. When 
 he arrived in Philadelphia soon afterward one of his first acts was to hold 
 a friendly intercourse with the Indians. He was of a peaceable disposition 
 and proj)Osed to conquer their savage natures by means of humane treat- 
 ment and equitable dealings. He a€cordingly appointed a day to meet 
 them at one of their famous resorts under an elm tree at Shackamaxon 
 (Locality of Kings) for the purpose of making a treaty w'ith them. When 
 the Indians were seated in a semicircle Penn addressed them and stated to 
 them that he would not take any of their land from them, but that he 
 would pay them for it ; that they and their children would be friendly and 
 brotherly toward each other ; that all the paths should be free to the white 
 men and Indians ; that the doors of the white men should be open to the 
 Indian, and those of the Indian should be open to the white meii ; that if 
 a white man harmed an Indian, or an Indian a white man, both parties 
 should unite to apprehend the offender and punish him ; that they would 
 assist each other in every thing, and that they would tell their children of 
 this league and friendship, and would ke(^p it inviolate as long as ' ' the sun 
 and moon endured. ' ' 
 
 Not long after the treaty Penn purchased a number of tracts in the vicin- 
 ity of Philadelphia and paid the Indians promptly therefor, and thus by 
 his acts he confirmed the principle so strongly enunciated in the treaty that 
 the intercourse between the settler and the Red Men was as friendly, their 
 dealings as honest and ecjuitable as they could possibly' have been between 
 two civilized races. 
 
 The boundaries of most of Penn's purchases had no definite limits, and 
 neither bearings nor distances of the courses being given, it is impossible 
 to glean any satisfactory information with reference to this matter from the 
 old records. 
 
 In lt')<S3 Penn purchased from King Kekerappan "that half of all his 
 lands lying betwixt the Susquehanna and Delaware ; " on June 15th, 1692, 
 a "tract lying between Neshamany and PotquisKinf upon the river Dela- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 13 
 
 ware, and extending backwards to the utmost bounds of the said province," 
 and on the 5th of July, 1697, another tract " lying and being between the 
 creek called Pennypack and the creek called Neshamany, so far as a horse 
 can travel in two summer days." When we consider the great difference 
 in the speed of horses, and ho^^' little the people knew of the topography of 
 the country, it becomes evident that these tracts were not limited in certain 
 directions, and included a part of Berks County beyond a peradventure. 
 
 On September 7, 1732, Sassoonan, alias Allumapees, sachem of the 
 Schuylkill Indians, and six others, sold ' ' all those lands lying and being on 
 the said Schuylkill River and the tributaries thereof, between the mountains 
 called Lichai (Lehigh or South Mountains) to the south and the hills or 
 mountains called Keekachtatcnin (Kittatinny or Blue Mountains) on the 
 north, between the branches of the Delaware River on the east and the 
 waters falling into the Susquehanna River on the west. ' ' This purcfhase 
 included the Lebanon and East Pennsylvania ^'alleys. 
 
 It will be interesting to know the price that was paid for this large tract 
 of land, which included about half of Berks County. The kings received 
 20 brass kettles, 100 stroudwater matchcoats of two yards each, 100 duffels 
 do., 100 blankets, 100 yards of half tick, 60 linen shirts, 20 hats, 6 made 
 coats, 12 pairs of shoes and buckles, 30 pairs of stockings, 300 lbs. of gun 
 powder, 600 lbs. of lead, 20 fine guns, 12 gun locks, 50 tomahawks or 
 hatchets, 50 planting hoes, 120 knives, 60 pairs of scissors, 100 tobacco 
 tongs, 24 looking-glasses, 40 tobacco boxes, 1,000 flints, 5 lbs. of paint, 
 24 dozen of gai-tering, 6 dozen of ribbons, 12 dozen of rings, 200 awl 
 blades, 100 lbs. of tobacco, 400 tol^acco pipes, 20 gallons of rum and 50 
 lbs. in money (S240). 
 
 Lingahonoa, "one of the Schuylkill Indians," and undoubtedly an 
 inhabitant of Berks, was not present at the sale and did not give his release 
 until ten vears afterwards. This seems to imply that he did not receive 
 his share of the proceeds until a considerable time after the sale. 
 
 The articles paid for this and the tracts bought previously, and the 
 numerous presents given the Indians when they visited Philadelphia 
 officially, were generally articles indispensable in every sphere of civilized 
 life. On one occasion there were "four dozen jewsharps " among the 
 items presented by the government, and this shows that they must have 
 had some taste for music. The Indians were resolute and very tenacious 
 of their customs and habits of life, but the eagerness with which they 
 accepted these articles and applied them to their proper uses shows how 
 quickly they saw that they were superior to theirs and how readily they 
 relinquished many of their usages and adopted those of the settlers. 
 
 TULPEHOCKEN. 
 
 Tulpehocken, spelled Ttdpewihaki according to the Indian orthoepy, 
 signifies the Land of Twrtlex. and was so called on account of the abundance 
 
14 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 of turtles found along the Tulpehocken Creek. In the Delaware language 
 tidpr signifies a turtle ; and hacki, land or earth. 
 
 GANAWESE. 
 
 The earliest record that we have of the Indians of Berks County is an 
 interview which took place March 12, 1705, between a chief and John 
 Evans, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania. Manangy, the Indian chief 
 on the Schuylkill, called upon the Governor in Philadelphia in behalf of 
 the Ganawese or Piscataway Indians living on the Potomac, who, reduced 
 by sickness to a small number, decided to settle among the Schuylkill 
 Indians, near Tulpehocken. The Conestoga Indians living on the Susque- 
 hanna, in Lancaster County, became guarantees of a treaty of friendship 
 between them. " The Governor gave them a kind invitation, through the 
 said ^lanangy, to come and settle as near as they should see fit, provided 
 they would take care and live peaceably, and that the said Manangj' and 
 the Indians of that place, with him, would appear and engage (promise) 
 that they should behave themselves well and dutiful to this government. ' ' 
 There is no direct mention made of the time of the removal of the Gana- 
 wese to Tulpehocken, but four years afterward they were classed among 
 the Indians living in the vicinity of Berks County, and on the 26th of 
 May, 1728, they were represented at the Provincial Council, held at the 
 Indian town of Conestoga, by five kings. This seems to indicate that they 
 were still numerous, or that an unusually large per cent, of their popula- 
 tion consisted of kings. 
 
 On June 18th, 1733, at a council held in Philadelphia, Conrad Weiser 
 being the interpreter, Shekallamy reported that a messenger from the 
 Ganawese Indians told him that some time during the last winter two of 
 their young warriors had gone to Virginia and killed and scalped two 
 white people and that the Governor of Virginia was coming with 
 a body of armed men to make war upon them. The messenger 
 stated that the young warriors had killed two Indians and brought their 
 scalps with them. The men of the council and the Indians were so as- 
 tonished that the Governor of Virginia should proceed against the 
 Ganawese since it was expressly stated and frequently repeated in 
 their treaties that if the whites had a grievance against the Indians, or the 
 Indians against the whites, the aggrieved party should at once report the 
 wrong to the proper authority to have the matter amicably settled. They 
 came to the conclusion that some wicked person circulated the report to 
 create an enmity between the Ganawese and the whites. It was, however, 
 decided that Shekallamy should visit the Ganawese and investigate the 
 report. He feared that they might not give a full and correct account of 
 this circumstance, yet he said that he would pay them a visit and report 
 to Conrad Weiser at Tulpehocken, who should write to the Governor or 
 deliver the message verbally on his next visit to Philadelphia. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 15 
 
 On August 6th, 1733, Ullaloes, a chief of the Ganawese Indians, with 
 four others of that nation, visited the Governor on amission of friendship. 
 Ullaloes stated that a report had been circulated that some of their young 
 men had killed two white people in Virginia and that the Governor of 
 Virginia was coming with one hundred armed men to avenge the death of 
 those who had been killed. The chief stated that they wished to keep 
 peace and friendship with the white people and that they always instructed 
 their young warriors never to molest the English people. 
 
 Some time during the preceding winter two young men returned from 
 an Indian war in Virginia and brought with them the scalps of two In- 
 dians, and in proof of the accuracy of his assertion he said that the scalps 
 could still be seen in their wigwam. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Gordoti comforted Ullaloes by saying that 
 there could be no truth in the rumor since nothing of the kind had 
 reached his ears and that he believed his report to be true. He told them 
 that the Ganawese were always a peaceable class of Indians, never harmed 
 any white people, and after providing for their entertainment in town he 
 ordered that thirty shillings be paid to them to defray their expenses on 
 the road. 
 
 Two years later a number of representatives of the Conestog.i, Ganawese 
 and Shawanese Indians called upon the official at Philadelphia, among 
 whom was Ullaloes, though Civility, a Conestoga Indian, was the speaker. 
 Civility, in his speech, repeated many of the items contained in their ar- 
 ticles of agreement, and said that they "came hither to see William Penn's 
 sons, to take them by the hand and renew with them the league of friend- 
 ship made with their father, and to bind their words he presented, in the 
 name of all the Conestoga, Ganawese and Shawanese Indians, three bundles 
 of skins. 
 
 On the following day the proprietor addressed the Indians through the 
 medium of Conrad Weiser, who served as interpreter. After alluding to 
 their former kind feelings and friendly relations towards each other, he 
 expressed some fear lest some of them might have forgotten the sacred com- 
 pact which they had made and ordered Conrad Weiser to read, interpret 
 and explain the Articles of Agreement made with all the Indian tribes in 
 the eastern part of Pennsylvania in 1701. 
 
 Two days later there was another conference held and Lieutenant Patrick 
 Gordon addressed them. After alluding to the document which was ex- 
 plained to them at their previous meeting he said that "the doing of exact 
 justice to each other" was the cardinal principal in all their agreements. 
 He said that when two of the white people killed two Indians recently 
 they were punished by death, the same as though they had killed two 
 white men, and we have reason to expect the same fair treatment from the 
 Indians. He then made the following personal address to Ullaloes : 
 
16 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 "Ullaloes, the Ganawese chief, may remember that in the summer of 1733 
 he came hither with four others of that nation to satisfy us that there was 
 no truth in a report that was then spread of three of their young men hav- 
 ing killed two white people in Virginia the winter before. Ullaloes as- 
 sured us that he had seen the scalps that those young men had brought 
 home, that they were of Indians and not of white men, and that these 
 Ganawese warriors entirely denied they had been guilty of any such crime 
 as was laid to their charge. But, however, they may have' endeavored to 
 impose upon you, whom we believe to be an honest and good man, yet it is 
 but too true that in the back parts of Virginia they cruelly murdered a 
 poor man and his wife and scalped them both. The information of this 
 affair has been so particularly given to the Governor of Virginia, and there 
 are so many concurring circumstancfes now discovered by the accounts of 
 several who saw and conversed with those Indians on their return home- 
 ward, that we cannot but believe them guilty, and as that Governor has de- 
 manded those guilty persons to be delivered up to him to be punished, I 
 must require of you the names of those Indians and that you will order 
 them as soon as possible to be secured, and if you will undertake to carry 
 them to Virginia, and deliver them up to the Governor there, he hath as- 
 sured me that he will receive you as a friend and give you a handsome re- 
 ward for your trouble. ' ' 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor gave the representatives of the Ganawese a belt 
 of wampum and said that he expected of them a full and satisfactory 
 answer. 
 
 After a short consultation with his friends Ullaloes replied : " It is true, 
 when I came here about this matter, I told you that I had seen the scalps- 
 and that they were of Indians and not of white men. When I returned 
 home I was careful in making a further inquiry, but I could find out noth- 
 ing that could make me believe those were guilty whom you suspected. I 
 thought this whole affair had long since been at an end and did not expect 
 that after we had renewed together our leagues of peace and friendship it 
 would have again been mentioned ; but whether those three Indians of our 
 nation who returned from the sovithward were guilty or not, they are not 
 now alive, for in a fight with the Platheads, last spring was a year, near 
 Roanoke River, in North Carolina, they were all killed, as a young man 
 now here named Enachscappi, who was in that fight, and saw them with 
 nine more fall before he fled, can fully testify. ' ' * 
 
 The chief requested the Lieutenant-Governor to take back his belt of wam- 
 pum, which he did, and replied that since the men who committed the mur- 
 der in Virginia were dead, it was useless to make any more mention of this 
 matter, and he cautioned them against the commission of any acts which 
 might have a tendency to create a rupture and dissensions between them. 
 
 * Col Rec, Vol. 3, page 606, 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 17 
 
 The board then took 'into consideration the services of Conrad Weiser, 
 the interpreter, and ordered that twelve pounds be paid to him. 
 
 This was the last time that the Ganawese were present in the councils in 
 Philadelphia, and there is the strongest reason to believe that they left 
 Tulpehocken soon after this incident. 
 
 CONBAD WEISEB. 
 
 No man, from William Penn down to the lowest officer in the Provincial 
 government, did as much to maintain peace and harmony between the 
 white people and the Indians and reconcile their difference as ConrM 
 Weiser. He lived between the two, was the intercessor between the white 
 and Red Men, and was the most conspicuous man in Pennsylvania for 
 more than a generation, and to write the History of the Indians of Berks 
 County without a brief biographical sketch of his life and an epitome of 
 his public acts and services would be to omit one of the most interesting 
 and important parts. 
 
 Conrad Weiser was born in Wurtemberg on the second day of Novem- 
 ber, 1696. He was sent to school and in his boyhood he must have made 
 very rapid progress, because he was a man of more than ordinary educa- 
 tion for his time. His father, with his family, arrived in New York on June 
 17th, 1710, and there is no record anywhere that he went to school after 
 1710. He must, therefore, have acquired all his education before he was 
 14 years of age, and if we judge from his Avritings, we must conclude 
 that he was a man of liberal education, keen foresight and a ripe judgment. 
 A large number of Palatines landed in New York at the same time. They 
 were sent to America bj^ Queen Anne with the understanding that their 
 passage was free. "When they landed they were poor and in a strange land. 
 They were taken to Livingstone Manor, where every family was restricted to a 
 ten acre lot, and were put to burning tar and cultivating hemp to pay the 
 expenses of their passage. The Germans not even in the early part of their 
 history would submit to slavery, and the Germans in New York, in all their 
 poverty, endured this only for a few years. Nearly one hundred and fifty 
 families, among whom was the AVeiser family, moved to Schoharie, about 
 40 miles west of Albany, in 1713. Here the family was often visited by a 
 Mohawk chief by the name of Quagnant, who took a fancy to young Conrad 
 Weiser and invited him to come and live with him. The father had taken 
 a second wife, and, according to a biographer, this occasioned some discord- 
 ant feeling in the family and probably stimulated Conrad's desire to leave 
 home. 
 
 Conrad Weiser was 18 years of age when he went to the home of Quag- 
 nant, where he spent 8 months in learning the Mohawk language, and he be- 
 came so proficient in that time that he at once became an interpreter. He 
 then returned to his father's family, where he remained until 17^0, when he 
 married. About a mile from his home was a Mohawk village, and when- 
 
18 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ever a dispute arose between the Germans and their neighboring Indians he 
 was called upon by both parties to interpret, and in this way he became 
 very useful, did much business and all without pay. 
 
 In 1723 William Keith, Baronet-Governor of Pennsylvania, made a 
 trip to Albany and while there he learned of the depressed condition of 
 the Germans and invited them to come to Pennsylvania where they could 
 enjoy their freedom in the highest degree. The fame of Tulpehocken had 
 long before this reached the Palatines of New York, and in accordance 
 with the invitation of William Keith they moved to Tulpehocken in 1729, 
 and the most prominent among them was Conrad ^^^eiser with his family, 
 who located about a mile east of Womelsdorf. AA'eiser had scared}' 
 settled at his new home before his usefulness was discovered by the offi- 
 cers of the province and his services as interpreter were fecjuired. In 1732 
 a party of Indians visited the Governor and suggested the propriety of 
 appointing Weiser and Shekallamy who "shall travel between us and you, 
 who will speak our minds and your minds to each other truly and freely." 
 The Governor accepted this admirable suggestion. They were at once 
 appointed and performed more diplomatic work than anj- two other men 
 of their time. They met the council for deliberation, were sent as am- 
 bassadors to the different tribes, when dissensions arose they were the 
 peacemakers, and being bound together by the most friendly ties, they 
 were universally respected for their wisdom in council, dignity of manners 
 and conscientiousness in the administration of public affairs. 
 
 Conrad ^'\^eiser's Indian name was Tarachawagon. 
 
 Conrad Weiser was a remarkable man. In his intercourse with the 
 Indians for a whole generation there is not a single instance on record that 
 he ever did an act by which the Indians either showed any signs of dis- 
 pleasure or lost confidence in his integrity and honesty. He was an ex- 
 ceedingly busy man. Sometimes he was at home with his family engaged 
 in the pursuit of agriculture and frequently entertained the chiefs of the 
 tribes of Indians on their way to and from Philadelphia. Then we see 
 him in council in Philadelphia, in the midst of Provincial officials and 
 Indian chiefs, interpreting from the English to the Indian language, and 
 from the Indian to the English with a readiness and facility that astonished 
 men of higher stations and greater learning. The next that we hear of 
 him he is at Shamokin or some other distant place to deliver a message or 
 make the preliminary arrangements for the meeting of the representatives 
 of a number of tribes in Philadelphia to transact business for their mutual 
 benefit. 
 
 "The governor of the province in 1741 appointed him as a justice of 
 the peace. He continued to serve in this office for a number of years. 
 When the county was erected, in 1752, he was appointed one of the first 
 judges. He acted as president judge until his decease, in 17<iO. His ap- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 19 
 
 pointment to this position was natural, by reason of his prominence, in- 
 fluence, experience and abilitJ^ He lived at Reading mostly during the 
 latter part of his life."* 
 
 In 1751 he built a house where Stichter's hardware store stands. He 
 must have spent much of his time at his home in Reading, but nearly all 
 of his official correspondence is dated from Tulpehocken and Heidelberg. 
 He died and was buried on his farm, where he lies in obscurity, when men 
 who have been less useful and have conferred fewer blessings upon man- 
 kind have their names recorded on the pages of history and their resting 
 places marked by monuments. The slab that marks his grave contains 
 the following inscription, though it is almost illegible : 
 
 Thh is the. resting plare 
 
 of the 
 
 once honored and respected 
 
 CONRAD WEISER, 
 
 who was born November 2d, A. D. 1696, 
 
 in Afstaedt, County of Herrenberg, Wurtemberg, 
 
 and died July 13th, A. D. 1760, 
 
 aged 63 years, 8 month>< and 13 days. 
 
 Conrad Weiser was a good man, a patriot and a Christian, and his noble 
 deeds should be perpetuated by the erection of a monument commensur- 
 ate with his work and greatness. 
 
 SHEKAIiLAMY. 
 
 Shekallamy was to the Indians what Conrad Weiser was to the white 
 people, but nothing was known of him until "Weiser settled in Heidelberg 
 and consequently we know nothing about his youth. He was at the 
 meeting in Philadelphia when he and ^^^eiser were appointed to look after 
 the interests of both parties. What was said about "Weiser could be said 
 -^with equal force as to his honesty and sincerity in all his intercourse with 
 the white people, but he had no education, and in this respect Weiser was 
 by far his superior. Weiser could speak three languages and Shekallamy 
 only one. Weiser could officiate alone at a treaty, Shekallamy could not. 
 They were constant companions for many years, and it is probable that 
 Weiser learned to know Shekallamy while he resided in New York. 
 Shekallamy spent much of his time with W^eiser, though his residence was 
 generally at Shamokin, where he died in 1749, and John Shekallamy, his 
 oldest son, took his place in the councils of the Indians. 
 
 THE FIRST CONFLICT WITH THE INDIANS. 
 
 While there existed the most amicable relationship between the officers 
 of the government and the different tribes of Indians, there were occasional 
 
 ' Montgomery's History of Berks, page 536. 
 
20 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 conflicts between individuals and small parties of Indians, which, if the 
 Governor had not adjusted speedily, might have led to very serious results. 
 The first of these on record occurred at Manatawnj', in Amity, which may 
 at that time have extended considerably beyond its present limits. 
 
 This skirmish took place in the beginiiing of May, 1728. Intelligence 
 was brought by exjiress to Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Gordon, on the 
 morning of the 10th of May, that a party of foreign Indians had attacked 
 the people of Amitj', whereupon he hastened to Manatawny, and on the 
 fifteenth he reported to the council that the people in Amity were terror- 
 stricken and many had left their houses and "seemed under great appre- 
 hensions of numbers of Indians coming back to attack them," and that 
 several Palatine families had gathered together at a mill in New Hanover, 
 in Montgomerj' County, in order to defend themselves. He examined 
 several persons there and also at Colebrookdale, and learned that there 
 were eleven Indians led by a Spanish Indian as captain, "and having 
 been rude in several houses where they forced the people to supply them 
 with victuals and drink, some of our inhabitants, to the number of twenty, 
 a few of whom were armed with guhs and swords, went in search of the 
 said Indians, and coming up with them they sent two of their number to 
 treat with the captain, who, instead of receiving them civilly, brandished 
 his sword and commanded his men to fire, which they did and wounded 
 two of our men, who thereupon returned their fire, upon which they saw 
 the said captain fall, but he afterwards got up and ran into the woods after 
 his party, having let his gun and matchcoat behind him, and since that 
 time they had been seen no more." 
 
 " The Governor said that though he had this account from one of those 
 who were then present, he could not help thinking our people had given 
 some provocation, and wished that it might not appear so when the 
 Indians should give their relation of this matter. ' ' 
 
 Before the Governor came to investigate this affair a message, with a small 
 present, was sent to Civility, one of the chiefs of the Conestoga Indians in 
 Lancaster, to assure them that the Governor deprecated the unfortunate 
 encounter, and that he would give a full account of it at a treaty at Cones- 
 toga, which was held soon afterwards. 
 
 These Indians disappeared mysteriously. They were sent by Kakow- 
 Watchy, the chief of the Shawanese, who having heard that the Flatheads 
 had come into this province to attack the Delawares, sent them to inquire 
 into the truth of the rumor. Their version of the affair was that after their 
 provision had been exhausted they asked the white people for food, but 
 they treated them rudely and fired upon them. The king expressed his 
 regret at the occurrence, at the treaty, and was very readily pacified, but 
 he wished to have the gun returned which one of his men had lost. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 21 
 
 Some of the inhabitants of Amity and Colebroolvdale Avere so incensed at 
 the conduct of these Indians that they were determined to Icill any Indian 
 they might find, but these Indians had left and never after molested the 
 people of that section of the county. 
 
 It was at this time that a petition of inhabitants of Colebrookdale, signed 
 by more than fifty persons, was sent to the Lieutenant-Governor, in which 
 they " do humbly beg your excellency to take it into consideration and 
 relieve us, the petitioners hereof, whose lives lie at stake with us, and our 
 poor wives and children, that are more to us than life. ' ' 
 
 A second attack was made upon the settlers in Amity, now Douglass 
 Township, in 1728. Eleven Twechtweys, apparently a band of a small 
 tribe of Indians that never had any representatives in the council, came to 
 the ' ' iron works at Manatawny. ' ' They were ' ' painted for war, armed 
 with guns, pistols and swords," plundered and took provision by force. 
 ' ' Twenty men with arms went to speak to them civilly, but the Indians 
 fired upon them and wounded some of them ; our men likewise fired on 
 the Indians and wounded some of them also, but the Indians fired first. ' ' 
 As soon as the Governor heard of this affray, he with several men of Phila- 
 delphia went to ^lanatawny, but the affray was over. It was feared that 
 another attack would be made and several hundred men gathered from the 
 surrounding country to defend themselves and their property against the 
 further ravages of the Indians, but they disappeared and were never after- 
 wards mentioned in the records. 
 
 DOUGLASSVILLE. 
 
 Douglassville was settled by the Swedes, by whom it was called Molatton. 
 Mounce Jones took up one of the Swedes' tracts of land on October 1st, 
 1701, and erected a building upon it. A patent was issued to him on 
 May 21st, 1705. 
 
 The first one built by I. M. L, in 1716, stands at the east end of the 
 Schuylkill bridge at Douglassville. It is certainly the oldest house in the 
 county. Some idea may be formed of the firmness and durability of this 
 house when it is remembered that it stands on low land, one hundred feet 
 from the river and that it has withstood the floods of the Schuylkill more 
 than a century and a half, and may resist the corroding elements of nature 
 and the floods of the Schuylkill longer than buildings that are put up at 
 the present day. In the great freshet of the 2d of September, 1850, the 
 water was one foot deep on the second story, and Thomas May and his 
 family were obliged to go into the garret for safety, if there was a place of 
 safety in the house. This family was in this perilous situation nearly two 
 days and a night. This family had the profoundest commiseration of the 
 neighbors, who were ready and willing to rescue the family, but fences, 
 trees, parts of houses, bridges, &c,, were floating in the violent current, sO' 
 
22 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 that any persons who would have ventured upon the water, would have ex- 
 posed themselves to greater dangers than Mr. May's family. Immediately 
 above the house is a large locust tree that may have protected the house to 
 a great extent. 
 
 " I. ]M. I. 1716 " is neatly cut upon a stone in the side of the building. 
 The stone is of a light green color, and does not resemble any mineral in 
 Berks County. Tradition says that there were port-holes in this house, 
 but that after the French and Indian War they were closed. This house 
 has a history, and has had visitors such as no other house in the county 
 has had. It is more than plausible that this is the house in which Allu- 
 mapees, Opekasset and Manawkyhickon were guests while they awaited the 
 arrival of the Governor in 1728. This house stands along the old Phila- 
 delphia road, laid out by the Indians, and was undoubtedly their first stop- 
 ping place after they left Manatawny on their way to Philadelphia. 
 
 Could the walls give a phonographic recital of the hardships of the first 
 settlers, of the councils with the Indians, of their treachery in 1754, of the 
 sighs over the murder of the settlers in upper Berks and the discussions of 
 plans and means of protection against the savages, who would not be will- 
 ing to sit for hours and lend a listening ear to learn many historical details 
 of former times, that have long since passed into oblivion ? 
 
 WAMPUM. 
 
 Wampum is the Indian name for money. It is not claimed that this 
 belonged to the Indians of Berks County exclusively because it is inserted 
 here, but for the reason that very few histories give any satisfactory or 
 intelligent description of the circulating medium among the Indians. In 
 reading history, and especially the Colonnial Records and the Pennsylvania 
 Archives, we frequently meet Avith such words and phrases as wampum, 
 fathom of wampum, belt of wampum, and are at a loss to know what they 
 mean. A quotation from Loskiel will explain these words : ' ' \Vampum 
 is an Iroquois word, meaning a muscle. A number of these muscles, strung 
 together, is called a string of wampum, which, when a fathom long, is 
 termed a fathom or belt of wampum ; but the word string is commonly 
 used, whether it be long or short. Before the Europeans came to North 
 America, the Indians used to make their strings of wampum chiefly of 
 small pieces of wood of equal size, stained either black or white. Few 
 were made of muscles, which were esteemed very valuable and difficult to 
 make ; for, not having proper tools, they spent much time in finishing 
 them, and yet their work had a clumsy appearance. But the Europeans 
 soon contrived to make strings of wampum, both neat and elegant and in 
 great abundance. These they bartered with the Indians for other goods, 
 and found this traffic very advantageous. The Indians immediately gave 
 up the use of the old wooden substitutes for wampum and procured those 
 made of muscles, which, though fallen in price, were always accounted 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 2)', 
 
 valuable. Ha\'ing first sawed them into square pieces, about a quarter of 
 an inch in length and an eighth in thickness, they grind them round or 
 oval upon a common grindstone. Then, a hole bfeing bored lengthwise 
 through each, large enough to admit a wire, whip-cord, or thin thong, they 
 are strung like beads, and the string of wampum is complete. 
 
 "Four or six strings joined in one breadth, and fastened to each other with 
 fine threads, make a belt of wampum, being about three or four inches 
 wide, and three feet long, containing, perhaps, four, eight or twelve fathoms 
 of wampum, in proportion to its required length and breadth." 
 
 The money of the Indians had no intrinsic value. Wood and shells 
 
 were abundant, but they became valuable only in proportion to the amount 
 
 of labor bestowed upon them to put them in a desirable shape. If our 
 
 specie were made of the same material as that of the Indians, there would 
 
 be no end to mints, and few persons would have any cause for being " hard 
 
 up " at any time, but in this event coin would be so abundant as to lose all 
 
 its value. 
 
 SCHUYLKILL INDIANS. 
 
 The chiefs of the Delaware and Schuylkill Indians visited the council 
 June 14, ITL"). It appears that a report was circulated that reflected upon 
 the fidelity of the Indians in their compacts with the white men. When 
 this reached their ears, the chiefs at once repaired to Philadelphia ' ' to 
 prevent any misunderstanding," and thus set an example which is often 
 overlooked in similar cases by men superior to them in intellect and intel- 
 ligence. Sassoonan, the grand sachem, "opening the calumet with great 
 ceremony of their rattles and song, offered it to the Governor, council and all 
 others, and then, with the same ceremony, put it away again." To give 
 additional assurance of their sincerity, they gave the following presents : 
 45 raw fall deer skins, 8 summer deer skins, 53 dressed, 84 whole foxes, 
 12 raccoons and '■'> ordinary fishers. It is not stated how many of these the 
 king of the Schujdkill Indians took from Berks. Presents were given them 
 in return the following day. When, a week afterward, they had occasion 
 to meet the council again, they had evidently been led astray and imbibed 
 too much "fire-water," because the Governor said that he "could have 
 wished that they had more effectually taken the advice that was given them 
 to forbear excessive drinking, and especially to avoid rum ; since it dis- 
 orders them so very much and ruined their health, they ought to shun it 
 
 as poison." 
 
 OLEY. 
 
 Oley is an Indian name, and was written by Heckewelder Olink or Woh- 
 link, or Olo, or Wahlo, and means a cavern or a hollow among the hills. It 
 was inhabited by a considerable number of Indians, and it appears that 
 the semi-civilized Indians remained longer in Oley than in any other part 
 of the county, and yet, during all the bloodshed and commotion in other 
 
24 THP: INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 parts of the county, tranquillitj' reigned there to such an extent that it 
 was scarcely mentioned in the old records. The Moravians who had 
 settled in Oley were on the most friendly terms with the Indians, and 
 having a mission there, they labored earnestly to christianize them. 
 
 The Moravians, or Hernhuters, as they were sometimes called, from Hern- 
 hut, a place in Germany, from which they originally came, were the first 
 to make any extensive attempt to teach the doctrines of the Christian relig- 
 ion to the savages of America. They took their lives in their hands and 
 went among the Indians with an unwavering faith and with full confidence 
 in the protection of the Almighty in their hazardous journeys to preach to 
 them in their villages. Among a number of those devoted men who came 
 to America to do mission work was Christian Henry Rauch. He landed 
 in New York July 16th, 1740. Soon after his arrival an embassy of 
 Indians came to New York to^ transact some business with government 
 officials. Rauch at once called upon them and saw that they were Mohawk 
 Indians, wild in their appearance and beastly intoxicated. When they were 
 sober he formed the acquaintanceship of two, called Tschoop and Shabasch. 
 These Indians had been in company with Dutch merchants and under- 
 stood the language well enough that Rauch could converse with them in a 
 language with which he was familiar. They agreed to take instruction of 
 him and he then followed them to Shekomeko, an Indian town on the 
 borders of Connecticut, under many hardships, and when he was there a 
 short time some threatened to kill him. Once an Indian ran after him with 
 his hatchet and would undoubtedly have killed him had he not stumbled 
 and fallen into the water. But he continued in his good work and never 
 showed as though he thought any bodilj^ harm might be inflicted upon 
 him. At length he gained the friendship and attention of the Indians 
 and succeeded in instructing and preparing the first Indians for baptism 
 and the admission into the Christian church. 
 
 At this time Oley was the most important centre north of Philadelphia 
 from which the work of the missionaries was directed. This is the place 
 where the ^Moravian missionaries gathered at stated times to report the 
 progress of their work and devise such means and adopt such plans as re- 
 quired the approval of the bishops and chief workers in the church. 
 
 A synod of the brethren was ordered to be held in Oley, and Gottlieb 
 Buettner was sent to Shekomeko, in New York, to invite Henry Rauch and 
 other missionaries to this synod. When the Indians heard that Buettner 
 and Rauch intended to go to Pennsylvania, Shabath, Seim and Kiop ob- 
 tained permission to accompany them to Oley. Tschoop, who was one of 
 the first to manifest a willingness to receive instruction, was lame and could 
 not accompany the party. They left Shekomeko January 22d, 1742, and 
 traveled on foot by way of Philadelphia, and arrived at Oley on the 9th of 
 February. The two bishops, David Nitschman and Count Zinzendorf, 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 25 
 
 had already arrived, and the advent of three Indians who had expressed a 
 desire to be baptized and become representatives and leaders of the church 
 among the Indians, produced more than an ordinary impression upon the 
 hearts of those who took an interest in the success of the mission. Soon 
 after their arrival a party of Delaware Indians came to see them, but the 
 record does not say what impression was made upon them. 
 
 The bishops examined the Indians from Shekomeko and after they had 
 learned that they were sincere in their profession and earnestly desired to 
 be admitted into their church, they decided that they should be baptized. 
 
 February Uth was the day appointed for the ordination of deacons and 
 the baptism of Indians, the most joyful and important event in the his- 
 tory of the mission. A spirit of devotion and piety, such as never was felt 
 before, was manifested during the prayer meeting in the morning, and just 
 as they were about to enter upon the solemn work of the day, a party of 
 evil-disposed persons from the neighborhood created such a boisterous dis- 
 turbance that the bishops were on the point of postponing the services. 
 Peace and quietness were, however, restored and at their meeting in the 
 afternoon Henry Ranch and Gottlieb Buettner were ordained deacons. 
 
 After the ordination "preparations were made in a barn belonging to 
 Mr. Van Dirk (John De Turk) for the baptism of the Indians, which was 
 to be administered by Christian Henry Ranch. The whole assembh' being 
 met, the three catechumens were placed in the midst, and with fervent 
 praj'er and supplication devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ as His eternal 
 property, upon which Brother Rauch, with great emotion of heart, bap- 
 tized these three firstlings of the North American Indians unto the death 
 of Jesus, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost, calling Shabath, Abraham ; Seim. Isaac, and Kiop, Jacob. ' ' * 
 
 These were the first Indians that were ever baptized, and the Moravians 
 had especial reason to rejoice over this event, because they were the first 
 fruits of their zealous labors, and it gave them some comfort and hope that 
 many others might in time be gathered into their fold. 
 
 Soon after the close of this ceremony a party of Delaware Indians, who 
 were sojourning in the vicinity, came to Oley. The converted Indians in 
 turn preached to them a whole night and filled their hearts with admira- 
 tion as they told them of the joys they experienced since they had changed 
 their hearts. 
 
 Immediately after the close of the sj'nod the deacons and the converted 
 Indians started out on foot to Bethlehem, and thence to Shekomeko, where 
 Abraham was soon made an elder, had the respect and confidence of all 
 thfe people, and labored long and devotedly among the Indians to convert 
 them to the faith and doctrine of the Moravian Church. Isaac and Jacob 
 may have remained faithful to their vows and loyal to their church, but 
 
 * Loskiel, Part II, page 21. 
 
26 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 their names were never afterward mentioned in any of the records. Tsehoop, 
 the lame Indian, was baptized at Shekomeko and became a valuable assist- 
 ant to the missionaries. 
 
 The second Indian baptism that took place in Pennsylvania occurred in 
 Bethlehem in September, 1742. On this occasion two Indians were bap- 
 tized and called David and Joshua. Up to this time Oley was the Mecca 
 where the Moravians held their religious conventions, but afterwards Beth- 
 lehem was the most prominent place ; but their school, which had a wide 
 reputation, was kept open for many years. In 1750 the following students 
 from distant places were in attendance : David Beck, of Bethlehem ; Abra- 
 ham and John Bibighausen, George M. Graaf, Abraham Haller, Michael 
 Kraemer, John Riehm and John Weber, of Lancaster County ; Jonathan 
 and Peter Jones. 
 
 CACOOSING. 
 
 The land along this creek, which divides Spring Township from Lower 
 Heidelberg, was inhabited by the Indians, according to whose pronuncia- 
 tion it was spelled Gokhosing, but in the Colonial Records Cucussea, and 
 signifies a place of owls. 
 
 When the Governor was in Amity investigating the Indian troubles 
 there, he received a message by express, dated May 11, 1728, from Samuel 
 Nutt, living at Molatton, now Douglassville, that an Indian man named 
 Tocacolie, and two women, were cruelly murdered by Walter and John 
 Winter, at Cacoosing. The Governor at once ordered "all the sheriffs, 
 coroners, constables and His Majesty's other subject, " with a "hue and 
 cry," on horse and on foot, to apprehend Walter Winter and John Win- 
 ter, of Chester County. It must be remembered that up to this time there 
 were only three counties in Pennsylvania, viz. : Philadelphia, Chester and 
 Bucks. All of Berks County west of the Schuylkill was in Chester County, 
 and all east of it was in Philadelphia County. Warrants were also issued 
 for the arrest of Morgan Herbert and John Roberts, who "\^■ere found to be 
 implicated in the affair. The Winters and Herbert were captured ; Roberts 
 was not. 
 
 ' ' The coroner was dispatched to take an inquisition of the dead bodies 
 and to bury them wrapt in linen, and was further directed that in case any 
 of their relatives should be there, he should present them with four strouds 
 to cover the dead bodies and to give two strouds to the Indian girls, and to 
 employ some person to cure their wounds, and further to assure them that 
 the offenders should not go unpunished." 
 
 Messengers were also sent to the chiefs of the different tribes to apprize 
 them of this unhappy occurrence and to appease their revengeful spirit by 
 giving each of them two strouds. A stroud was an article of clothing in 
 the shape of a blanket. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 27 
 
 I 
 On the 12th day of May, Walter Winter was arraigned before Edward 
 Farmer, one of the justices of Philadelphia County, and testified " that on 
 the tenth day of this instant he had heard by a Dutchman, who lives at 
 Tulpehocken, that the Indians had killed sundry Dutchmen, viz. : had 
 killed two and wounded three Christians, whereupon the said AValter went 
 about the neighborhood and desired the people to get together to his house 
 to defend themselves against the Indians, and returning again to his own 
 house, where he was making fast the windows in case any attempt should 
 be made upon them, one John Roberts' son came to the house of the 
 said Walter and desired the said Walter to go to his father's house and 
 assist him, for that there were some Indians at his father's with a bow and 
 a great number of arrows, and that his father was in danger of being killed, 
 whereupon the said Walter, with his father-in-law, Morgan Herbert, each 
 having a gun, went away to the house of the said -John Roberts (the gun 
 of the said "\\'alter being loaded with one bullet and ten swan shot), and as 
 the said Walter and Morgan Herbert were going to John Roberts' they 
 met with John A^'inter, who had with him a shot gun, and thereupon 
 John Winter took the large gun and gave the small gun or pistol to Morgan 
 Herbert, and when the said AA'alter with ^Morgan Herbert and John Winter 
 came over the log that lies over the run just before Roberts' door, he saw 
 John Roberts standing in his own door ; he saw him have a gun in his 
 hand, but whether he had it in his hand before this examinant came up to 
 the house, or whether he went in for it afterwards, this examinant cannot 
 sa}^, and this examinant saw an Indian man, some women and some girls 
 sitting on a woodpile before John Roberts' door. And the Indian man 
 getting up and took his bow, and stepping backwards took an arrow from 
 his back, putting it to the string of the bow, whereupon this examinant, 
 apprehending the Indian was going to shoot at him, this examinant pre- 
 sented his gun and shot at the Indian man ; that he believes the Indian 
 was wounded, for he saw blood upon his Ijreast ; that John "Winter at the 
 same time shot one of the Indian women, and then ran up and knocked 
 another Indian woman's brains out ; that two Indian girls ran away ; that 
 the examinant followed one, and with a bow and arrow which he took up 
 where the said Indians ^vere sitting, he shot at one of the Indian girls and 
 then overtook her and brought her back, and he then saw the Indian man 
 get up and went staggering in a swamp near the house : that John M'inter 
 and the examinant, with Morgan Herbert, the next morning found the 
 other Indian girl in Tocacolie's cabin ; she was much hurt about the head 
 and face, and she was ordered to go to Walter A\'inter's house, where she 
 went accordingly. 
 
 It is not known what was the doom of Walter and John Winter, but it is 
 probable that they suffered the extreme penalty of the law. On June 1st, 
 1728, a jury at the court in Chester rendered a verdict that Morgan Her- 
 
28 THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 bert was "lawfully convicted for aiding and abetting Walter Winter and 
 John AV'inter in the murder of certain native Indians, and though in strict- 
 ness of law his ofiense may be adjudged murder, yet it appears to us that 
 he was not active in perpetrating it. ' ' On account of his former good be- 
 havior they recommended him to the compassion and mercy of the Gov- 
 ernor, who yielded to the wishes of the jury and consulted them as to the 
 best manner of carrying out their recommendation. The remainder of this 
 case is not recorded, but there is sufficient reason to justify the belief that 
 Herbert was acquitted. 
 
 The message that the Governor sent to the Indian chiefs explaining the 
 murder at Cacoosing, was received and accepted by them in a friendly 
 manner ; they entirely acquitted the government of any complicity in it 
 and offered to meet the Governor at Molatton. The Governor seems not to 
 have been aware of the appointment of this meeting until Allumapees, Ope- 
 kasset, kings of the Delawares, and Manawkyhickon, king of Shawanese, 
 with other Indians, were at Molatton. The Governor sent a messenger to 
 invite them to come to Philadelphia, because " a long and hard winter had 
 made corn and provision scarce," and he feared they would "want what's 
 necessary at Molatton, ' ' but at Philadelphia they could ' ' provide well for 
 them." The Indians went to Philadelphia, and after they had gone 
 through the usual formalities of those days, and made their speeches for 
 the renewal and strengthening of their friendship, the tragedy of Cacoosing 
 was ended by giving the Indians the following presents, viz. : Ten stroud 
 matchcoats, five blankets, five dufJels (coarse woolen cloth), five shirts, 
 twenty-five pounds of powder, 60 pounds of lead, 100 fiints, two dozen 
 knives, two; dozen scissors, two dozen tobacco boxes, two dozen tobacco 
 tongs, one dozen looking glasses and one pound of vermilion ; three strouds 
 three blankets, three duffels, three shirts and six handkerchiefs for the rel- 
 atives of the dead. 
 
 BERKS AND LANCASTEE COUNTIES. 
 
 In 1730 Lancaster County was formed from Chester County bj^ a line 
 running from a place in the vicinity of Birdsboro to Octoraro Creek, empty- 
 ing into the Susquehanna. From this time until 1752 that part of Berks 
 County east of the Schuylkill was in Philadelphia County, Union and part 
 of Robeson and Cicrnarvon were in Chester County, and the rest of the 
 county was in La'iicaster. Berks County was not organized until 1752. 
 The term Berks is, however, used to denote the territory which forms the 
 
 county at present. 
 
 TULPEHOCKEN. 
 
 The reader must remember that the territory called Tulpehocken was not 
 
 confined to the present limits of Tulpehocken and Upper Tulpehocken, but 
 
 it embraced all the land along the Tulpehocken Creek and up to the Blue 
 
 Mountains, except Bern and a few other townships west of the Schuylkill. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 29 
 
 The places in which most of the historical events transpired are now com- 
 prehended in Heidelberg, Marion, Tulpehocken and Bethel. The most 
 important meetings and conferences took place at Conrad Weiser's farm 
 and the densest Indian population was at Stouchsbiirg. 
 
 The love of ardent spirits was as intense and uncontrollable among the 
 Indians as among the Caucasians. The traders generally took a quantity 
 of rum with them, with which to put the Indians into a good mood to 
 barter profitably with them. The stern resolute character of the Red Men 
 of the forest could not resist the temptation of " fire-water," and, though 
 they knew the evil consequences of an over-indulgence, thCy were always 
 glad and eager to imbibe whenever it was within reach. It seems that the 
 chiefs did not resist the parties when they brought the liqiaor, but generally 
 complained to the government and desired to have it stopped. On one oc- 
 casion, August 13th, 1731, Sassoonan called upon the Governor and "de- 
 sired that no Christian should carry any rum to Shamokin, where he lived, 
 to sell ; when thej' Avant any they will send for it themselves ; they would 
 not be wholly deprived of it, but they would not have it brought by Chris- 
 tians, and also desired that some rum may be lodged at Tulpehocken and 
 Paxton to be sold to them, that their women may not haw too long a way 
 to fetch it." There was considerable discussion in the Provincial Council 
 about the matter, but it is not stated whether the government granted the 
 desire of Sassoonan. 
 
 With regard to the use of rum among the Indians,, the government may 
 have set a bad example, because in the purchase of land, or in giving pres- 
 ents to the Indians, rum was generally included. 
 
 The Indians made a number of sales of land. Sometimes the boundaries 
 were indefinite, and at other times a tract of land included a former pur- 
 chase and the Indians, not being able to read and write, depended exclu- 
 sively upon their memory, and when a chief died, his successor would not 
 be likely to know and remember all the compacts his predecessor made with 
 the white people, and in at least a few instances the men at the head of the 
 Provincial government did not harmonize. It can readily be understood 
 that under these circumstances disputes about boundaries would arise. 
 
 The settlers spread rapidly over the county, and since Tulpehocken was 
 looked upon as a promised land, and was one of the most noted places in 
 the country at this time, for the fertility of the soil and its desirableness 
 for a habitation, and it was very natural for the Palatines to have a strong 
 inclination to settle there. By invitation they did so and when they were 
 fairly settled in their new homes they were informed that the Indians still 
 held the title to the land. 
 
 At a meeting, held in Philadelphia, Sassoonan reported to the council 
 that the settlers were going beyond the limits of Penn's territory. This 
 matter must have been discussed before because a large audience had 
 
30 THE INDIANS OF BERKH COUNTY, PA. 
 
 crowded into the council chamber. Andrew Hamilton, Esq. , asked the 
 Governor's permission to say a few words. He said that he recently 
 accompanied the Governor to Manatawny, ' ' with divers persons of as good 
 note as any in the city," and they heard there that the settlers were tres- 
 passing on the land still belonging to the Indians, and he did not think it 
 was possible that any persons would violate the treaty with the Indians 
 and do such an injustice toward them. 
 
 The secretary produced a number of deeds, in one of which Sassoonan 
 signed a release of ' ' all the land situated between the two rivers, Delaware 
 and Susquehanna, from Duck Creek (in Delaware) to the mountains on 
 this side of the Lechay (Lehigh). This territory was again covered by a 
 deed given in 1732. 
 
 "Sassoonan (Allumapees) said that the land beyond these bounds had 
 never been paid for, that they reached no further than a few miles beyond 
 Oley, but that their lands on the Tulpehocken were seated by the 
 Christians. ' ' 
 
 "Mr. Logan (the secretary) answered that he understood at the time 
 that the deed was drawn and ever since that Lechay hills or mountains 
 stretched away from a little below Lechay or forks of theDelaware to those 
 hills on the Susquehanna that lie about ten miles above Paxton. Mr. 
 Farmer said those hills passed from Lechaj'^ a few miles above Oley, and 
 reached no furtber, and that Tulpehocken lands lie beyond them." 
 
 It was at length conceded that the land in Tulpehocken still belonged 
 to the Indians and it was at once conceded that the Palatines would not 
 have settled without the consent or invitation of some man who held a 
 position in the Provincial Council. After a number of animated speeches 
 to discover upon whom to lay the responsibility of inviting the Palatines 
 to settle on land still in the possession of the Delawares, James Logan, a 
 member of council, said that he was aware that Palatines had settled there 
 and how they came there he was now about to disclose. He then pre- 
 sented a petition directed to His Excellency William Kieth, Baronet-Gov- 
 ernor of Pennsylvania, and signed by thirty-three families. The petition 
 is as follows : 
 
 ' ' That your petitioners are natives of Germany. About fifteen years ago, 
 they were by the great goodness and royal bounty of her late Majesty Queen 
 Anne, relieved from the hardships which they then suffered in Europe 
 and were transported into the colony of New York, where they settled. 
 But their families increasing and being in that government confined to the 
 scanty allowance of ten acres of land to each family, whereon they could 
 not well subsist. Your petitioners being informed of the kind reception 
 which their countrymen usuallj^ met with in the jDrovince of Pennsylvania, 
 and hoping with what substance they had, acquire larger settlements in 
 that province, did last year leave their settlements in New York govern- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 31 
 
 ment and came with their families into this province, where upon their 
 arrival they applied themselves to His Excellency, the Governor, who of 
 Ms great goodness permitted them to inhabit upon Tulpehocken Creek 
 (being the farthest inhabited part of the province northwest from Phila- 
 delphia), on condition that they should make full satisfaction to the 
 proprietor or his agents for such lands as should be allotted to them when 
 they were ready to receive the same. And now your petitioners under- 
 standing that some gentlemea, agents of the proprietor, have ample powers 
 to dispose of lands in this province. And we, your petitioners, being 
 willing and ready to purchase, do humbly beseech your Excellency and 
 council to recommend us to the favorable usage of the proprietor's agents, 
 that upon paying the usual prices for lands at such distance from Phila- 
 delphia we may have sufficient rights and titles made to us for such land 
 as we shall have occasion to buy, that our children may have some settle- 
 ment to depend upon hereafter, and that by your authority we may be 
 freed from the demands of the Indians of that part of the country who 
 pretend a right thereto. And we humbly beg leave to inform your Ex- 
 cellency and council that there are fifty families more, who, if they may 
 be admitted upon the same conditions, are desirous to come and settle 
 with us. We hope for your favorable answer to this, our humble rec^uest, 
 and as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c. ' ' 
 
 There must have been some pointed insinuations made, casting the 
 blame upon James Logan, because, after quoting with strong emphasis a 
 few passages from the petition, he said that "he hoped now that such of 
 this audience as had been so solicitous to have the Indians complain of 
 James Logan, might go away satisfied. They had complained and they 
 were answered." He then kindly appealed to the Indians, that while 
 these people had settled upon Talpehocken land without the consent of 
 the commissioners, they should not injure or molest them, but wait until 
 the matter could be legally adjusted. 
 
 It is evident that the Indians had left Tulpehocken, though the Gana- 
 wese had not withdrawn a great distance. The people were not molested 
 in their homes and three years later the Indians signed a deed in which 
 they relinquished all their right and title to the land, and the settlers en- 
 joyed peace and happiness until the commencement of the French and In- 
 dian War. 
 
 In the fall of 1732 a number of the kings of the northern tribes sojourned 
 nearly a month in Philadelphia during the continuance of a treaty. When 
 their deliberations were ended, one of the chiefs said that "being about to 
 depart in two days, they must request to be helped on their journey home- 
 ward with horses from Tulpehocken to Mechaomy. ' ' The Governor re- 
 plied that they would assist them, and what tRey desired should be or- 
 dered before their departure. This body of noted Indians came up the old 
 
32 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 road through Amityville, Stonersville and Reading to Tulpehocken, where 
 the government furnished horses under the direction of Weiser. 
 
 In October, 1732, the government "paid the miller at Tulpehocken 
 $7.25 for 10 bushels of meal delivered to Sassoonan, then in want of pro- 
 vision. ' ' 
 
 In September, 1736, ^\"eiser informed the Governor that there was a 
 large number of Indians of the Onondagas, Cayugas and Tuscaroras at 
 Shamokin, who were on their way to Philadelphia to confirm the treaty of 
 1732. Weiser was directed to go and meet them at Shamokin and supply 
 them with the necessaries on their Journey to Philadelphia. The chiefs of 
 these tribes had not been in Philadelphia for four years, and, therefore, 
 stopped a few days at all the important places along the route to transact 
 business relating to the welfare of their tribes. It is not known how long 
 they sojourned at Womelsdorf, but since the home of Weiser was a home 
 for the Indians, who were provided there with all the necessaries at the 
 expense of the government, it is supposable that they spent a few days 
 there. 
 
 There is no treaty on record that was as numerously attended by the In- 
 dians as the one held in Philadelphia in July, 1742. The delegation con- 
 sisted of thirteen Onondagas, nineteen Cayugas, fourteen Anayints, three 
 Sinikers, twenty-one Tuscaroras, five Shawanese, eight Conestogas, ten D6l- 
 awares, "and several others," of whom there were fourteen chiefs, two 
 counsellors, and three captains. The Iroquois, or Six Nations, were very 
 powerful and as time passed many of the smaller tribes became tributarj' 
 to them, and when the French and Indian war began, the Six Nations 
 controlled nearly all the Indians east of the Mississippi. The appearance 
 of strange names of tribes, in connection with those of the Six Nations, can 
 only be explained on the ground that smaller tribes became allied to them. 
 These Indians passed through Berks and "on their return from Philadel- 
 phia an open council was held at Tulpehocken." They were in charge 
 of Conrad Weiser. How and with what comforts he entertained them it is 
 not stated, but it was in -July, and it is probable that he only furnished the 
 rations, and in other things the Indians accommodated themselves accord- 
 ing to their usual habits of life. How long they remained at Tulpehocken 
 it is not known, but S500 and twenty gallons of rum were appropriated to 
 defray their expenses and put them in good cheer. In their council they 
 gave an enumeration of eight tribes in alliance with them, and during their 
 stay, Tacarcher, one of the Tuscaroras, died. From these facts we may 
 infer that their sojourn continued some time. 
 
 Count Zinzendorf came from Bethlehem to visit the party . "In August 
 the Count set out, in company of Conrad Weiser, to visit the people at Tul- 
 pehocken. On the 14th (1742) he met with a numerous embassy of sa- 
 chems, or heads of the Six Nations, returning from Philadelphia. Though 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 33 
 
 they were extremely wild, and had on the same day shot one of their own 
 people, yet he would not omit so good an opportunity of preaching the 
 gospel. After about an hour's consultation, the ambassador of the 
 Onondaga and Cayuga Nations came to the Count and addressed him as 
 follows : ' ' Brother, you have made a long voyage over the seas to preach to 
 the white people and the Indians. You did not know that we were here 
 and we knew nothing of you. This proceeds from above. Come, therefore, 
 to us, both you and your brethren, we bid you welcome, and take this 
 fathom of wampum in confirmation of the truth of our word." The 
 Colonial Records say that Tacarcher died, but he was evidently the one 
 that Loskiel says was shot. 
 
 The Delaware Indians never brought charges of fraud and dishonesty 
 against the Palatines, and always gave the missionaries who came among 
 them a respectful reception and audience. On October 14th, 1742, Count 
 Zinzendorf and William Zander came from Bethlehem to preach to a party 
 of wild Indians who came to Conrad Weiser at Tulpehocken. The In- 
 dians did not come to consult about religious matters, but Conrad Weiser 
 introduced Count Zinzendorf as ' ' the man whom God had sent, both to 
 the Indians and white people, to make known His will unto them," and 
 according to the Indian custom made a present of a piece of red cloth. At 
 first the Indians did not appear to be well disposed and it was doubtful 
 whether they would give a satisfactory answer. While they were deliber- 
 ating the wife of one of the chiefs came into the hut with a child that im- 
 mediately ran to Count Zinzendorf and began to play with him. Immedi- 
 ately after this occurrence the father of the child saluted William Zander, 
 whom he had met before, and this happy circumstance made such a good 
 impression upon the Indians that, after a short deliberation, they invited 
 the missionaries to preach for them. 
 
 The Germans always treated the Indians with a strict adherence to hon- 
 esty, and never took advantage of them, and, for this reason more than 
 any other, the missionaries among the Indians in the eastern part of Penn- 
 sylvania were more successful than those of any other part of the country. 
 
 Pyrlseus, one of the Moravian missionaries, who came into this country 
 to labor among the Iroquois, found preaching to the Indians through an 
 interpreter unsatisfactory, and concluded to learn the language that he 
 might speak to them in their own language. Not being able to find an in- 
 terpreter when he was preaching, to teach him the rudiments of the Mo- 
 hawk language, he came to Tulpehocken, in the fall of 1743, where he re- 
 mained with Conrad Weiser for three months. Afterwards he moved with 
 his wife into the interior of the Iroquois country, but soon discovered that 
 he was laboring in vain and moved to another place. 
 
 Tulpehocken, which included Womelsdorf, Stouchsburg and surrounding 
 country, was not only a place for consultation between the white settlers 
 
34 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 and the Indians, but it was the most important business centre in this sec- 
 tion of the state. Nowhere did agriculture receive more attention. Grist 
 mills were erected at different places, and blacksmith shops, carpenter 
 shops and other concomitant industries had already been established here 
 and attracted customers from a great distance. 
 
 The Indians in the vicinity of Shamokin were already using many of the 
 tools and implements used by the settlers, and when they needed repairing 
 they were compelled to come to Tulpehocken, a distance of sixty miles, 
 where the nearest blacksmith resided. In 1746 the Iroquois requested 
 Shekallamy, their agent at Shamokin, to call upon Conrad Weiser at Tul- 
 pehocken, and ask him to entreat the Governor of Pennsylvania to send a 
 blacksmith to Shamokin for the convenience of the Indians that they would 
 not be compelled to make a journey of several days when they Avished to 
 have any repairing done. Shamokin did not seem to be a desirable place 
 of residence for a white man. The Indians had the reputation of being 
 very bad paymasters, and were addicted to the excessive use of liquor 
 whenever they could obtain it. Weiser appealed to the Governor, and they, 
 with the aid of the Moravians, sent them a blacksmith who should reside 
 there as long as they treated him humanly and kept their faith and friend- 
 ship with the wiiite people. 
 
 When the Indians had sold their land south of the Blue Mountains in 
 1732, they gradually retreated beyond the mountains, so that at this period 
 of our history none but isolated families were found in the county. As 
 rapidly as the Indians retreated the white people followed, and unmindful 
 of the fact that the Blue Mountains divided the land upon which the white 
 people were free to settle and that claimed by the Indians, they began to 
 form settlements beyond the mountains contrary to their treaty with Penn. 
 Deputies were sent to Philadelphia in August, 1749, by the Senecas, Onon- 
 dagas, Tutatoes, Nanticokes and Conoys, to counsel with the Governor and 
 protest against the formation of settlements beyond the mountains. The 
 Governor listened to their speeches and assured them that there should be 
 no more trespass upon their land, and as usual gave them a large number 
 of presents to send them off in a good mood. 
 
 Conrad ^^^eiser marshaled these Indians to Philadelphia and back again, 
 and, judging from Governor Hamilton's speech in the council soon after 
 their departure, there must have been some mischievous characters in this 
 embassy. The provincial treasury was empty. The Governor advanced 
 Weiser sixty pounds to defray their expenses and then said : "He (Weiser) 
 must by this time have laid out a considerable sum more which you will 
 order payment of ; and though from your long knowledge of his ment it 
 might be unnecessary in me" to say anything in his favor, yet as the last 
 set of Indians did damage to his plantation, and he had abundance of 
 trouble with them, and is likely to meet with much more on this occasion, 
 
THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 35 
 
 I cannot excuse myself from heartily recommending it to you to' make him 
 a handsome reward for his services. ' ' 
 
 On August 9th, 1733, the Board ordered $10.00 to be paid to Conrad 
 Weiser, who at Shekallamy's desire attended him from Tulpehocken, and 
 $18.00 for entertaining Shekallamy, accompanied by three other Indians, 
 and Conrad Weiser, the interpreter, who was sent hither on a message touch- 
 ing the Ganawese Indians. 
 
 ALBANY. 
 
 When the Europeans settled the lower part of the county, it required but 
 a few years until the people occupied the land as far as to the base of the 
 Blue ^Mountains. Lutherans and Moravians drifted to Albany at an early 
 date, and, according to their custom, erected a building which was used 
 both as a schoolhouse and a church. A correspondent, writing to the 
 Biene, a church paper, in 1738, states that a weather-boarded log house 
 was used for that purpose, and that it was known in that section of coun- 
 try as the Old White Church. On July 24, 1742, Count Zinzendorf, Wil- 
 liam Zander, eleven brethren, three sisters and an Indian guide and inter- 
 preter left Bethlehem on a preaching tour to Nazareth and a number of 
 mission stations north of the Blue Mountains. There is no mention made 
 of their visit to Albany, but Zinzendorf visited the place the previous year, 
 and it was in the line of their journey, and it is plausible that they halted 
 in Albany. 
 
 On July 30 they crossed the Blue Mountains and came to the Schuyl- 
 kill River, apparently in the vicinity of Hamburg. Count Zinzendorf 
 noticed a company of Indians on the west side of the river. He waded 
 through the water at a depth of from three to four feet and began to preach 
 to them. The Indians treated him with such coolness and indifference 
 that he returned to the east bank with a sorrowful heart. An Indian soon 
 followed him and invited the whole party to come over the river to them 
 and talk to them. They did so, and while Zander talked to them on the 
 subject of religion, they preserved good order and paid attention to what he 
 said. They had no reason to believe that any good could be accomplished 
 and then immediately returned to Bethlehem. While making this journey 
 they were overtaken by a thunder storm, away from all huts, and were 
 thoroughly drenched with rain. 
 
 Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg visited the Lutherans in 1747. About 
 this time some of the Moravians moved further north, and their interest in, 
 the property passed over to the Lutherans by purchase, who afterwards 
 erected a new church and called it the Priedens Kirche. Abraham Rencke 
 officiated at the first interment in the adjoining graveyard, which occurred 
 in January, 1755. 
 
36 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 
 
 BERN. 
 
 In one of his visitation tours to the stations among the settlers, as well 
 as among the Indians, Count Zinzendorf passed through Albany the latter 
 part of July on his way to Conrad Weiser's. He could not make .the 
 whole journey in a day. On August 1, 1741, he came to a place in "the 
 land lying west of the Schuylkill as far as Tulpehocken Creek ' ' and called 
 it Siki-hilli-hocken. The Count made several journeys through the county, 
 and since he preached in a farmhouse on the Cacoosing, December 28, 
 1742, it is probable that he visited the same place on this tour, and in 
 that event he must have lodged in Bern Township on August 1. In the 
 evening or during the night, when all were asleep and everything was 
 quiet, he wrote the following poem, which he sent to Bethlehem with con- 
 verted Indians. He apparently lodged with a man by the name of Green. 
 
 1. 
 Hier schrieb ich einen Brief, 
 Als alles um mich schlief. 
 In der finstern Wuesten 
 Siki-hilli-hocken, 
 Wo wenig Voglein nisten ; 
 Wird ich doch kaum inn' 
 Dasz die Schuylkill rinn 
 Ueber Nachbar Green. 
 
 2. 
 Herr Jesu, wach'st du nicht 
 In deinem stillen Licht ? 
 Ruehrt sich niemand neben 
 Dem himmlichen Gesicht 
 Des Lamm's im ew'gem Leben? 
 Frag die muntern vier * 
 Ob sich etwas ruehrt? 
 Euch ? wenn ruht denn ihr ? 
 
 Gewisz in Penn's Getruepp 
 Selbst in Allamaengelship 
 Fragt kein armer Bauer 
 Der seines Leibs Geripp' 
 So hinbringt schwer und sauer, 
 Mehr nach einem Herr'n 
 Der die Kinder lern, 
 Als ich auch ha?tt' gern. 
 
 * Zinzendorf, Buettner, Liscliy and Indian guide. 
 
^ 
 
 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 37 
 
 4. 
 Ihr auserwajlte vier ! 
 Kommt her und saget mir 
 Wie ichs immer mache, 
 Dasz ich mein Aint recht fuehr 
 Und bleib auf meiner Sache, 
 Bis sie sich nach dem Plan 
 Der kreuz Caravan, 
 Heisst in Gntt gethna. 
 
 5. 
 Doch ich verirre mich, 
 A\'elch Muster suche.ich, 
 Was vor ein Exempel ? 
 Als ganz alleine Dich, 
 Du lebendiger Tempel 
 Aller Gottesfuelle, 
 Der in Seiner Still 
 ^lacht so viel Er will. 
 
 6. 
 Die Hauptentschuldigungi" 
 1st vor dir nicht genug. 
 Die ich machen muesste, 
 ^\'arum ich mit der Zeit 
 Nicht auszukommen wusste, 
 Flehn war deine Freud', 
 In der Einsamkeit 
 Und ^^ersunkenheit. 
 
 7. 
 Das Beten blieb nicht aus ; 
 Allein wenn Feld und Haus, 
 Dir nicht Raum vergonnte, 
 ^'or der Geschafte Braus, 
 So lang die Sonne brennte, 
 Hat Dirs Deine wacht 
 In der lieben Nacht 
 Immer eingebracht. 
 
 8. 
 Ach ! das verworf ne Recht 
 Fuers heilige Geschlecht, 
 Das Dich Blut gekostet, 
 Verleihe deinem Knecht. 
 
38 THE INDIANS OF BEEKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 (Dem oft sein Werkzeug rostet 
 Weil er's nicht so braucht 
 Wie es vor Dich taugt) 
 Arbeit, dasz er raucht. 
 
 9. 
 Nun ich verlassa mich 
 Auf Dein Verdienst und Dich 
 Auf Dein Blut das heize, 
 Das Blut vom Seitenstich, 
 Das helfe mir zum Fleisze ; 
 Dem auch aller Muth 
 Dasz man's seine thut 
 Kommt von Dein em Blut. 
 
 10. 
 Inzwischen opfr' ich Dir 
 Ein Theil der Nachtzeit hier, 
 In dem ofJnen Zelte 
 Am Indiainschen Revier, 
 ! dasz es vor Dir gelte ; 
 Doch vors Streitenthor 
 Hat das Betenchor 
 Alle Nacht dein Ohr. 
 
 11. 
 In Hermonie mit Dem 
 Der ist in Bethlehem 
 Priesteramtes pfieget, 
 Sein die die zehen Stamm' 
 Zuerst an's Herz gelegt. 
 Ach manch armes schaff 
 Fuehlt des Gelbsuchts Traf 
 Die kein \'olk betraff ! 
 
 12. 
 In Tulpehocken brennt's 
 Nun rund um alle Fence ; 
 Denn die Nationen 
 Gehn durch dieselbe Grenz' 
 Zurueck bin wo sie wohnen — 
 Bringen meinen Pfad 
 Mit dem Zeugenrad, 
 Bald in ihre Stadt. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. ;!9 
 
 13. 
 Das wird als dann gescheh'n 
 Wenn Stissik erst beseh'n 
 Und vor diese Horden 
 Mit sanftem Lobgetu'n, 
 Dem Lamm gedanket worden ; 
 Abrah'm, Israel, 
 Isa'c, Hannes Stell 
 Burgt die Wundenha4. 
 
 14. 
 "Wenn geht der Segen an ? 
 Dort neberm ()cean 
 1st uns eine Schule 
 Der Heiden aufgethan. 
 Wo auf dem Lehrerstuhl, 
 Gott der Heil'ge Geist, 
 Manchen unterweis't 
 Der ins Wilde reis't. 
 
 15. 
 ! mein Herr Jesu Christ, 
 Der Du so willig bist 
 An dem Kreuz gestorben, 
 Un das ein Herrnhut ist. 
 In Bethl'em hast ervvorben 
 In dem Streiterthf)r 
 Sei gelobt davor 
 Von dem Priesterchor. 
 
 16. 
 Das Haus Marienborn 
 Des mit dem spitzen Dorn 
 So zerdrosch'nen Hauptes, 
 Das hat so raanches Korn 
 Gresast, und beglaubt es ; 
 Segne Seine Saat : 
 Es ist in der That 
 Dein Novitiat. 
 
 17. 
 Vor zehn Jahren war 
 Es mit der Zeugenschar 
 So dasz jetso hundert 
 Vor zehn stehen dar. 
 
40 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Ich wipre sehr verwmidert, 
 Ja, es wser' mir weh, 
 Wenn ich nun nicht eh 
 Tausend Zeugen sah ! 
 
 18. 
 Des Lammes ntechsten Freund, 
 Der's Lamm m allem meint, 
 Und nichts anders Predigt, 
 Und wenn ein Herze weint, 
 Es in dem Lamm erledigt, 
 Das Jehova heisst 
 Sei davor gepreis't, 
 Herr, Gott,. Heil'ger Geist ! 
 
 PURCHASE BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 On the 22d of August, 1749, Thomas and Richard Penn bought of the 
 Indians all the land Ijdng between the Susquehanna and Delaware and ex- 
 tending from the Blue Mountains to a direct line running from Lacka- 
 waxen, on the Delaware, in the northern part of Pike County, to Mahanoy 
 Creek, on the Susquehanna, about twelve miles below Sunbury, for five 
 hundred pounds — about $2,500. 
 
 BERKS COUNTY. 
 
 A bill was passed in the Provincial Council, March 6, 1752, "for erecting 
 parts of the counties of Philadelphia, Chester and Lancaster into a separate 
 county." In October of the same year the usual officers were elected and 
 Berks was enrolled in the list of thh counties, though it extended far be- 
 yond the Blue Mountains. 
 
 WANT OF FACTS. 
 
 When this country was discovered the eastern part of Pennsylvania was 
 inhabited by the Delaware Indians, whether they were the first inhabitants 
 of this part of the country, or whether another race lived here before and 
 was supplanted by them, how long they were the lords of the land, and 
 how numerous they were, are facts which are beyond our reach, and are 
 now only matter for conjecture and speculation. They kept no records of 
 any kind, they may have had traditions, but they were never communi- 
 cated to a historian and put into print. How eagerly we ivould look at a 
 picture of Menhaltanink, Mcnakesne, Machksitaune, Saaink, Tulpewihaki and 
 other Indian towns in the county and behold the peculiar arrangement of 
 their workshops, their habits, their domestic afiairs and their warlike move- 
 ments. But they have disappeared in the irrevocable past, and we can 
 only read that part of their history which is recorded, and picture to our 
 minds what was their probable condition before they came in contact with 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 41 
 
 the white people. They were very tenacious of some of their modes of Hfe, 
 but they were always very eager and ready to take presents of the white set- 
 tlers. While they may have used many of those gifts somewhat in their 
 own way, they still had a tendency to modify many of their habits of life. 
 
 The first settlement in the county was in Amity, at Douglassville, in 1701. 
 The settlers then moved up step by step through Colebrookdale, Oley and 
 other townships, and the Indians retreated because their modes of living 
 were so different — the one living principally upon the wild animals and 
 fish, while the other lived upon the products of agriculture. I have fol- 
 lowed this advance and retreat for fifty years with the profoundest interest, 
 and searched every tangible avenue for light and information to lay before 
 the readers of this book a chain of historical links that will connect the 
 present with the past in the most intelligible way possible. 
 
 The Indians are generally called barbarians, and yet they bartered with 
 the white people for fifty years and sometimes lived in close proximity to 
 them, and during this time there were but three conflicts, two in Amity 
 and one at Cacoosing. The two in Amity were caused by roaming bands 
 of Indians, foreign to the Delawares, and the one at Cacoosing was a mur- 
 der such as is too often committed in civilized communities. 
 
 The Indians relinquished their last claim in 1732 and sought habitations 
 in other places. Small roving bands of Indians frequently came through 
 the county, but they were harmless, begged their way through the country 
 and caused no fear or terror among the people. The people cultivated the 
 soil, built better houses and barns, erected churches and school houses and 
 enjoyed their rural lives in peace and tranquility, and had reason to believe 
 that since they had very little fear of the Indians while they were living al- 
 most among them, they certainly had nothing to fear from them when 
 they had gone into another state. Thus they lived and moved for many 
 
 years. 
 
 FBENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 
 
 The Delawares drew north and west and came ii:ito the power of the Ir(j- 
 quois or Six Nations. In tl\e meantime the French and Indian War broke 
 out. The French discovered and settled Canada and claimed the country 
 as far south as the Ohio River. The English discovered and settled the 
 Atlantic coast and claimed the country north of the Ohio River. There 
 was a dispute between the French and the English about the boundary 
 line, and out of this arose what is called the French and Indian ^^^ar. The 
 French, living near to the Six Nations, appealed to their base passions, 
 succeeded in arraying them against the English, and the Six Nations being 
 the masters of the Delawares, compelled them to take up arms against the 
 English, and then began a series of such cruel butcheries and heartless 
 massacres that we cannot read them now without shuddering. When the 
 
42 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Indians are friendly their friendship is true, but when they become en- 
 emies, their barbarity is unbounded. 
 
 The union of the French and Indians was a great surprise to the people. 
 There was always a kind feeling existing between the English and Indians, 
 and to the majority of the people this new alliance seemed to have been 
 consummated in a short time. But it was not. It was the culmination of 
 a long though not an open struggle. Immediatelj^ after the settlement of 
 the different sections of the countrj^ the French were Jealous of the English 
 and had their agents in different parts of the country to incite the Indians 
 against the white people. In 1690 the "Board" instructed one of its 
 agents, who went to pay a visit to the Schuylkill Indians, to persuade the 
 French to leave " who are suspected of unfaithfulness," and " assure the 
 chief sachem of our Indians of our good intentions toward them and their 
 people." Nicole Godin, a Frenchman, who was arrested at Paxton and 
 taken through Berks, was arrested as much for stirring up the Indians 
 against the white people as for selling liquor among them. In 1709 the 
 governors of Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut joined in an expe- 
 dition for the " reduction of Canada," and the Governor of New York was 
 to enlist the "Five Nations and the River Indians," but the Colonial 
 Records do not give the result of that expedition, if it was ever made. 
 
 At a meeting held in Philadelphia, July 30th, 1739, Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor Thomas addressed the Shawanese chiefs and said : " We have re- 
 ceived repeated accounts, as well from the northward as otherwise, of en- 
 deavors used by the French of Canada to draw you off from the engage- 
 ments you had so solemnly entered into with this government." These 
 are a few evidences of the work of the French that have come under m}' 
 observation incidentally. The Indians are a revengeful people, and, though 
 they did not seem to be offended when their land was occupied along the 
 Tulpehocken, before they were paid for it, yet after a lapse of twenty years 
 they may have determined to have revenge, and partly for this reason 
 sided with the French. 
 
 When the officials of the government learned that the Indians had united 
 with the French they knew that they had not only a determined and re- 
 lentless enemy to battle with, but that it was necessary to throw protection 
 around the settlements on the frontier. Since very few families had settled 
 beyond the Blue Mountains, the government determined to build a line of 
 forts from the Susquehanna to the Delaware at a distance of about twelve 
 miles apart. 
 
 The object of these forts was entirely different from that of the forts of 
 the present time. They were placed near settlements and were intended 
 for places of refuge to which the people could flee for protection in times 
 of danger. They were put up hastily and in a temporary manner, and 
 seemed to serve their purpose well. But they were too far apart. The In- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 43 
 
 dians did not come in large numbers to fight nnd batter down the forts. 
 These they evaded. They followed the guerrilla mode of warfare, and, 
 issuing from the woods they fell vipon unsuspecting and unprotected men, 
 ■women and children engaged in tilling the soil, and murdered them in 
 the most shocking manner. 
 
 Before proceeding to relate the events that followed it will not only be a 
 matter of great interest to know the names and location of these forts, but 
 it will enable us to get a more intelligent idea of the maneuvers of the In- 
 dians and the difficulties our men encountered to defeat them. 
 
 Here there is a chasm in our history which it is impossible to bridge. 
 A link of the chain is broken and it is difficult to unite both parts as satis- 
 factorily as it might be desired. When the conflict occurred on the Ohio 
 in the spring of 1754 the war was immediately at hand. Shekellamy, the 
 great Indian agent, died in 1749 and about the same time the Indians 
 moved their "council fire" west from Shamokin, a place where they had 
 it for many years. The Pennsylvania Archives do not say what were the 
 preliminary steps taken in the erection of the forts. The first knowledge 
 we have of them is when they were garrisoned with soldiers and the people 
 sought refuge in them during the night. 
 
 Thus far we studied the friendly element in the character of the Indian 
 and we often saw traits and qualities in him as great and noble as those 
 that distinguish the enlightened race, but now we are compelled to turn a 
 leaf in his history, and study the hostile, revengeful element in its worst 
 form. We are often constrained to pause and wonder how men that have 
 been so humane for half a centur}^ can be guilty of such brutality and 
 ferocity as were practiced by them in the northern parts of Berks County 
 from 1754 to 1763. 
 
 FORT HENRY, OR DIETRICH SIX'S. 
 
 This fort was located in Bethel Township, about three miles north of 
 Millersburg and one west of Round Top Mountain. I visited this place 
 November 27th, 1879. It was on the farm which formerly belonged to 
 what was called Umbehacker's Hotel, but now it is in the possession of Mr. 
 George Pott, by whom I was conducted to the place where it stood. It 
 was located about fifty yards from the old Shamokin road that leads over 
 the mountains. The place was elevated so that the guard could see some 
 distance in every direction. The field has been under cultivation for a 
 number of years and there is no sign of it remaining except in plowing up 
 fragments of clay pipes, and stones of the foundation are thrown up. The 
 Colonial Records do not give a description of this fort, and this induces 
 the belief that it was a fort erected on the property of Dietrich Six by the 
 people of that vicinity for their protection. The Records make several al- 
 lusions to the people's fleeing to Dietrich Six's, and at no time was there 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 distinct mention made of its being a military post. There was also a 
 ?^rt Henry in Lebanon County at Swatara Gap, and this makes it difficult 
 to decide sometimes which fort is meant. But since no mention is made 
 of Fort Henry at Swatara Gap until February 1st, 1756, and was then 
 called Fort Henry at Tolheo, it is evident that Fort Henry in Bethel was 
 always meant until 1766. It might be supposed that there is a mistake 
 in the name of this fort, but a number of the old men who were brought up 
 in the vicinity of the fort told me that this was the name' that was applied 
 to it by their parents and grandparents. It is not known definitely when 
 this fort was built or abandoned. 
 
 Whether the fort was erected by the people or by the government is no- 
 where fully explained, but it was the most important fort in the whole 
 line along the Blue Mountains. It was on the road leading from Shamo- 
 kin through Tulpehocken to Philadelphia. Frequent allusions are made 
 to this fort in the Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives with refer- 
 ence to the movement of the soldiers but without any especial interest, and 
 for this reason they are omitted. 
 
 In June, 1757, Gov. Denny visited Fort Henry to see what steps could be 
 taken to defend the inhabitants of that section. He came from Lancaster 
 to Tulpehocken to organize a company for their protection. The men were 
 willing to form a company, but they wanted to select their own officers, 
 and the Governor wanted to supply them with provincial officers. After 
 he had addressed them they were still unwilling to accept his proposition 
 and he blamed the people of Lancaster for putting this into their heads. 
 He requested them to meet him at Fort Henry, and iifty men, mounted on 
 horses, followed him, and when he had spoken to them there forty men 
 enlisted under the command of Conrad Weiser. 
 
 FOKT, NORTHKILL. 
 
 This fort was situated about two miles east of Strausstown, in Upper 
 Tulpehocken Township, on the Northkill, a small stream that empties into 
 the Tulpehocken Creek at Bernville. It must have been a secluded spot, 
 because it is still in the woods and until recently was surrounded by large 
 trees, though the land was cultivated close by when the fort was erected 
 and there must have been a considerable settlement there or the fort would 
 not have been placed there. The fort was built in the early part of 1754, 
 because a certain officer, the writer of a journal, whose name is not given, 
 visited it on the 15th of -June, 1754. Ensign Harry had command of the 
 fort at the time. The writer of this journal says, "Ensign Harry marched 
 out of the fort about 12 o'clock (after delivering it to me) with his men 
 to Fort Lebanon, according to orders. Provisions I found in the fort,' as 
 follows : 5 pounds of powder, 198 pounds of flour, 10 small bars of lead, 
 15 pounds of beef and pork, 3-^ pounds of candles.* 
 
 'Penna. Arch., Vol '2, p. IMI. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 45 
 
 With regard to the dimensions of the fort Commissary Young says, June 
 20, 1756 : "The fort is about nine miles to the westward of the Schuylkill, 
 and stands in a very thick wood, on a small rising ground, half a mile from 
 the middle of Northkill Creek. It is intended for a square about 32 feet 
 each way ; at each corner is a .half bastion of very little service to flank 
 the curtain — the stockades were ill fixed in the ground, and open in many 
 places — within is a very bad log house for the people ; it has no chimney 
 and can afford but little shelter in bad weather. ' ' 
 
 I visited the spot where this fort stood, in company with Mr. Percival 
 tioodman, of Strausstown, November 26, 1879. There is a large heap of 
 ground close by, from the excavation of the cellar or underground chamber 
 into which the women and children were placed for security. The ground 
 fell into the cavity and the autumn leaves have been blown into it for one 
 hundred and twenty-five years, so that by this time it is nearly full. Mr. 
 Jonathan Goodman, of Strausstown, a man nearly eighty years of age, who 
 was born and lived all his lifetime in the neighborhood of the fort, says 
 that he remembers that the stockades were still in position, and higher 
 than the ceiling of the room, and that the form of the fort could still be seen 
 in his younger days. 
 
 I must give an interesting fragment of history here, though it has no 
 bearing upon the construction of the fort, but it is connected with its his- 
 tory. Mr. John W. Degler, who lives a short distance from the fort, on a 
 farm settled by his great grandfather, before the French and Indian War, 
 has a memento of Indian robbery, which is an object of more than ordi- 
 nary interest. Old Mr. Degler possessed the virtues common to many of 
 the old settlers of this country — honesty, kindness, generosity and hospi- 
 tality. The Indians used to frequent Mr. Degler' s house. He always 
 furnished them with victuals and such other things that they were in need 
 of. They never molested anything on his premises and never conducted 
 themselves in a manner to excite fear on his part, but when the Indians 
 murdered the white people only a short distance from his house, he, fear- 
 ing that they might become treacherous, moved his family in close prox- 
 imity to the fort that they might be under the protection of the guard 
 stationed there. The Indians lurking in the dense woods espied him near 
 the fort, believed that he had become hostile to them and joined their 
 enemies. They at once proceeded to his house, and finding him and his 
 family absent, ransacked the house. Among the furniture demolished was 
 a chest, which is still in the house belonging to the original property. The 
 chest is of cedar wood, unpainted and protected on the edges with iron. 
 The Indians split this chest completely through the middle. Small iron 
 bands were put to the end to hold it together, but the lid is still in two 
 pieces. The chest bears the date 1757, in which year it is presumed the 
 Indians committed the deed. 
 
46 
 
 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Frederic Degler brought this chest from Germany, and when he died it 
 and the property came into the hands of his son, Frederic Jacob, thence 
 they passed into the possession of his grandson, John Degler, and now they 
 are owned by his great grandson, John ^^' Degler. The Degler family 
 intend to preserve this chest and hand it from generation to generation as a 
 relic of the fearful conflicts which their forefathers had with the Indians in 
 the early settlement of this country. While the Indians plundered the 
 house, two stood guard some distance from the fort. These were cap- 
 tured, but were released again. 
 
 The preceding cut will give some 'idea of the manner in which the forts 
 
 were built. The house within the stockades was generally built of logs and 
 
 was often crowded uncomfortably by the neighboring inhabitants in times 
 
 of danger. The stockades were logs, which were about eighteen feet long, 
 
 cut in the woods where the forts were built, and planted in the ground as 
 
 closely as possible. They were intended to protect the house and prevent 
 
 the Indians from shooting the people the moment they stepped out of the 
 
 house. 
 
 FORT AT DIETRICH SNYDER'S. 
 
 In my tour through the county in 1875 to visit the location of the old 
 forts, I did not visit the place of the fort on the mountain where Dietrich 
 Snyder used to live. I called upon Mr. Jonathan Goodman, of Strauss- 
 town, and he told me that a fort was located there, but nothing of the old 
 fort could be seen since a new building had been erected there. This so- 
 called fort was situated on one of the most conspicuous points of the Blue 
 Mountains, and was in all probability not intended as a fort, but as an 
 observatory or watch-house. This belief is corroborated by the fact that 
 it was not more than a nale and a half or tAvo miles from Fort Northkill, 
 and afforded a splendid view of tha,t portion of the county embraced in a 
 semi-circle of twenty miles in diameter. Buildings set on fire by the 
 Indians could be observed at once, and a report of them could have been 
 sent to the commander of Port Northkill in a very short time. By resort- 
 ing to vigilance of this kind the people could discover th^ presence of 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 47 
 
 and localities disturbed by the Indians and could drive them out of the 
 county, and thus prevent much harm and suffering which they would 
 otherwise have inflicted upon the people. This building is along the road 
 that leads from Strausstown to Pottsville. Some years ago it was con- 
 verted into a hotel. The property recently passed into the hands of Mr. 
 Harry Nine, who now carries on a hotel. 
 
 FORT LEBANON AND FORT "WILLIAM. 
 
 The next fort in order from the west was Fort Lebanon, on the forks of 
 the Schuylkill. This fort was located about one and a-half mile east of 
 Auburn, Schuylkill County. In 1893 the Governor of Pennsylvania, by 
 an Act of the Legislature, appointed five men to examine the localities of 
 the forts during the French and Indian A\''ar, and report to the next Legis- 
 lature. Mr. H. ]\I. M. Richards, of the City of Reading, was one of the 
 five appointees, and to him was assigned the examination of the chain of 
 forts along the Blue ^Mountains, from the Delaware to the Susquehanna. 
 He visited all the localities, conversed with the oldest- inhabitants, and 
 made up an elaborate report which every person interested in local history 
 will read with the greatest pleasure. 
 
 This fort was also erected in the beginning of 1754. It is not explained 
 why it was called Fort Lebanon, and whj^ in 1758 it was called Fort 
 AVilliam. 
 
 Two years after its erection it was described as follows : " Fort Lebanon, 
 about 24 miles from Gnadenhutten in the line to Shamokin. Fort 100 feet 
 square. Stockades 14 feet high. House within built 30 by 20 with a 
 large store-room. A spring within. A magazine 12 feet square. On a 
 barren, not much timber on it. One hundred families protected by it 
 within the new purchase. No township. Built in three weeks ; some- 
 thing considerable given by the neighbors towards it." * 
 
 FORT FRANKLIN. 
 
 The fourth and last fort on the frontier of Berks County was situated on 
 Lizard Creek across the Blue Mountains at the eastern end of Albany Town- 
 ship. 
 
 The fort was sometimes called Fort Allemangael, or Fort above Alle- 
 mangael, or Alle Mangel (all wants), which was afterwards changed into 
 Albany. All Want^ might have been a correct name for Albany one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five years ago, but it is certainly a misnomer now. Some 
 of its land is undulating but much of it is level and the soil is very good. 
 
 The first information we have of this fort is from Benjamin Franklin, 
 who, while superintending the erection of Fort Allen, where Weisport now 
 stands, wrote to Governor Morris after it was finished, and said : ' ' Foulk 
 is gone to build another between this (Fort Allen) and Schuylkill Fort 
 
 • I'enna. Arch., Vol. 2, page 665. 
 
48 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 (Lebanon), which I hope will be finished (as Texter is to join hina) in a 
 
 week or ten days. As soon as Hays returns I shall detach another partj 
 
 to erect another at Surfas', which I hope may be finished in the same time, 
 
 and then I hope to end my campaign."* -This letter was written Januarj 
 
 25th, 1756. There was a "Block House " and several other places where 
 
 soldiers were stationed, between Fort Franklin and Fort Allen, and Surfas 
 
 was evidently the name of the man upon whose property one of them was 
 
 located. The fort was named in honor of its projector, Benjamin Franklin, 
 
 James Young, ' ' commissary of ye Musters, ' ' visited the fort on Jun( 
 
 21st, reported the road from Fort Lebanon " a narrow path very hilly and 
 
 swampy ; about half way we came through a very thick and dangerous 
 
 pine swamp ; very few plantations on this road, most of them deserted, 
 
 and the houses burnt down ; half of a mile to the westward of this fort is 
 
 good plantation ; the people retire to the fort every night. This fort stands 
 
 about a mile from th e North Mountain ; only two plantations near it. This 
 
 fort is a square of about forty feet, very ill stockaded, with two log houses 
 
 at opposite corners for bastions, all very unfit for defence ; the stockades 
 
 are very open in many places ; it stands on the bank of a creek ; the woods 
 
 clear for 120 yards ; the Lieutenant (Igle) ranges towards Fort Lebanor 
 
 and Fort Allen, about four times a week ; much thunder, lightning anc 
 
 rain all night. ' ' 
 
 OTHER FORTS. 
 
 Fori Hunter was the most western fort and was situated on the Sus 
 
 quehanna River, a few miles north of Harrisburg. Fort Manada was ii 
 
 Dauphin County, on Manada Creek ; Fort Swatara at Swatara Gap ; For 
 
 Henry in Bethel Township, Berks County ; Fort Northkill in Upper Tul 
 
 pehocken ; Fort Lebanon and Fort Franklin in Schuylkill County ; For 
 
 Everet in Lehigh County ; Fort Allen in Carbon County, and a few otheri 
 
 completed the chain to the Delaware. Fort Harris was at Harrisburg anc 
 
 Fort Augusta at Shamokin. 
 
 SCALFIITG. 
 
 The Indians never considered a victory complete, nor did they glory ii 
 the killing of persons unless they could, show the scalps of their victims a 
 trophies. If there is anything in Indian warfare more revolting to the feel 
 ings and sensibilities of civilized people than others, it is the barbarou 
 practice of scalping their victims, dead or alive. The enormity of these in 
 human acts of cruelty practiced upon so many innocent women and chil 
 dren in Berks County during the French and Indian War, cannot be con 
 ceived unless the manner in which it was done is known. 
 
 " The Indians perform this operation in the following manner: The; 
 place their foot on the neck of the victim, seizing the hair with the let 
 hand, and twisting it very tight together, in order to separate the skin fron 
 
 • Col. Bee. Vol. 7, page 16. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 49 
 
 the head. Then they cut it all around with a sharp knife, and tear it off. 
 This operation is often performed in a minute, and under certain circum- 
 stances is fatal, but not always. The scalp is painted red, placed upon a 
 red pole in token of victory, to the great satisfaction of the whole nation, 
 and carefully preserved in memory of their courage and prowess, in aveng- 
 ing the cause of their country. They like to carry off their prisoners alive, 
 but bound, till they are no more in fear of their pursuers. In the night 
 they are fastened to the ground with their arms, legs and necks bound to 
 large stakes, and for greater security a cord passes from them to a free In- 
 dian, who immediately awakes if they attempt to niove. Yet, notwith- 
 standing these precautions, they sometimes escaped. The European 
 prisoners are immediately shorn after the manner of the Indians, and their 
 heads and faces painted red, so as hardly to be distinguished from the In- 
 dians themselves. If any dispute arises between two warriors about a 
 prisoner, he is immediately killed to put an end to it."* 
 
 Scalping was in vogue among all tribes of the Indians from the earliest 
 times. This was the only visible evidence which a warrior had to show 
 that he was victorious over an enemy. The Indians not only scalped their 
 white enemies, but also the Indians of other tribes, with whom they came 
 in conflict. It is stated by reliable men, who lived among the Indians 
 and were well acquainted with their habits and customs, that they used to 
 pluck the hair out of their heads except a tuft on the top, to enable them 
 to scalp each other with greater ease and facility. This appears to have 
 been the custom among all tribes in the early history of our country, but 
 the practice has been abandoned by all tribes and they allow their hair to 
 grow the same as the Caucasian race. It was no more difficult to scalp an 
 enemy with a full head of hair than one with a mere tuft, but they said 
 that from a full head of hair an Indiaii might have made several scalps, 
 and pretended to have killed more enemies than he really did. 
 
 MILITARY PROTECTION IN UPPER BERN, UPPER TULPEHOCKEN 
 
 AND BETHEL. 
 
 In order to give the readers some idea of the activity of the soldiers in 
 the northwestern part of the county, it will be necessary to give the jour- 
 nal of the commander at Fort Northkill. It begins June 13th, 1754, and 
 ends on August 31st. It contains an account of what was done every day 
 during this time. Some of the days are omitted in the quotation, because 
 the duties performed were monotonous and contain nothing except an ac- 
 count of their daily scouting and usual work around the fort. The sub- 
 stance might be embodied in fewer words, but the readers would not get so 
 complete an idea of the military operations. 
 
 * Losklel. 
 
50 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Captain Busse, who is frequently mentioned in connection with the forts 
 in Berks and Lebanon, was commander of a miUtary station west of Fort 
 Northkill, which means Fort Henry. There is an occasional mention 
 made of Fort Henry at Tolheo, at Swatara, and may mislead the readers oj 
 the Pennsylvania Archives. Tolheo, or Toliheo, was applied to that sectior 
 of the country, and Fort Henry at Tolheo always referred to the fort ir 
 Bethel Township. 
 
 The commander says in his journal*: "Accordingly I set out from 
 Reading by break of day on the 14th, and arrived at Lieutenant-Colone" 
 Weiser's, where I received orders to march with the company or detach- 
 ment, to Fort Henry, and from there take a detachment of twentj' mer 
 and continue till to Fort on Northkill. Accordingly on the 
 
 15th. In the morning I took the said twenty men from Fort Henry ol 
 the new levies, and marched straitway to the' said fort (Northkill), accom- 
 panied with Captain Busse and Captain Smith. As soon as I arrived, ] 
 gave Ensign Harry (then commander at Fort Northkill), notice of mj 
 orders, and sent off two men immediately to Colonel Weiser with a repon 
 of the condition I found the fort in, and sent him a list of the new levies 
 who were detached from Captain Busse's fort (Henry) with me to this fort. 
 
 16th. Captain Busse and Smith set off about 10 o'clock with a scout o: 
 ten men, which Captain Busse had ordered of his company on the 15th. 
 (Here follows a description of the fort, quoted before). 
 
 17th. I, with a corporal and twenty men, according to orderg from Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Weiser, went a scouting and ranging the woods till to For 
 Lebanon, where we arrived at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. We staid then 
 all night, being not able to scout any farther or return home because of i 
 heavy rain. 
 
 18th. Set off from Fort Lebanon in the morning, being rainy weather 
 and ranged the woods, coming back, as before, with the same number o: 
 men, and arrived at Fort on Northkill about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 19th. Gave orders to Sergeant Peter Smith to scout to Fort Lebanon anc 
 to bring me report the next day of his proceedings. Accordingly he ar 
 rived on the 30th about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and made report that h( 
 had done according to his orders, and that he had made no discoveries 
 Received a letter from Captain Morgan, informing me that he had no news 
 &c. (Captain Morgan was commander of Fort Lebanon). 
 
 20th. Sent off Corporal Shafer to scout as before. 
 
 21st. Minister Shumaker (who was pastor of a Lutheran congregation ii 
 Reading from 1754 to '57), came and preached a sermon to the company 
 The scout arrived from Fort Lebanon. The corporal reported that nothinj 
 strange had come to his knowledge. A scout of Captain Busse' s arrived abou 
 11 o'clock, and returned about 4 toward their fort, but upon the Indiai 
 
 •Penna. Arcb., Vol. 2, pp. 169 to 166. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 51 
 
 alarms, they immediately returned back to my fort and gave me notice ; 
 in the midst of the rain I sent on the first notice Sergeant Smith with 
 eighteen men, and ordered them to divide themselves in two parties. 
 
 23d. Sergeant Smith returned and made a report that he arrived at 
 Dietz's house about 10 o'clock in the night, where they heard a gun go off 
 at Jacob Smith's, about a mile off. They immediately set off again from 
 said Smith's towards the place where the gun went off, and surrounded the 
 house (according to my orders). They searched all the house but found 
 no marks of Indians. From this they marched to Falk's house in the Gap, 
 and surrounded it, but found no Indians. From there they went to the 
 mountain, and arrived there at 2 o'clock in the morning, where Sergeant 
 Smith, according to orders, waylaid the road in two parties, and as soon as 
 it was day went back and buried the man that was killed, to wit : Peter 
 Geisinger, who was shot and killed the day before. At burying him, they 
 heard five guns go off about two miles from said place, '^^'hereupon Sergeant 
 Smith immediately repaired to the place, and divided themselves into two 
 parties. (I have sent off Corporal Shafer with eight men, on the 22d, to 
 their assistance). Sergeant Smith also makes report that this morning 
 about 7 o'clock a girl about 15 years, daughter of Balser Schmidt, was 
 taken prisoner by two Indians, whose tracks they saw and followed, but 
 to no purpose. A party of Captain Busse's company went along from this 
 and remained with my men all the time. Fifteen or sixteen of the inhabi- 
 tants came to me and applied for assistance. I ordered out several de- 
 tachments to assist them. 
 
 June 24. I set off with twenty men from this to Captain Busse's fort, 
 along the mountain, and called at the place where the murder was com- 
 mitted. Went up as far as the gap of the mountain, but as I found no 
 tracks there I thought the Indians would be on this side the mountains, 
 therefore I went up along the mountains without opposition, till to Cap- 
 tain Busse's fort, and as it rained very hard all day and we went far about, 
 we arrived there towards the evening. 
 
 June 25. Set off in the morning with the same number of men, and 
 scoured the woods nearly the same way back again, and arrived towards 
 evening in the fort, being rainy weather. 
 
 June 26. Received in the morning a letter for me, positively not to neg- 
 lect my scouting toward Fort Lebanon. Accordingly immediately called in 
 my detachments. This afternoon a woman, living about one and a-half 
 miles from here, came to the fort and said she had seen an Indian just now 
 in her field, almost naked, and had a gun, but said she did not stay to look 
 long. I immediately sent off Sergeant Smith with two parties, consisting 
 of about twenty men. They searched the place and found nothing, but 
 saw two barefeet tracks. They divided into small parties and scoured the 
 woods till evening and then returned to the fort, and as I had to-day but 
 
52 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 men sufficient to guard the fort, I sent out no scout. This evening intelli 
 gence came to me from the Colonel (Weiser) informing me that he had no 
 tice from Captain Orndt of fifteen going to fall on this settlement or here 
 abouts. He ordered me, therefore, immediately to send notice to Captaii 
 Busse's fort, in order that it might be from th(;re convej'ed to Fort Swatara 
 I did accordingly. 
 
 June 27. Gave orders to Sergeant Smith to go scouting the woods be 
 tween this and Fort Lebanon, and if Captain Morgan thought that it wa 
 serviceable, to range some way up Schuylkill (as that gap is their commoi 
 rendezvous). 
 
 June 28. A scout of Captain Busse arrived in the forenoon and set oi 
 
 again this afternoon. 
 
 UPPEK, BERN. 
 
 June 29. In the evening there came two men to the fort and reporte( 
 that the Indians had invaded about six miles from this about 9 o'clocl 
 this morning. I was somewhat concerned that I had no sooner intelli 
 gence of it. However I immediately sent off twelve men under two cor 
 porals. 
 
 June 30. About noon the two corporals returned and made the follow 
 ing report : That yesterday they could not reach the place, as they weri 
 tired, but staid at a house till nigh break of day and then set off again 
 He did not immediately go to the place where the man, &c. ,• were killed 
 but went somewhat further down towards the Schuylkill, thinking that th( 
 Indians had invaded lower down, but as it was not so he took anothe: 
 route towards the place where the murder was committed, and as he cami 
 there he found the man's wife (Fred Myers), who had been at a plov 
 and shot through both her breasts and was scalped. After that he went t( 
 look for the man, whom they found dead and scalped some way in th( 
 woods. They took a ladder and carried him to his wife, where the neigh 
 bors came and helped to bury them, after which they went towards thi 
 mountain and scouted along the same and arrived here about 4 o'clock ii 
 the afternoon. It is reported by the farmers who saw the deceased a shor 
 while before that he was mowing in his meadow, and that his childrei 
 were about him, which makes them believe that the man, after he hac 
 heard the shot (which killed his wife), went to run off with only th( 
 youngest child in his arms, as the man was shot through his body, and th( 
 child is one and a-half years of age and is scalped, but yet alive, and is pu 
 at a doctor's. The other three, who were with their father, are taken pris 
 oners ; one of them is a boy about ten years old, the other a girl of eigh 
 years, and the other a boy of six years. There was a baby, whom thej 
 found in a ditch, that the watet was just to its mouth. It was lying on itf 
 back crying. It was taken up and is like to do well. A boy of one Reich 
 ard, of eight years, was taken prisoner at the same time. This was al 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 53 
 
 done within half an hour, as some neighbors had been there in that space 
 of time." 
 
 This heart-rending tragedy occurred about a mile and a-half north of 
 Shartlesville, in Upper Bern, on the farm now owned by Frederick Moyer, 
 the grandson of the little child that had such a narrow escape from cruel 
 death. I visited this place on December 19, 1879, and heard Mr. Moyer's 
 account of the massacre as it was handed down by tradition and was sur- 
 prised to find that it coincided in so many particulars with the account 
 given by the commander of Fort Northkill. Frederick Moyer was one of 
 the first settlers in that part of the county. He selected a piece of excel- 
 lent ground, through which flows a stream of crystal water. He and his 
 family were engaged in one of the most honorable and ancient occuj)ations 
 of life, enjoying health and full of bright hopes for the future, the little 
 children frisking around and tossing the new mown grass in their childish 
 merriment, and surrounded as they were by the picturesque scenery of the 
 Blue Mountains and the beauties of nature which are so abundant there, 
 they must have been in the enjoyment of real happiness without any 
 thought of danger,' but suddenly the Indians rushed from the woods and 
 shot the mother, the father picked up the most helpless child, and in his 
 efforts to escape also fell a victim to the barbarity of the Indians. Three 
 young children were dragged into the wilds of the Blue Mountains by men 
 who had murdered their parents, and who would undertake to describe the 
 thoughts, feelings and anxieties of these young prisoners in the hands of 
 men whom they feared and hated so bitterly ? 
 
 Tradition says that the child found in the ditch was scalped and other- 
 wise hurt, and died afterwards. ' 
 
 The child Frederick that was scalped and put to a doctor was also shot 
 through the arm, probably pierced by the bullet that killed the father, but 
 recovered and in due time became the owner of the farm and died at the 
 age of 78 years. The property then came into the possession of his son, 
 Jacob M., and after his death into the possession of his grandson, Fred- 
 erick, who is the present owner. Mr. Moyer informed me that his grand- 
 father died 50 years ago. The traditional date, therefore, agrees precisely 
 with that given by the commander at Fort Northkill. 
 
 The Reichard mentioned in the report belonged to a family living on the 
 farm now owned by Mr. Daniel Berger. Tradition says that the Reichard 
 family was murdered, except one of the boys, whom the Indians had in- 
 tended to take prisoner. Mr. Reichard used to tell his children if the In- 
 dians should come and attempt to take any of them alive they should re- 
 sist to their utmost. This young boy wishing to carry out his father's re- 
 quest, continued to resist, and, when the Indians had brought him as far 
 as to Moyer's, they, irritated by his insubmission, killed him with their 
 tomahawks and scalped him. 
 
54 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 It was also about this time that the Hostetter family was murdered near 
 the forge west of Shartlesville. 
 
 A squad of soldiers were ranging the woods daily between Forts Henry, 
 Northkill and Lebanon, but no Indians were seen for three weeks. On the 
 23d of July the commander of Fort Northkill marched along the mountain 
 as far as to the east side of the Schuylkill, and remained at Fort Lebanon 
 during the night and then says in his journal : 
 
 July 24th. Returned, and as soon as we came over on .this side of the 
 mountain (it being yet earljr in the day), I took quite another route 
 through the woods, but made no discovery, so we arrived at Fort Northkill 
 in the evening. I had not been there one-half an hour before three farmers 
 came and informed me that this morning the Indians had taken, a boy of 
 about 14 years prisoner, but had done no other damage. I immediately sent 
 off a party, but, as it happened, the boj' being taken prisoner in the morning, 
 night came on before my men could get there. 
 
 26th. In the morning I heard that the boy had escaped, and that he 
 made report, and that there were four white men and four Indians with 
 him, and that at night he escaped ; they had tied him and he was obliged 
 to lie between them, but as they all got drunk and fast asleep he untied 
 himself and ran off. He further says that when he was taken prisoner he 
 made a noise, and that they struck him and told him to be silent. I im- 
 agine they saw me with my men go over the day before yesterday. The 
 Indians were this night about the fort, but it was verj' dark, therefore I 
 did not sally out. 
 
 26th. This morning sent out Sergeant Smith with five men to search 
 about the fort for tracks, but he only found one which was in a muddy 
 place. But it being nothing but stones he could not follow the tracks. 
 It rained all day, therefore I could send no scouts. 
 
 Scouts were sent out' every day, but nothing was seen of the Indians for 
 a week. 
 
 August 4th. A scout of Captain Busse arrived and returned the same 
 day. The inhabitants desiring assistance to bring in their harvest, I gave 
 them some men and went scouting, but as I left few men in the fort I re- 
 turned this evening. 
 
 The soldiers often guarded the fields while the farmers took off their 
 grain and hauled it away, because when they were engaged in this work, 
 the Indians could approach them more closely without being observed. 
 
 "7th. This being Sunday, I took a party and went to church, as the 
 church lies near the mountain and the minister could not come without a 
 guard." 
 
 This was undoubtedly the old church half a mile east of Strauss- 
 town. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 55 
 
 8th. The sentry fired at an Indian. The Indian stood behind a bush 
 about 300 yards off; and was viewing the fort. I went off with eighteen 
 men, and parted them in six parties, and went after the Indians, but could 
 not come up with them. Went to clearing aliout the fort, it being thick of 
 bushes. 
 
 9th. Continual clearing and burning bush. 
 
 10th. "Sent off a scouting party who returned and brought no intellir 
 gence. This night the sentry about an hour after dark perceived that a 
 fire, which had been kindled to burn brush, but was before night gone out, 
 began to burn afresh, upon which he called the sergeant of the guard, 
 who, pei-ceiving the same, ordered the guard to fire, on which the Indians 
 ran off. The dogs pursued them and kept barking after them about half 
 a mile. I had the men all under arms, but everything being now quiet, 
 dismissed them, ordering them to be in continual readiness with their ac-, 
 coutrements on. In about an hour the Indians returned and took a fire- 
 brand out of the fire and ran off. They were immediately fired on, but in 
 vain. '■ ' 
 
 "14th. Being Sunday, Minister Shumaker came here and the soldiers 
 being fatigued with continual scouting, there was no scout to-day." 
 
 "20th. Sent a scout of fifteen men to range the woods towards Schuyl- 
 kill, into Windsor Township, and with orders to call in some detachments 
 lying in the said township, according to Lieutenant-Colonel's orders." 
 
 This implies that there was a military station in Windsor Township, but 
 there is no record given of its location, the number of men, or the time 
 they were garrisoned there. 
 
 " 23d. A scout of Captain Busse arrived. The sentry heard the Indians, 
 distinctly whistle this night in the fort words." 
 
 "26th. Ensign Biddle returned from his scout, having been at Captain 
 Morgan's Fort (Lebanon), and thence scouted over the mountains into Al- 
 bany, and thence along the foot of the mountain till here." 
 
 FEAR IN UPPER BERN AND UPPER TULPEHOCKEN. 
 
 For two months and a half the people of Upper Bern and Upper Tulpe- 
 hocken were in constant fear of being murdered. These dreadful times be- 
 gan at and lasted during the busiest season of the year, when the crops 
 were ripe and when the settlers were compelled to gather their harvest or 
 expect to starve before another season for reaping had come. We, who 
 have such an abundance of the necessaries and luxuries of life, cannot 
 realize the dreadful situation in which they were placed. This part of the 
 county was not more exposed than the rest of the frontier, but it must 
 have been the part most convenient for the Indians to commit their depre- 
 dations. During the summer of 1754 nothing occurred in the vicinity 
 of Fort Lebanon or Fort Henry in Bethel. The commanding officers 
 
56 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 may not have kept records and transmitted them to the seat of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 All at once quietness was restored and nothing more is heard of the 
 forts and the soldiers until in the fall of 1755. 
 
 FliOUB, FOB THE INDIANS. 
 
 There were still a few friendly Indians living some distance abovf 
 Shamokin with whom the government still kept up an intercourse. The 
 Governor ordered Conrad Weiser with ten men, at the request of the 
 Indians, to go 45 miles above Shamokin to fence in a field of corn fo: 
 them, but when they came there most of them had deserted the place, be- 
 cause a great frost ha.d destroyed all their corn. Weiser wrote to the Gov- 
 ernor from Heidelberg, June 12, 1765, and said that he left there for the 
 Jndians three sacks of flour, which he had taken for the support of his men, 
 and in the same letter he wrote : I have bought of Christian Laver Lower, 
 a miller of Tulpehocken, 120 bushels of good wheat, and 60 bushels oi 
 Jacob Fisher, his neighbor, to be distributed among the Indians as youi 
 honor will be pleiased to direct. * 
 
 Weiser wrote also to the Governor, Julj^ 9, 1755, from Harris' Ferry, now 
 Harrisburg, ' ' according to your order, I came to this place last Monday 
 and found the Indians waiting for me. Yesterday I distributed about 20C 
 bushels of meal among them, after that was over they inquired how things 
 stood as to the war. I told them what had happened, &c. " f 
 
 Two weeks afterwards he ' ' bought 500 pounds of flour and gave it tc 
 them," at Harris' Ferry, but among the people who remembered the 
 •Indian atrocities of the preceding year, such liberality ceased to be a virtue, 
 if we judge from the concluding sentence of one of Weiser' s letters : " Oui 
 people are very malicious against our Indians ; they curse and damn there 
 to their faces, and say, must we feed you, and your husbands fight in the 
 meantime for the French ?" X The warriors of the friendly Indians above 
 Shamokin had joined the English against the French and belligerent 
 Indians, and the people through the Lebanon Valley mistrusted that these 
 warriors had gone to aid the French, and that they were feeding the wivef 
 and children of their enemies. 
 
 Gen. Braddock, who had come to America to take command of the 
 English army, was defeated and mortally wounded in the battle of Monon 
 gahela, on the 9th day of July, 1755. This defeat of the English so elatec 
 the French and Indians again that a considerable body of Indians begar 
 to move east, and a few months afterwards we find a portion of Berki 
 thrown into the greatest confusion and terror. As far as our records shov 
 tranquility reigned in the county for a year, and the inhabitants may havi 
 had reason to hope that the incursions of the Indians had ceased, but th( 
 
 •Col. Rec , Vol. 6, p. 443. tCol. Eec, Vol. 6, p. 467. tCol. Rec, Vol. 6, p. 493. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 67 
 
 number of them and the murders they committed on their way, soon created 
 a fear in their minds that the worst had not come yet. The massacres of 
 families in Tuscarora, Penn's Creek, and other places along the Susque- 
 hanna, reached the people living on the Tulpehocken in advance of the 
 arrival of the Indians. Flight was impossible, and the thought of having 
 no arms to protect theinselves, and the inability of the government to fur- 
 nish them, threw them into a state of desperation. There is no better way 
 to present the state of affairs and the perturbation of the people than by 
 quoting a num.ber of letters written by men who were eye-witnesses. A 
 few of them are rather lengthy, but they contain such a pathetic descrip- 
 tion of the state of affairs in Tulpehocken that any abridgement would fail 
 to convey the idea so completely as the letters written by men who were 
 prominent leaders in the defense against the Indians. 
 
 The first letter * that contains any positive information of the coming of 
 the Indians, was written by Conrad Weiser to James Read, of Reading. 
 It was written in Heidelberg, Sunday night, 11 o'clock, October 26th, 
 1755. Mr. "Weiser received intelligence of the approach of the Indians 
 about 10 o'clock that evening, and immediately sent out men to give the 
 alarm through the neighboring townships and to call a meeting early at 
 Peter Spicker's. Peter Spicker lived in the upper part of Stouchsburg, in 
 the house now owned by Dr. I. W. Newcomet. The meeting was an- 
 nounced to be held at Peter Spicker's, but JMr. Weiser' s letter, written the 
 next day, reports that the meeting was held at Benjamin Spicker's, about 
 one mile north of Stouchsburg. James Read sent a messenger to Philadel- 
 phia at 6 o'clock in the morning of the 27th of October to apprise the Gov- 
 ernor of the approaching crisis. 
 
 James Read was Prothonotary,- Register, Recorder, Clerk of the Orphans' 
 Court and Clerk of the Quarter Sessions of Berks County, from 1752 until 
 1775, and Jonas Seely was Treasurer from 1752 until 1768. He Avas also 
 one of the Judges from 1752 until 1766. 
 
 The following letter, written to Governor Morris, shows how the people 
 rallied to defend themselves : 
 
 Reading, October 30, 1755. 
 
 May it Please Your Honor : — Since the date of my last letter, which 
 I sent by express, by Sammy Weiser, dated last Sunday evening, 5 o'clock, 
 and about 11 o'clock the same night, I sent a letter to Mr. Read in this 
 town, who forwarded it to your honor, by the same opportunity. 
 
 The following account of what has happened since, I thought it was 
 proper to lay before your Honor, to wit : — after I had received the news 
 that Pax ton people above Hunter's Mills had been murdered, I imme- 
 diately sent my servants to alarm the neighborhood. The people came to 
 my house by the break of day. I informed them of the melancholy news, 
 
 "Col. Rec, Vol. 6, p. 650. 
 
58 THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 and how I came by it, &c. They unanimously agreed to stand by on( 
 another, and march to meet the enemy, if I would go with them. I tolc 
 them that I Avould not only myself accompany them, but my sons, anc 
 servants should also go. They put themselves under my direction. I gav( 
 them orders to go home and get their arms, whether guns, swords, pitch 
 forks, axes, or whatever might be of use against the enemy, and to brin| 
 with them three days' provision in their knapsacks, and to meet me a' 
 Benjamin Spicker's, at three of the clock that afternoon, about six milef 
 above my house, in Tulpehocken Township, where I had sent word foj 
 Tulpehocken people also to meet. 
 
 I immediately mounted my horse, and went up to Benjamin Spicker's, 
 where I found about one hundred persons, who had met before I cam( 
 there ; and after I had informed them of the intelligence, that I had prom- 
 ised to go with them as a common soldier, and be commanded by sue! 
 officers, and leading men, whatever they might call them, as they should 
 choose, they unamiously agreed to join the Heidelberg people, and accord- 
 ingly they went home to fetch their arms and provisions for three days, 
 and came again at three o'clock. All this was punctually performed, anc 
 about two hundred were at Benjamin Spicker's at two o'clock. 
 
 I made the necessary disposition, and the people were divided into com- 
 panies of thirty men in each company, and they chose their own officers 
 that is, a captain over each company, and three inferior officers undei 
 each, to take care of ten men, and lead them on, or fire as the captair 
 should direct. 
 
 I sent privately for ^Ir. Kurtz, the Lutheran minister, who lived aboui 
 a mile off, who came and gave an exhortation to the men, and made i 
 prayer suitable to the time. Then we marched toward Susquehanna, hav 
 ing first sent about fifty men to Tolheo, in order to possess themselves of the 
 gaps or narrows of Swatara, where he expected the enemy would com( 
 through ; with those fifty I sent a letter to Mr. Parsons, who happened t( 
 be at his plantation. 
 
 We marched about ten miles that evening. Mj' company had now in 
 creased to upwards of three hundred men, mostly well armed, thougl 
 about twenty had nothing but axes and pitchforks. All unanimousb 
 agreed to die together, and engage the enemy wherever they should mee 
 them, never to inquire the number, but fight them, and so obstruct thei 
 way of marching further into the inhabited parts, till others of our brethrei 
 come up and do the same, and so save the lives of our wives and children 
 
 The night we made the first halt, the powder and lead was brought uj 
 from Reading (I had sent for it early in the morning), and I ordered i 
 to the care of the officers, and to divide it among those that wanted i 
 most. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERK8 COUNTY. PA. 59 
 
 On the 28th, by daybreak, we marched ; our company increasing all 
 along. We arrived at Adam Read's, Esq., in Hanover Township (Leba- 
 non County), at about 10 o'clock. There we stopped and rested until the 
 rest came up. 
 
 (Here the letter says that Mr. Read received intelligence from the Sus- 
 quehanna that a party of forty men went to John Penn's Creek, thence to 
 Shamokin, and on their return they were fired upon by the Indians in 
 ambush and that "twenty-six of them were missing and not heard of as 
 yet last Monday.") 
 
 Upon this we had a consultation, and as we did not come up to serve as 
 guards to the Paxton people, but to fight the enemy, if they were come so 
 far, as we first heard, we thought best to return and take care of our own 
 townships. 
 
 After I had given the necessary caution to the people to hold themselves- 
 in readiness, as the enemy was certainly in the county, to keep their arms 
 in good order, and so on, and then discharge them — and we marched back, 
 with the approbation of Mr. Read. By the way, we were alarmed by a 
 report that five hundred Indians had come over the mountain at Tolheo to 
 this side, and had already killed a number of people. We stopped and 
 sent a few men to discover the enemy, but, on their return, proved to be a 
 false alarm, occasioned by that company that I had sent that way the day 
 before, whose guns getting wet, they fired them off, which was the cause 
 of alarm. This not only had alarmed the company, but the whole town- 
 ships through which they marched. I, going back I met messengers from 
 other townships about Conestoga, who came for intelligence, and to ask 
 me where their assistance was necessary, promising that they would come 
 to the place where I should direct. 
 
 I met also at Tulpehocken about one hundred men well-armed, as to 
 firearms, ready to follow me ; so that there were in the whole about five 
 hundred men in arms that day, all marching up towards Susquehanna. I 
 and Mr. Adam Read counted those who were with me. ^^'e found them 
 three hundred and twenty. 
 
 I cannot send any further account, being uncommonly fatigued. I 
 should not forget, however, to inform your Honor that Mr. Read has en- 
 gaged to keep proper persons riding between his house and Susquehanna, 
 and if anything material shall occur he will send me tidings to Heidelberg 
 or to Reading, which I shall take care to dispatch to you. I find that 
 great trouble has been taken at Reading to get the people together, and 
 nearly two hundred were here yesterday morning ; but upon hearing that 
 the people attending me were discharged, the people from the country went 
 off without consulting what should be done for the future, through the in- 
 discretion of a person who was with them and wanted to go home, and 
 near the town they met a large company coming up and gave such accounts 
 
60 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 as occasioned their turning back. I think most of the inhabitants would 
 do their duty, but without some miUtary regulations we shall never be 
 able to defend the province. 
 
 I am sure we are in great danger, and by an enemy that can travel as 
 Indians we may be surprised when it would be impossible to collect any 
 number of men together to defend themselves, and then the country would 
 be laid waste. I am quite tired and must say no more than that.* 
 I am your Honor's most obedient servant, 
 
 Conrad Weiser. 
 
 Conrad ^A'eiser sent an express to William Parsons, who, it appears, was 
 in Lebanon County to take command of about one hundred men near the 
 foot of the mountain in the Shamokin road. This was unmistakably in 
 Bethel Township, north of Millersburg, because the direct road from Tul- 
 pehocken to Shamokin was through Bethel. One-half of the men had no 
 ammunition. Parsons ordered all to go ovef' the mountain and erect a 
 breastwork at the upper gap of the Swatara, and that those who had no 
 powder and lead should take axes. He then continues in a letter dated 
 October 31, 1755 : "I promised them to go to Tulpehocken, and provide 
 powder and lead, and a sufficient quantity of lead to be sent immediately 
 after them. But they went no further than to the top of the mountain, 
 and there those that had ammunition spent most of it in shooting up into 
 the air, and then returned back again, firing all the way, to the great terror 
 of all the inhabitants thereabout, and this was the case with almost all the 
 others, being about 500 in different parts of the neighborhood ; there was 
 another company who came from the lower part of Bern Township, as far 
 as Mr. Freme's Manor. So that when I came to Tulpehocken I found the 
 people there more alarmed than they were near the mountain. For when 
 they saw me come alone they were overjoyed, having heard that we were 
 all destroyed, and that the enemy were just at their backs, ready to destroy 
 them. At Tulpehocken there was no lead to be had ; all that could be 
 had from Reading was taken to Pextang. I, therefore, sent an express over 
 to Lancaster to Mr. Shippen that evening, desiring him to send me some 
 lead. He sent me seven pounds, being all that the town people were 
 willing to part with, as they were themselves under great apprehensions. 
 I also procured 20 pounds of powder, papered up in one-quarter pounds, and 
 ordered out a quantity of bread near the mountains, but when I returned 
 home I learned that my people had given over the pursuit, in the manner 
 above mentioned. I have since distributed a good deal of the powder and 
 lead, and the bread I ordered to the poor people who are removing from their 
 settlements on the other side of the mountain, from whence the people have 
 been removing all this week. It is impossible to describe the confusion 
 and distress of those unhappy people. Our roads are continually full of 
 
 *Col. Rec , Vol. 6, pp. 666-659. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 61 
 
 travellers. Those on the other side, of the men, women and children, 
 most of them barefooted, have been obliged to cross those terrible momi- 
 tains with what little they could bring with them in so long a journey 
 through ways almost impassable to get to the inhabitants on this side. 
 While those who live on this side near the mountain are removing their 
 effects to Tulpehocken. Those at Tulpehocken are removing to Reading, 
 and many at Reading are moving nearer to Philadelphia, and some of 
 them quite to Philadelphia. This is the present unhappy situation of 
 Pennsylvania. ' ' * 
 
 The unnecessary waste of powder and lead to which Parsons refers in his 
 letter, was in one respect very imprudent and in another worse than foolish, 
 because it threw the people of Tulpehocken into indescribable fear, and 
 wasted- their ammunition which was almost exhausted. Seven pounds of 
 lead and twenty pounds of powder would be insufficient for a company of 
 one hundred men even in an insignificant skirmish, and much more so in 
 a battle with the Indians. 
 
 October 31, 1755. 
 
 To the Rev. Kurtz and all other friends : 
 
 This morning very early, between four and five o'clock, Adam Read, an 
 inhabitant over the first mountain, about six miles from Lawrence Hout's, 
 who lives on this side of the mountain, came to my house and declared 
 that yesterday, between 11 and 12 o'clock, he heard three guns fired toward 
 the plantation of his neighbor, Henry Hartman, which made him suspect 
 that something more than ordinary had happened there, whereupon he 
 took his gun and went over to Hartman' s house, being about a quarter of 
 a mile off, and found him lying dead upon his face ; his head was scalped ; 
 but saw nobody else. He thereupon made the best of his way through the 
 woods to the inhabitants on this side of the mountain to inform them of 
 what had happened. 
 
 He further informs me, he had been to Adam Read's, Esq., and related 
 the whole of the affair to him, and that Read is raising men to go over the 
 mountain in quest of the murderers. 
 
 I am your very humble servant and most hearty friend, 
 
 Wm. Parsons. 
 
 Pa. Archives, Vol., 2, p. 257. 
 
 William Parsons wrote a letter to Adam Read about the same murder . 
 from Stony Kiln (Stony Kill or Stony Creek), a small stream in Lebanon 
 
 County : ^^ ,, , ., ^„^^ 
 
 Stony Kiln, November 1, lYoo. 
 
 Sib :— I wrote yesterday that I intended to be with you at the unhappy 
 place where Henry Hartman was murdered, but when I got to the top of 
 the mountain I met some men who said they had seen two men lying dead 
 
 *Fenna. Arch., Vol. 2, p. 443. 
 
62 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 and scalped in the Shamokin road, about two or three miles from the plac 
 where we were, wherefore we altered our course, being twenty-six in num 
 ber, and went to the place and found the two men lying dead, about thre 
 hundred yards from each other, and all the skin scalped off their heads; 
 
 We got a grubbing hoe and a spade and dug a grave as well as we could 
 the ground being very stony, and buried them both in one grave, withou 
 taking off their clothes or examining at all their wounds ; only we sai 
 that a bullet had gone through the leg of one of them. I thought it bet 
 to bury them, to prevent their bodies from being torn to pieces by wil 
 beasts. One of them had a daughter with him that is yet missing. 
 
 I shall be obliged to return home in a day or two, but hope to see yo' 
 some time about Christmas, and to find my unhappy countrymen some 
 what relieved from this distressed condition. I can't help thinking that i 
 would be well for a good number of the inhabitants to go next Monda 
 and help to bring the poor people's grain and corn to this side of the moun 
 tain. It will help to maintain them, which we must do if they can't mair 
 tain themselves ; and 'tis very likely those barbarous Indians will set fir 
 to and burn all, if it be not soon secured. 
 
 I am, sir, your very humble servant, 
 
 William PARSoisrs. 
 
 Pa. Arch., Vol. 2, p. 258. 
 
 TULPEHOCKEN AND BETHEL. 
 
 The government was in as close a communication with its officers as : 
 \s_as possible to be' in a time when telegraphs, railroads, and even fas 
 horses w.ere unknown, and in consequence of a want of better facilities fc 
 sending news rapidly it is evident that many persons were murdered i 
 the county, of which no report was received, at least none was kept. . 
 few papers were published in Philadelphia during the French and India 
 War, and contain some information not found in the records of the goverr 
 ment. Had a paper heen published in Reading at the time many in: 
 portant incidents that never reached Philadelphia would undoubtedly hav 
 been preserved, and would throw much light upon a part of our historj 
 now enveloped in darkness. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Gazette of November 20, 1755, contains a very intei 
 esting article describing a number of shocking murders not mentioned b 
 Weiser and Parsons. The article is a deposition taken in the city of Reac 
 ing, and, being so near the scene of the tragedy, is sufficient evidence of tl: 
 truthfulness of it. 
 ' ' Berks County, Pennsylvania, ss : 
 
 .Jacob Morgan, a captain in Col. Weiser' s regiment, being sworn on th 
 Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, doth depose and say, that on Sunday 
 the 16th of November, 1755, at about 5 o'clock, p. m., he, the deponen 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. h:! 
 
 Mr. Philip Weiser and Mr. Peter Weiser, set out from Heidelberg towards 
 Dietrich Six's, to get intelligence of the mischief done at Tolheo, or there- 
 abouts, and to get a number of men to join them to go and seek for the 
 persons scalped by the Indians ; and to help in the best manner they could 
 the poor distressed inhabitants. That about nine miles from Mr. Weiser' s 
 they found a girl about six years old, scalped, but yet alive, and a vast 
 number of people there ; but he knows not at whose house it was, nor the 
 name of the child. 
 
 That at the request of the people there Mr. Weiser' s son and deponent 
 went back to Mr. W^eiser's for powder and lead. That at or about two 
 o'clock yesterday morning they were alarmed at Mr. Weiser' s with an ac- 
 count that the Indians had beset George Dollinger's house and his family 
 were fled ; whereupon Philip Weiser and the deponent, and a person whose 
 name deponent does not know, set off immediately, and at Christopher 
 Weiser's overtook a large company, consisting of about one hundred men, 
 and with them proceeded to George Dollinger's and surrounded his house, 
 where they found a good deal of damage done, and in the garden, a child 
 about eight yearu old, daughter of one Cola, lying dead and scalped, which 
 they buried. 
 
 That the whole company went on to a plantation of Abraham Sneider 
 and found in a cornfield the wife of Cola and a child about eight or nine 
 years old, both dead and scalped, and in the house they found another 
 child of the said Cola's about ten years old, dead and scalped ; but the de- 
 ponent knows not of what sex either of these two children was. That 
 while they were preparing the grave they were alarmed by the firing of a 
 gun, and flying to their arms, they went (a few staying to take care of the 
 dead) to the place from whence the sound came, and about half a mile from 
 the place they came from they met the company, one of whom had indis- 
 creetly discharged his musket, and then went back to bury the dead ; on 
 their return they found the scalp of a white person. That having buried 
 the woman and children, they went to Thomas Bower's, in whose house 
 they found a dead man, scalped, whose name the deponent thinks was 
 Philip, by trade a shoemaker, but knows no more of him. 
 
 That the company increased fast, and were now about one hundred and 
 thirty men, who marched on the Shamokin road to near Dietrich Six's ; 
 about half a mile from whose house they found Casper Spring dead and 
 scalped, and having buried him, they marched about one hundred rods 
 and found one Beslinger dead and scalped. They buried him. That at the 
 same distance from Beslinger' s they found an Indian man dead and scalped, 
 which Indian, it was generally believed, was a Delaware. Mr. Frederick 
 Weiser scalped him the day before. 
 
 That twenty of their body, who had gone a little out of the road, about 
 two miles from Dietrich Six's, found (as the deponent and the rest of the 
 
64 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 company were informed, and as he believes without any doubt) a child o: 
 Jacob Wolf — he cannot say whether a boy or girl — which was scalped ! Iti 
 age the deponent does not know, but the father carried it in his arms to b( 
 buried, as they were informed. That the deponent was informed by Mr 
 Frederick '^^'eiser that a company, with whom he had been the day before, 
 had buried John Leinberger and Rudolph Candel, whom they founc 
 scalped. 
 
 That the deponent and company finding no more scalped or wounded, 
 they returned, being then, by the continual arrival of fresh persons, abou 
 three hundred men, to George Bollinger's. That Casper Spring's brains 
 were beat out ; had two cuts in his breast ; was shot in his back an4 other 
 wise cruelly used, which regard to decency forbids mentioning ;. and tha 
 Beslinger's brains were beat out, his mouth much mangled, one of his eyei 
 cut out and one of his ears gashed, and had two knives lying on his breast. 
 That the whole country thereabouts desert their inhabitations and senc 
 away all their household goods. The horses and cattle are in the corn- 
 fields and everything in the utmost disorder and the people quite despair. 
 And further, that he heard of much mischief done by burning houses and 
 barns ; but not having been where it was reported to have been done, h( 
 chooses not to have any particulars thereof inserted in his deposition. 
 
 James Morgan. 
 
 Sworn at Reading, the 18th of November, 1755, before us, 
 
 Jonas Seely, 
 Henry Harry, 
 James Read. 
 
 Besides the persons mentioned in the above deposition, one Sebastiar 
 Brosius was murdered and scalped, whose scalp was brought to Philadel- 
 phia at the beginning of this week, having been taken from an Indian. " * 
 
 EVENTFUL CRISIS. 
 
 Governor Morris in a message to the council, November 3, 1755, said 
 "This invasion was what we had the greatest reason to believe would b( 
 the consequence of Gen. Braddock's defeat and the retreat of the regulai 
 troops, and had my hands been properly strengthened, I should have pu1 
 this province into such a posture of defense as might have prevented th« 
 mischiefs that have since happened." 
 
 "It seem clear from the different accounts I have received that the 
 French have gained to their interest the Delawares and Shawanese Indiana 
 under the ensnaring pretence of restoring them to their country, their in- 
 timate knowledge of which will make them dangerous enemies to the col- 
 onies in general, and to this in particular." f 
 
 * Rupp's, p. oi. tCol. Rec, Vol. 6, p. 671. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 65 
 
 General Braddock came from England in February, 1755, to take com- 
 mand of the army against the French and Indians. Ignorant of the man- 
 ner in which the Indians carried on their war, he gave his subordinate of- 
 ficers direction, when George Washington, who was then a little over 
 twenty-three years of age, and conversant with the military tactics of the 
 Indians, advised Braddock to pursue a different course. But General 
 Braddock occupied the highest position in the army, and could not deign 
 to accept and follow the advice of one of his aids. Braddock carried out his 
 plan, the Indians lying in ambush as prophesied by Washington, fired upon 
 his men unexpectedly, routed them and wounded him mortally. With no 
 obstacles in their way the Indians moved east, destroyed settlements, mur- 
 dered fafnilies, carried away helpless women and children and subjected 
 them to trials and sufferings, in comparison to which a blow with the toma- 
 hawk would have been acceptable. There is no room to doubt but that if 
 Washington's counsel had been heeded, instead of the indescribable suffer- 
 ing among the people in the northern and northwestern parts of the 
 county, there Avould have been the profoundest peace, the greatest happi- 
 ness and prosperity. 
 
 WANT OF PATRIOTISM. 
 
 The people were threatened with the most cruel suffering, and yet Con- 
 rad Weiser, with all his energy and perseverance, could not rally all who 
 were able to bear arms and whom self-protection and a sense of honor and 
 patriotism should have impelled to resist the incursions of the Indians 
 with all means in their power. Weiser wrote in one of his letters, Novem- 
 ber 2d, 1755 : " My son Peter came up this morning from Reading, at the 
 head of about fifteen men, in order to accompany me over the hills. I 
 shall let him go with the rest ; had we but good regulations, with God's 
 help we could stand at our places of abode, but if the people fail (which I 
 am afraid they will, because some go, some won't, some mock, some plead 
 religion, and a great number of cowards), I shall think of mine and my 
 family's preservation and quit my place, if I can get none to stand by me 
 to defend my own house. But I hope you will excuse this hurry, I have 
 no clerk now, and had no rest these several days nor nights hardly. ' ' * 
 TULPEHOCKEN AND BETHEL. 
 
 Honored Sie : — On my return from Philadelphia, I met in Amity Town- 
 ship, Berks County, the first news of our cruel enemy having invaded the 
 county this side of the Blue Mountains, to wit : Bethel and Tulpehocken. 
 I left the papers as they were in the messenger's hands, and hastening to 
 Reading, where the alarm and confusion was very great, I was obliged to 
 stay that night and part of the next day, to wit : the 17th inst., and set out 
 for Heidelberg, where I arrived that evening. Soon after my sons, Philip 
 and Frederick, arrived from the pursuit of the Indians, and gave me the 
 
 • Penna. Archives, Vol. 2, p. 433. 
 
'Q(^ THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 following relation : That on last Saturday, about four o'clock in the after- 
 noon, as some men from Tulpehocken were going to Dietrich Six's place, 
 under the hills on the Shamokin road, to be on the watch appointed there, 
 the}- were fired upon by the Indians, but none hurt nor killed (our people 
 were but six in number, the rest being behind), upon which our people 
 ran towards the watch-house, which was one-half of a mile off, and the 
 Indians pursued them, and killed and scalped several of them. A bold, 
 stout Indian came up to one Christopher Ury, who turned about and shot 
 the Indian right through his breast. The Indian dropped down dead, but 
 was dragged out of the way by his own companions. (He was found next 
 day and scalped by our people). The Indians divided themselves into 
 tvvro parties. Some came this way, to meet the rest that were going to the 
 watch, and killed some of them, so that six of our men were killed that 
 day and a few wounded. The night following the enemy attacked the 
 house of Thomas Brown, on the Swatara Creek. They came to the house 
 in the dark night, and one of them put his fire-arm through the windaw 
 and shot a shoemaker that was at work dead on the spot. The people be- 
 ing extremely surprised at this sudden attack, defended themselves by firing 
 out of the windows at the Indians. The fire alarmed a neighbor who came 
 with two or three more men. They fired by the way and made a great 
 noise, scared the Indians away from Bower's house, after they had set fire 
 to it, but by Thomas Bower's diligence and conduct it was timely put out 
 again. So Thomas Bower, with his family, went off that night to his 
 neighbor, Daniel Schneider, who came to his assistance. By eight o'clock 
 parties came up from Tulpehocken and Heidelberg. The first party saw 
 four Indians running off. They had some prisoners, whom they scalped 
 iinmediately ; three children they scalped yet alive, one died since, the 
 other two are likely to do well. Another party found a woman just ex- 
 pired, with a male child on her side, both killed and scalped : the woman 
 lay upon her face ; ray son Frederick turned her about, to see who she 
 might have been, and to his and his companions' surprise they found a 
 babe about fourteen days old under her, wrapped up in a little cushion, 
 his nose quite flat, which was set right by Frederick, and life was yet in it,' 
 and it recovered again. Our people came up with two parties of Indians 
 that day, but they hardly got sight of them. The Indians ran off imme- 
 diately. Either our people did not care to fight them, if they could avoid 
 it, or (which is more likely), the Indians were alarmed first by the loud 
 noise of our people's coming, because no order was observed. Upon the 
 whole, there were fifteen of our people killed, including men, women and 
 children, and the enemy not beat, but scared off. Several houses and 
 barns are burned. I have no true account how many. We are in a dismal 
 situation. Some of' these murders have been committed in Tulpehocken 
 Township. The people left their plantations to within six or seven miles 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 67 
 
 from the house. I am now busy putting things in order, to defend my 
 house against another attack. Guns and ammunition are very much 
 wanted here. My sons have been obliged to part with mbst of that which 
 was sent up for the use of the Indians. I pray your Honor will be pleased, 
 if it is in your power, to send us up a quantity upon any condition. I 
 must stand my ground, or my neighbors will go away and leave their hab- 
 itations to be destroyed by the enemy or our own people. This is enough 
 of such melancholy account for this time. I beg leave to conclude, who 
 am, sir, Your very obedient 
 
 Conrad Weiser. 
 
 Heidelberg, Berks Co., November 19, 1755. 
 
 P. S. — I am creditably informed just now that one Wolff, a single man, 
 killed an Indian at the same when Ury killed the other, but the body is 
 not found yet. The poor young man since died of his wound through his 
 belly. * 
 To Governor Morris: 
 
 May it please the Governor : — That night after my arrival from Philadel- 
 phia, Emanuel Carpenter and Simon Adam Kuhn, JjSqs., came to my 
 house and lodged with me. They acquainted me that a meeting was ap- 
 pointed (of the pople of Tulpehocken, Heidelberg, and adjacent places) in 
 Tulpehocken Township, at Benjamin Spicker's, early next morning. I 
 made all haste with the Indians I could, and gave them a letter to Thomas 
 McKee, to furnish them with necessaries for their journey. Scarujade had 
 no creature to ride on. I gave him one. Before I could get done with 
 the Indians, three or four men came from Benjamin Spicker's to warn the 
 Indians not to go that way, for the people were so enraged against all the 
 Indians, and would kill them without distinction. I went with them, as 
 also the gentlemen before named. When we came near Benjamin Spicker's 
 I saw about for or five hundred men, and there was a loud noise. I rode 
 before, and in riding along the road fand armed men on both sides of the 
 road), I heard some say, " why must we be killed by the Indians and we 
 not kill them ? Why are our hands so tied ? " I got the Indians to the 
 house with much, ado, when I treated them with a small dram, and so 
 parted with them in love and friendship. Captain Difeffenbach undertook 
 to conduct them (with five other men) to the Susquehanna. After this 
 a, sort of a council of war was held by the officers present, the gentlemen 
 before named and other freeholders. It was agreed that 150 men should 
 be raised immediately, to serve as out scouts, and as guards at certain 
 places under the Kittatinny Hills for forty days. That those so raised to 
 have two shillings per day, and two pounds of bread, two pounds of beef 
 and a gill of rum, and powder and lead. Arms they must find themselves.. 
 This scheme was signed by a good many freeholders and read to the peo- 
 
 *Penna. Archives, Vol, 2, p. 503. 
 
68 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 
 
 pie. They cried out that so much for an Indian scalp they would have 
 (be they friends or enemies) from the Governor. I told them I'had nc 
 such power from the Governor or assembly. They began some to curs( 
 the Governor ; some the assembly ; called me a traitor to the country, wh( 
 held with the Indians, and must have known this murder beforehand. I 
 sat in the house at a low window. Some of my friends came to pull m( 
 away from it, telling me that some of the people threatened to shoot me. 
 I offered to go out to the people and either pacify them or make the King's 
 proclamation. But thos^ in the house with me would not let me go out. 
 The cry was : The land was betrayed and sold. The common people fron 
 Lancaster County were the worst. The wages, they said, were a trifle, anc 
 said somebody pocketed the rest, and they would resent it. Somebody 
 has put it into their heads that I had it in my power to give as much as 1 
 pleased. I was in danger of being shot to death. In the meantime i 
 great smoke arose under the Tulpehocken Mountain, with the news follow 
 ing that the Indians had committed murder on Mill Creek (a false alarm^ 
 and set fire to a barn. Most of the people ran, and those that had horsei 
 rode off without any order or regulation. I then took my horse and wen 
 home, where I intended to stay and defend my own house as long as 1 
 could. There is no doings with the people without a law or regulation bj 
 Governor and assembly. The people of Tulpehocken have all fled ; til 
 about six or seven miles from me some few remain. Another such attacl 
 will lay all the country waste on the west side of the Schuylkill. I am, 
 sir,* Your most obedient, 
 
 Conrad Weiser. 
 
 Heidelberg, Berks County, Nov. 19, 1755. 
 
 The following letter from Peter Spioker, written in Stouchsburg, to Con^ 
 rad Weiser, who was in Philadelphia seeking aid from the government, de 
 scribes the desolate condition of Tulpehocken and Bethel : 
 
 Tulpehocken, Nov. 16, 1755. 
 Conrad Weiser, Esq. : 
 
 John Anspack and Frederick Read came to me and told me the miser- 
 able circumstances of the people murdered this side of the mountain yes 
 terday. The Indians attacked the watch, killed and wounded him a 
 Dietrich Six's, and in that neighborhood a great many in that night. This 
 morning our people went out to see ; came about ten o'clock in the morn 
 ing to Thomas Bower's house, finding a man dead, killed with a gun-shot 
 Soon we heard a firing of guns ; running to that place and found four In 
 dians sitting on children scalping ; three of the children are dead ; two arc 
 alive ; the scalps are taken off ; hereafter we went to the watch-house o: 
 Dietrich Six, where the Indians first attacked, finding six dead bodies, fou: 
 of them scalped ; about a mile this side of the watch-house as we wen 
 
 • Penna. Archives, Vol. 2, p. 504. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 69 
 
 back the Indians set fire to a stable and barn, where they burned the corn, 
 cows and other creatures, where we found seven Indians, five in the house 
 eating their dinner and drinking rum which was in the liouse, and two 
 outside the house ; we fired to them but in vain ; the Indians burned four 
 plantations more than the above account told me. Peter Anspack, Jacob 
 Caderman, Christopher Noacre. Leonard Walborn, told me in the same 
 manner ; George DoUinger and Adam Dieffenbach sent me word in the 
 same manner. 
 
 Now we are in a great danger to lose our lives or estates. Pray, there- 
 fore, for help, or else whole Tulpehocken will be ruined by the Indians iii 
 a short time, and all buildings will be burned down and the people scalped. 
 Therefore you will do all haste to get people together to assist us. The as- 
 sembly can see by this work how good and fine friends the Indians are to 
 us. We hope their eyes will go open and their hearts tender to us, and the 
 Governor's the same, if they are true subjects to our King George the Sec- 
 ond, of Great Britain, or are willing to deliver us into the hands of these 
 miserable creatures. I am your friend, 
 
 Peter Spicker. 
 
 N. B. — The people are fled to us from the hills. Peter Kryger and John 
 ^^^eiser are the last. 
 
 The following letter, * written by Edward Biddle, of Reading, to his 
 father in Philadelphia, expresses the perturbed state of feeling in the city of 
 Reading. There is no date attached to it, but it is supposed to have been 
 written on the 16th of November : 
 
 My Dearest Father : — I am in so much horror and confusion I scarcely 
 know what I am writing. The drum is beating to arms and bells ringing 
 and all the people under arms. Within these two hours we have had dif- 
 ferent though too certain accounts all corroborating each other, and this 
 moment is an express arrived, dispatched by Michael Reis, at Tulpehocken, 
 eighteen miles above this town, who left about thirty of their people en- 
 gaged with about an equal number of Indians at the said Reis'. This 
 night we expect an attack ; truly alarming is our situation. The people 
 exclaim against the Quakers, and some are scarcely restrained from burn- 
 ing the houses of those few who are in this town. Oh; my country ! my 
 bleeding country ! I commend myself to the divine God of armies. Give 
 my dutiful love to my dearest mother, and my best love to brother 
 
 Jemmy. 
 
 I am, honored sir, your most affectionate and obedient son, 
 
 E. Biddle. 
 
 Sunday, 1 o'clock. I have rather lessened than exaggerated our melan- 
 choly account. 
 
 * Col. Rec, Vol. 6, p.' 705. 
 
70 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Address to' Governor Morris, November- 24, 1755: 
 
 Honored Sir : — We, the subscribers hereof, being met together to thin); 
 on means to withstand our cruel enemy, thought fit to acquaint your honoi 
 of the miserable condition the back inhabitants of these parts are in. 
 
 First. Since the last cruel murder committed by the enemy, most of th( 
 people of Tulpehocken have left their habitation ; those in Heidelberj 
 moved their effects ; Bethel Township is entirely deserted. 
 
 Second. There is no order among the people ; one cries one thing, anc 
 another another thing. They want to force us to make a law that the) 
 should have a reward for every Indian which they kill ; they demand such 
 a law of us, with their guns cocked, pointing it towards us. 
 
 Third. The people are so incensed, not only against our cruel enemy, th( 
 Indians, but also (we beg leave to inform your honor) against the Gov 
 ernor and assembly, that we are afraid they will go down in a body t( 
 Philadelphia and commit the vilest outrages. They say they will rathei 
 be hanged than to be butchered by the Indians, as some of their neighbors 
 have been lately, and the poverty that some are in is very great. 
 
 Fourth. Yesterday we sent out about seventy men to the mountains t( 
 take possession of several houses and to range the woods along the moun 
 tain in Berks County, on the west side of Schuylkill. The same numbe: 
 are sent to the back part of Lancaster County. We promised them tw{ 
 shillings per day, two pounds of bread, two pounds of beef, and a gill o 
 rum a day, and ammunition, and that for forty days, or till we shal 
 receive your honor's order. We persuade ourselves your honor will no 
 leave us in the lurch ; we must have done such a thing or else leave ou: 
 habitation, if no worse ; and all this would not do. We and others of th( 
 freeholders have been obliged to promise them a reward of four pistols fo: 
 every enemy Indian man that they should kill. Many things more w( 
 could mention, but we don't care to trouble your honor any farther, do. 
 therefore, conclude and beg leave to subscribe for ourselves. 
 Honored sir, your very humble servants, 
 
 Conrad Weiser, 
 Emanuel Carpenter, 
 Adam Simon Ruhm. 
 
 P. S. — I cannot forbear to acquaint your Honor of a certain circumstanci 
 
 of the late unhappy fair : One Kobe], with his wife and eight chil 
 
 dren, the eldest about fourteen years and the youngest fourteen days, wa 
 flying before the enemy, he carrying one, and his wife a boy, another o 
 thp children, when they were fired upon by two Indians very nigh, bu 
 hit only the man upon his breast, though not dangerously. They, thi 
 Indians, then came with their tomahawks, knocked the woman down, bu 
 not dead. They intended to kill the man, but his gun (though out o 
 order, so that he could not fire) kept them ofT. The woman recovered s( 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 71 
 
 far, and seated herself upon a stump, with her babe in her arms, and gave 
 it suck ; and the Indians driving the children together, and spoke to them 
 in high Dutch, be still, we won't hurt you. Then they struck a hatchet 
 into the woman's head, and she fell upon her face with hor babe under 
 her, and the Indian trod on her neck and tore off the scalp. The chil- 
 dren then ran ; four of them were scalped, among which was a girl of 
 eleven years of age, who related the whole story ; of the scalped, two are 
 alive and like to do well. The rest of the children ran into the bushes and 
 the Indians after them, but our people coming near to them, and halloed 
 and made a noise. The Indians ran and the rest of the children were 
 saved. They ran within a yard by a woman that lay behind an old log, 
 with two children ; there were about seven or eight of the enemy.* 
 
 I am, honored sir, your obedient. 
 
 Cone AD Weiser. 
 FEAR AT READING. 
 
 The. Indians continued to move onward gradually and many of the 
 settlers retreated in time to esca.pe with their lives while the others lingered 
 until they were overtaken and murdered. Thus far the Indians had not 
 come far on this side of the Blue Mountains, though by their barbarity 
 they had so terrified the people in the northwestern section of the county, 
 that it was almost entirely deserted at this time, and had so affected the 
 city of Reading that Conrad Weiser wrote from Reading, December 13th, 
 1755,. that " the people of this town and county are in very great conster- 
 nation. Most of this town are but day laborers, and, owing money, are 
 about to leave it. They have nothing at all wherewith to support their 
 families. All trade is stopped, and they can get no employment, and un- 
 less the government takes about thirty or forty of them into pay to guard 
 this town, they must go off and the rest will think themselves unsafe to 
 stay, and the back inhabitants will have no place of securit}' left for their 
 wives and children, when they are out either against their enemy, or tak- 
 ing care of their plantations and cattle, and when things should come to 
 extremity. I have signed a recommendation for a captain's commission 
 to John Lesher in Oley. "f 
 
 BERN. 
 
 The fear and terror into which the people of the county were thrown are 
 almost indescribable. Christian Sauer, in his Penwylvanische Nachtrichten, 
 says, in his issue of December 16, 1755, that at five places in Bern Town- 
 ship, which then extended to the Blue Mountains, one hundred men were 
 stationed to prevent the Indians from making incursions upon the settle- 
 ments along the Schuylkill and Tulpehocken. About fifty refugees from 
 the upper part of the county were then in Reading and provided with the 
 necessaries of life at the expense of the government. 
 
 *Penna.Arcliives, Vol. 2, p. 6!.". fCol. Rec, Vol. C, p. 760. 
 
72 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 TULPEHOCKEN. 
 
 The same paper publishes a report from Tulpehocken, December 2, in 
 which it is stated that a volunteer party of fifty men were constantly mov- 
 ing along the Blue Mountains to guard the lower settlements and at night 
 they lodged in four appointed places. These were undoubtedly Forts Die- 
 trich Six and Northkill and two other buildings well secured against the 
 attack of the Indians. The fear had also spread to Lancaster County, so 
 that about a hundred volunteers banded together in the townships con- 
 tiguous to Berks. Fear gradually subsided for the tintib being and some of 
 the refugees returned to their homes, but left their best furniture at Tulpe- 
 hocken. Those whose furniture was destroyed, both from the north and 
 south of the Blue Mountains, still remained at Tulpehockeri. 
 
 The jMennonites of Lancaster brought several wagon loads of flour, meat, 
 clothing, &c. A wagon load was at once distributed, but the poor were so 
 numerous, and many of them had scarcely any clothing, that the portion 
 that was allotted to a family was a meagre one. The man who sent a re- 
 port of the condition of the poor at Tulpehocken to Philadelphia had a list 
 of thirty poor families, some of whom have six and eight children and no 
 clothing except what they had on when they fled from their homes. A 
 boy that had been shot and a child that had been scalped were dead. 
 Another child and a man shot in the heel were critically ill. An inclement 
 season of the year, a scarcity of the necessaries and comforts of life, the fear 
 of further disturbance and more than an ordinary degree of sickness, caused 
 an amount of misery and disquietude which no person of the present day 
 can imagine or realize. 
 
 GOVEBNOB, MORRIS IN READING. 
 
 The continued depredations and massacres committed by the Indians 
 had so alarmed the civil authorities of the state that Governor Morris came 
 to Reading and wrote a letter to the Provincial Council on January 1, 1756, 
 giving a report of the military force along the frontier and also his views 
 in regard to the most effectual measures to be taken to subdue the Indians. 
 
 Robert Strettell, a member of council, wrote to the Governor while he 
 was in Reading, that, " as the main body of the Indians seem to lie and 
 have their headquarters on the borders of Northampton and Berks Counties, 
 and to be making their grand j)ush for gaining the possession of that hilly, 
 broken country so thinly settled, and full of thick swamps and places best 
 adapted for their purposes of securely, sheltering themselves and annoying 
 us to the greatest advantage, we conceive that your Honor will order some 
 of them immediately into these parts ; but that we submit to your better 
 judgment and direction."* 
 
 *Col. Rec, Vol. 6, p 773, 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 78 
 
 The government acted entirely on the defensive. It did not pursue the 
 Indians to their towns to lay them in ashes and murder their ^vomen and 
 children, but " at a meeting of the board of commissioners for the 1 lying 
 out of sixty thousand pounds for the use of the king," held April 9, 1756, 
 they proposed to the Governor that he should offer "for the scalp of every 
 male Indian of above ten years old $130, and for the scalp of every Indian 
 woman $50."* 
 
 When the Governor was in Reading, almost on the theater of these cold- 
 blooded massacres, and had become more fully acquainted with the horrors 
 of Indian warfare, he became convinced that the policy, hitherto pursued, 
 of merely defending themselves against the Indians, was provoking them 
 to commit greater cruelties rather than to appease their minds to desist 
 from making their inroads into the county, which kept the people in a 
 state of constant fear. 
 
 After the Governor had made all the observations he desired, in the 
 vicinity of Reading, he went to Carlisle, from which place he wrote to the 
 council, January 20th, that a company of Regulars had arrived from New 
 York, and " when I was at Reading I consulted with the members of the 
 council and commissioners in what manner these troops might be disposed 
 of as most effectually to contribute to the defense of the province, and the)'- 
 advised me to put the Independents at the town of Easton, in the County 
 of Northampton, and the Grenadiers at the town of Reading, in the County 
 of Berks, where quarters will be provided for them. ' ' f Captain Jocelyn 
 was commanded to carry out this order. Their rations were " three pounds 
 of pork, three pounds of beef, one pound of fish and ten pounds and a half 
 of bread or meal per week, one gill of rum per day." 
 
 Governor Morris returned again to Reading on the twenty-sixth of Janu- 
 ary, and gave various orders to Conrad Weiser and the commanders of the 
 forts along the northern border to prepare for a more active defense against 
 the Indians. There is nothing mentioned about Fort Northkill for over a 
 year, and no disturbances took place there during that time. It is prob- 
 able that the fort had been abandoned and had gone to ruin, because the 
 Grovernor in his orders to Captain Morgan, ' ' posted at a fort in the forks 
 of the Schuylkill," says : "You are, as soon as possible, to march with a 
 •detachment of thirty men of your company to some convenient place about 
 
 half-way between Fort Lebanon and Port , at the gap of Tolehaio 
 
 (Swatara), where you are to erect a stuccado fort of the form and dimen- 
 fiiions given." J: Fort Northkill was midway between the Schuylkill and 
 the Swatara Gap, and is known to have been rebuilt, though not on pre- 
 cisely the same place. 
 
 •Penna. Archives, Vol, i, p. 619. tCoI. Rec, Vol. 6, p. •(74. i Penna. Archives, Vol. 2, p. 555. 
 
74 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ALBANY. 
 
 Valentine Probst, who lived in Albany T-ownship, in the vicinity of Wess- 
 nersville, wrote to Jacob Levant in Maxatawny : 
 
 Febkuary 15, 175G. 
 
 Mr. Levan : — I cannot omit writing about the dreadful circumstances in 
 our township, Albany. The Indians came yesterday morning about eight 
 o'clock, to Frecjerick Reichelderfer's house, as he was feeding his horses, 
 and two of the Indians ran upon. him, and followed him into a field ten or 
 twelve perches off ; b\it he escaped and ran toward Jacob Gerhard's house, 
 with a design to fetch some arms. When he came near Gerhard's he heard 
 a lamentable cry, "Lord Jesus ! Lord Jesus ! " — which made him run back 
 toward his own house ; but before he got quite home, he saw his house- 
 and stable in flames ; and heard the cattle bellowing and thereupon ran. 
 away again. 
 
 Two of his children were shot ; one of them was found dead in his field, 
 the other was found alive and brought to Hakenbrook's house, but died 
 three hours after. All his grain and cattle are burned up. At Jacob Ger- 
 hard's they have killed one man, two women and six children. Two chil- 
 dren slipped under the bed ; one of which was burned ; the other escaped 
 and ran a mile to get to the people. We desire help, or we must leave our- 
 homes.* Yours, 
 
 Valentine Probst. 
 
 The following pathetic description of the murder of Reichelderfer's family- 
 is from the pen of the Patriarch Muhlenberg : 
 
 "In New Hanover (Montgomery County) I had confirmed two growni 
 daughters of Frederick Eeichelderfer. This man subsequently bought ax 
 tract of forest land near the Blue Mountains, which he cultivated success- 
 fully, with much toil and great sacrifice, to enable him to support his; 
 family. But fearing the Indians, who scouted the regions, sacking, burn- 
 ing, and murdering, he removed his family back to New Hanover, whilst 
 he journeyed to and fro, to attend to his place. In the month of March, after- 
 he and his daughters had threshed out his wheat, on a Friday morning,, 
 they suddenly felt an uncomfortable presentiment of fear. , Entering upon 
 their evening devotions, they joined in singing the old hymn, ' Wer weiz 
 wie nahe mir mein Ende. ' Committing themselves to God they retired. On 
 the following Saturday morning, as the father had gone upon the open field 
 to bring in his horses, and on the eve of starting for home, he was sur- 
 rounded by Indians From sudden fright, in view of his great peril, he 
 could neither utter a cry, nor move a limb. As the savages were within 
 twenty paces, he turned his thoughts to God, and was enabled to cry :. 
 ' Jesus ! I live by Thee ! Jesus ! I die in Thee ! ' In the moment of this 
 
 »Kupp's History of Berks, p. 58. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 75 
 
 exclamation, he felt himself at once endowed with a superhuman energy^ 
 in virtue of which he turned, became swift-footed as a deer, and winged 
 like the ostrich. He escaped from their sight, and reached his home ; but,, 
 -aljffi ! his hut lay in ashes ; the cattle were bellowing in a sheet of flame ; 
 his eldest daughter lay a crisp, and the younger, partly alive, scalped and 
 horribly mutilated, had barely strength to relate the harrowing circum- 
 stances, and to impress a dying kiss upon the distracted brow of her father 
 bending over her."* 
 
 Mr. Levan, in a letter to James Read and Jonas Seely, of Reading, says : 
 "When I had got ready to go with my neighbors from Maxatawny, to see 
 ■what damage was done in Albany, three men that had seen the shocking 
 affair came and told me that eleven were killed, eight of them were 
 burned, and the other three men found dead out of the fire. An old man 
 was scalped, the two others, little girls, were not scalped, "f 
 
 The Gerhart murder was committed on the farm now owned by George 
 Bolich, in the extreme northwestern part of Albany Township. I, in com- 
 pany with Mr. W. H. Grim, of Hamburg, visited Mr. Bolich, November 
 19th, 1879, and heard him relate this murder as it was handed down by 
 tradition, which agrees in many particulars with the preceding account 
 given by Valentine Probst. A house was built upon the spot where the 
 house stood in which the Gerhart family was burned. This antiquated 
 building, bearing date 1755, was demolished by Mr. Bolich in 1875, and 
 a very handsome dwelling was erected in its stead. There is an error of 
 one year in the date of tlie house, and this may have occurred in one of 
 two ways. The date may have been put on the building some years after 
 its erection, and by a man who was not thoroughly posted in dates, or the 
 date might have been partly effaced, and replaced more recently when 
 the figures could not be deciphered with certainty. 
 
 Mr. Bolich says that the account given by the old people in Albany, 
 is that while the whole family was in the house, quietly enjoying the com- 
 forts of a rural home in the wilderness of Albany in the month of Feb- 
 ruary, an iinusual noise was heard in the vicinity of the house. Nothing 
 was known of the presence of the Indians or of any other person, until 
 they heard a suspicious noise which excited their fears at once that a sad 
 fate was awaiting them. Mr. jGerhart, solicitous about the safety of his 
 beloved family, quietly opened the door and peeped out but saw no one. 
 He quietly stepped outside of the door to make a closer inspection of his 
 premises, when a concealed Indian shot him and he fell dead at the door. 
 The women dragged Mr. Gerhart into the house. The Indians knowing 
 that the head of the family was killed, had less to fear, approached the 
 house and set it on fire. The women and children knew that a horrible 
 death was staring them in the face — that they must either be burned alive 
 
 * Dr. Weiser's Life of Conrad Weiser, p. 404. t Rupp's History of Berks, p. .58. 
 
76 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 <jC leave the house and submit to a death fully as revolting. They cho& 
 the first alternative. A boy of about twelve years of age, whose hai 
 had already been burned, oflf his head, and had seen suffering among hi 
 mother, little brothers and sisters, which no pen or human tongue can por 
 tray, jumped out of a window on a side of the house opposite the Indians 
 He ran to a family over a small hill south of this place to give the alarm 
 iDut when assistance came the house was consumed by the flames and th 
 Indians had made their escape. It makes the heart of a civilized mai 
 shudder to think that men have been burned at the stake for real or imagi 
 nary offences, but the burning of a family circle of innocent women anc 
 ■children alive, is horrible enough to chill the blood of a misanthrope. 
 
 This attack again so alarmed the settlers that some of them move( 
 further south to places of greater security. The Pennsylvania Gazette o 
 April 1st, 1756, says that on the twenty-fourth of March, 1756, "tw( 
 "wagons went up from Hereford to Allemaengel to bring down a famib 
 ■with their effects ; and as they were returning, about three miles belov 
 ■George Ziesloff's, were fired upon by a number of Indians from both sidei 
 •of the roads, upon which the wagoners left their wagons and ran into thi 
 woods, and the horses, frightened at the firing and terrible yelling of thi 
 Indians, ran down the hill and broke one of the wagons to pieces. Tha 
 the enemy killed George Ziesloff and his wife, a lad of twenty, a boy o 
 twelve, also a girl of fourteen years old, four of whom they scalped. Tha 
 another girl was shot in the neck, and through the mouth and scalped 
 notwithstanding all this she got off. That a boy was stabbed in thre( 
 places, but the wounds were not thought to be mortal. That they killec 
 two of the horses and five are missing with which it is thought the Indiani 
 •carried off the most valuable goods that were in the wagons."* 
 
 We hear from Reading that three miles from Fort Lebanon, at thi 
 Schuylkill, the Indians came to Peter Conrad's house. He and anothe 
 man in the house resolved to defend themselves. The Indians kept them 
 selves concealed and shot whenever they saw a person. This lasted thre( 
 hours. In the meantime Peter Conrad sent his hired man to the tort t( 
 €aptain Morgan for help. No man came because they did not know hov 
 many Indians there were. He sent again and asked for only five men 
 At last several neighbors came. An Indian crept into the mill aside o 
 the water wheel and set the mill on fire. Then they fled to the mountainf 
 -and yelled joyfully. When Captain Morgan heard that there were onlj 
 four, he sent a party after them but could not find them. They killec 
 the wife of Balzer Neytong and shot David Hand through the arm anc 
 took a boy eight years old captive. Not far from the place they burned i 
 
 *Kupp's History of Berks, p. 133. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 77 
 
 sniall house. Small bones and a skull were found in the ashes and it was- 
 supposed that they burned the boy.* 
 
 "On the 24th of March, the house of Peter Kluck, about fourteen 
 miles from Reading, was set on fire by the savages and the whole family 
 killed ; while the flames were still ascending, the Indians assaulted the 
 house of one Linderman, in which there were two men and a woman, all 
 of whom ran up stairs, where the woman was shot dead through the roof. 
 The men then ran out of the house to engage the Indians, when Linder- 
 man was shot in the neck and the other through the jacket. Upon this- 
 Linderman ran towards the Indians, two of whom only were seen, and 
 shot one of them in the back, when he fled and he and his companion 
 scalped him and brought away his gun and knife, "f This information 
 is obtained from a German paper published in Philadelphia by C. Sauer 
 during the time of the troubles with the Indians. 
 
 The report of the preceding massacres is not definite with regard to the 
 locality, but it is very probable that they occurred within the limits of 
 Albany. 
 
 Sauer, in one of his papers, after giving a description of the murder of 
 the Ziesloff family, says, "at the same time the Indians carried off a young 
 lad, named John Shoep, about nine years old, whom they took by night 
 seven miles beyond the Blue Mountains ; but where, according to the lad,, 
 the Indians kindled a fire, tied him to a tree, and took off his shoes and 
 put moccasins on his feet, that they prepared themselves some mush but 
 gave him none. After supper they marched on further. The same- 
 Indians took him and another lad between them, and went beyond the- 
 second mountain ; having gone six times through streams of water, and 
 always carried him across. The second evening they again struck up fire,. 
 took off his moccasins, and gave him a blanket to cover himself ; but at 
 midnight when all the Indians were fast asleep, he made his escape and 
 at daybreak had traveled about six miles. He passed on that day, some- 
 times wading streams neck deep, in the direction of the Blue Mountains. 
 That night he staid in the woods. The next day, exhausted and hungry, 
 he arrived by noon at Uly Meyer's plantation, where Charles Folk's con,- 
 pany lay, where they wished him to remain till he had regained strength, 
 when they would have conducted him to his father. He was accordingly 
 
 sent home. ' ' X 
 
 HEBEFOBD. 
 
 The lower parts of the county were disturbed very little by the Indians- 
 They would not, in their marauding expeditions, go any distance into a 
 country settled by the white people where it might be possible to intercept 
 their retreat. In March, 1756, they ventured as far south as Hereford, 
 
 »Rupp's History of Berks, p. 123. + Kupp's History of Berks, p. 59. { Rupp's History of 
 Berks, p. 61. 
 
78 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 and this is the only instance on record of Indian disturbances in the lowe 
 part of the county during the French and Indian War. The Pennsylvani; 
 Gazette says "that on the 22d of that month (March) one John Kraushe 
 and his wife and William Zeth and his boy, about twelve year^iold, wen 
 to their place to find their cattle, and on their return were fired upon b; 
 five Indians, who had hid themselves about ten perches from the road 
 -when Zeth was mortally wounded in the back ; Krausher's wife was foun( 
 ■dead and scalped and had three cuts in her right arm with a tomahawk 
 Krausher made his escape and the boy was carried off by the enemy."* 
 
 Lieut. Spearing, who commanded the New York Regulars, stationed a 
 Reading, left this place in the early part of May, 1756. 
 
 FORTS. 
 
 In June, 1756, James Young, "commissary general of ye musters, " wa 
 sent "to examine into the state and condition of the forts, arms, ammuni 
 tion, provisions, blankets, accoutrements, tools and other stock and thing 
 belonging to his majesty or the province," and give an exact account anc 
 report of them to the Governor. He rendered his report July 2, 1756 
 Since it is impossible to abridge the report and give the whole substance 
 it will be best to quote that part of the journal which relates to the forti 
 of Berks County to show what means the people had to defend themselves 
 
 Reading, June 19. — At 11 o'clock in the morning I came to Reading, 
 .sent an express to Lieuteiiant-Colonel Weiser to acquaint him of my in 
 tended journey to the northern frontier, that I inclined to muster the com 
 pany here, and that I should want some men to escort me to the next fort 
 Ammunition at Reading : 25 good muskets, 25 muskets want repairs, 1; 
 broken muskets, 9 cartouch boxes, 250 pounds, of powder and 600 poundi 
 of lead. 
 
 At 6 P. M. Col. Weiser came here. I mustered his company that ii 
 posted for a guard to this place. They consist of thirty men, viz. : tw( 
 .sergeants and twenty-eight private soldiers ; two of them were absent a 
 Col. Weiser' s house. 
 
 FoET NoRTHKiLL. — June 20, at 2 P. M., I set out from Reading, escortec 
 by five men of the town, on horseback, for the fort at Northkill. At hal 
 past 6 we came to the fort. It is about nineteen miles from Reading, th( 
 road very hilly and thick of woods. When I came here the sergeant, wh( 
 is commander, was absent and gone to the next plantation, half a mile ofF 
 but soon came when he had intelligence I was there. He told me he hac 
 fourteen men posted with him, all detached from Captain Morgan's com 
 pany at Fort Lebanon. Five of them were absent, by his leave, viz. : tw( 
 he had let go to Reading for three days, one he had let go to his owr 
 house, ten miles off, and two more this afternoon, a few miles from th( 
 
 * Rupps History of Berks, p. 60. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 79 
 
 iort, on their own business. There were but eight men and the sergeant 
 on duty. I am of opinion there ought to be a commissioned officer here, 
 as the sergeant does not do his duty, nor are the men under proper com- 
 mand for want of a superior officer ; the woods are not cleared above forty 
 yards from the fort. I gave orders to cut all down for two hundred yards. 
 I inquired the reason there was so little powder and lead here. The ser- 
 geant told me he had repeatedly requested more of Captain Morgan, but to 
 no purpose. Provisions here : flour and rum for four weeks. Mr. Seely, 
 of Reading, sends the officer money to purchase meal as they want it. 
 Provincial arms and ammunition at Northkill Port, viz. : eight good mus- 
 kets, four rounds of powder and lead per man, fifteen blankets and three 
 axes. 
 
 June 21. At eight o'clock A. M., Captain Busse, from Fort Henry, came 
 here with eight men on horseback ; he expected to meet Conrad Weiser 
 here, in order to proceed to the several forts on the northern frontier ; but 
 Colonel Weiser wrote him that other business prevented him, and desired 
 Captain Busse to proceed with me and return him an account how he 
 found the forts, with the quantity of ammunition and stores in each, of 
 which I was very glad, as the escort on horseback would expedite our 
 journey very much and be much safer. 
 
 Fort Lebanon. — Accordingly, we set out for Fort Lebanon ; all the way 
 from Northkill to Lebanon is an exceedingly bad road, very stony and 
 mountainous. About six miles from Northkill we crossed the North 
 Mountain, where we met Captain Morgan's lieutenant with ten men, 
 ranging the woods between the mountains and Fort Lebanon ; we passed 
 two plantations, the rest of the country is chiefly barren hills ; at noon we 
 came to Fort Lebanon, which is situated on a plain — on one side is a plan- 
 tation, on the other a barren, pretty clear of woods all round, only a few 
 trees, about fifty yards from the fort, which I desired might be cut down. 
 This fort is a square of about one hundred feet, well stockaded with good 
 bastions, on one of which is a good wall piece, within is a good guard 
 house for the people, and two other large houses built by the country peo- 
 ple who have taken refuge here, in all sixty families. The fort is a little 
 too much crowded on that account. I acquainted Captain Morgan that the 
 sergeant at Northkill did not do his duty, and I believed it would be for 
 the good of the service to have a commanding officer there, on which he 
 ordered his lieutenant, with two men, to go and take post there, and sent 
 with him four pounds of powder and ten pounds of lead. Provincial 
 arms and ammunition : 28 good muskets, 10 wanting repair, 9 rounds of 
 powder and lead, 4 pounds of powder, 24 pounds of lead, 30 cartouch 
 boxes, 40 blankets, 1 axe, 1 wall piece. 
 
 By Captain Morgan's journal, it appears he sends a party to range the 
 woods four or five timeg a week and guard the inhalpitants at their labor. 
 
80 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 At 1 P. M. I mustered the people and examined the certificates of enlist- 
 ments which appear in the muster roll, after which I ordered the men tc 
 fire at a mark ; 15 of 28 hit within two feet of the centre, and at the dis- 
 tance of 80 yards. Provisions here: Flour and rum for a month; th( 
 commissary sends them money to purchase meal as they want it. 
 
 Fort above Alleminga (Albany). — At one-half past three P. M. we sei 
 out with the former escort and two of Captain Morgan's company for the 
 fort above Alleminga, commanded by Lieutenant Engle. Provincial stores 
 28 good muskets, 8 wanting repair, 16 cartouch boxes, 8 pounds of powder. 
 
 24 pounds of lead and 12 rounds for 36 men, 36 blankets, 1 axe, 1 adz, ] 
 auger, 2 planes, 1 hammer, 2 shovels, 9 small tin kettles. 
 
 June 22. At 6 A. M. I ordered the people to fire at a mark ; not above 
 4 in 25 hit the tree at the distance of 85 yards ; at 7 mustered them, found 
 
 25 present, 2 sick, 2 absent on furlough, 2 sent to Reading with a prisoner, 
 and 5 at Fort Allen on duly. Provisions : One cask of beef, exceedinglj 
 bad, flour and rum for three weeks. 
 
 BETHEL. 
 
 "The editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette oi June 24, 1756, says: Wc 
 have advices from Fort Henry, in Berks Count}', that two children of one 
 Lawrence Dieppel, who lives about two miles from said fort, are missinj 
 and are thought to be carried off' by the Indians, as one of tbeir hats has 
 been found and several Indian tracks seen. In relation to this statement 
 the editor says, in the first of July number : We learn that one of Law 
 rence Dieppel' s children, mentioned in our last to be carried off, has heei 
 found cruelly murdered and scalped, a boy about four years old ; and tha 
 the other, also a boy, eight years old, was still missing." * 
 
 SOLDIERS PROTECT THE FARMERS. 
 
 In the beginning of July Captain Morgan received instruction fron 
 Colonel Weiser, by the authority of Governor Morris, that he should dis 
 tribute some of his company along the mountains to protect the farmer 
 while they were reaping their grain and storing it awaj'. In order tha 
 this agricultural work might be performed with safety^ "six men were ti 
 range from the little fort on Northkill, westward to Emerich's, and sta; 
 there if the people unite to work together in their harvest, six men ti 
 range eastward on the same footing, eight men to stay in that fort, fifteei 
 men are to stay in Fort Lebanon, eight men to protect the people over th 
 hill in harvest time, ten men to range constantly eastward or westward 
 and, if the people return to their plantations thereabouts, to protect thos 
 first that join together to do their work." f 
 
 * Rupp's History of Berks, p. 63. -|- Penna. Arcbives, Vol. 2, p C9C. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 81 
 
 TREATY AT EASTON. 
 
 During the war there were messengers sent by the Governor to the chiefs 
 of the Indians, and the Indians sent representatives of their tribes to Phila- 
 delphia or some place midway between Philadelphia and the council fires 
 of the Indians. One of the most important treaties or conferences held 
 since the commencement of the war, was held at Easton in the latter part 
 of July, 1756. Teedyuscung, with fourteen other chiefs, was present, and 
 said he was an ambassador appointed by ten nations, and authorized to 
 treat with the Governor of Pennsylvania. . In attempting to palliate the 
 breach of former treaties and the numerous massacres of settlers upon lands 
 bought of them, he assured the Governor that the " present clouds " owe 
 their origin to the custom of their ancestors of having a "multitude of 
 kings." He made strong professions of friendship, deplored the hostile 
 feelings between the white people and the Indians, and said that all the 
 harm inflicted upon the white people was done by the French Indians liv- 
 ing on the Ohio. After they had " dined " with the Governor, had fared 
 well at the expense of the government for a week, and received a large 
 quantity of presents, they took ' ' some of that good tobacco that the Six 
 Nations put into our pipe, ' ' and all parties smoked the pipe in turn, and 
 according to their custom a lasting peace and friendship should have been 
 established, but the fumes and odor of " that good tobacco " had scarcely 
 disappeared when the Indians again fell upon the settlements of Berks, 
 burned their buildings and cattle, lurked behind the thickets and shot men 
 at work in their fields, and scalped women and children alive, and cap- 
 tured others, many of whom were subjected to great hardships and cruel 
 sufferings. 
 
 Letter from Colonel Weiser to Governor Denny : 
 
 Honored Sir : — Last night about 10 o'clock I received the melancholy 
 news that the enemy Indians had again made an invasion in Berks County, 
 and killed and scalped two married women, and a lad of fourteen years of 
 age, and wounded two children of about four years old, and carried off two 
 more ; one of the wounded is scalped and like to die, and the other has 
 two cuts on her forehead, given her by an Indian boy, in order to scalp 
 her, but did not, there being eight men of Fort Henry posted in two differ- 
 ent neighbors' houses, about one and a-half miles off ; when they heard 
 the noise of the guns firing they made towards it, but came too late. 
 
 The people are moving away, leaving their barns full of grain behind 
 them, and there is a lamentable cry among them. It is with subrnission a 
 very hard case, that so many men are taken away to protect Shamokin (a 
 wilderness), and the inhabited part be without it. I have ordered eighteen 
 
82 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 men out of the town guard of Reading to reinforce Fort Henry immedi 
 ately, of which I hope your honor will approve. + ***** 
 I am, honored sir, your very obedient, 
 
 COKRAD WeISER. 
 
 Heidelberg, Berks County, October 19, 1756. 
 
 TULPEHOCKEN, NOW STOUCHSBUB.G. 
 
 Rev. John Nicholas Kurtz, pastor of the Lutheran Church near Stouchs 
 burg, in Marion Township, wrote to Rev. Melchoir Muhlenberg, of Nev 
 Hanover, Montgomery County,^ July 5th, 1767, that on the morning of th< 
 day seven persons — three men and four children — who had been murderec 
 and scalped Iiy the Indians, were buried there. The names of the parties 
 are not given. The corpses were brought to the church on Sunday evening 
 but they were placed in the church over night, and the funeral was no 
 held until the next day. 
 
 FORT NORTHKILL 
 
 The following letter from Lieutenant Humphreys, commander of th( 
 fort, to Colonel Weiser, shows that the government did not keep a garrisor 
 in the fort sufficient to protect the people within a mile of the fort, and 
 that the farmers found the Indians too numerous to battle with them. 
 
 Fort above Northkill, November 14, 1756. 
 
 May it please the Colonel : — Yesterday we were alarmed by a num 
 ber of Indians who came and took a child away. Immediately upon hear 
 ing the news, I, with nine men, went in pursuit of them, leaving a num- 
 ber of farmers to guard the fort till we should return. But we found noth- 
 ing till this morning ; we went out again ; and, in our return to the fort, 
 we were apprised of them bj' the firing of several guns, when I ordered 
 my men to make what speed they could. We ran till we were almost oui 
 of breath, and, upon finding Nicholas Long's house attacked by the In- 
 dians, the farmers who were with us to the number of twenty, deserted and 
 fled, leaving the soldiers to fight. We stood in battle with them for sev- 
 eral minutes till there were about sixty guns discharged, and at length w( 
 put the Indians to flight. 
 
 We have one man wounded, and my coat was shot through in foui 
 places. The number of the Indians was twenty. Our number at firsi 
 was twenty-four. But they all deserted and fled except seven. Two old 
 men were killed before we came, one of whom was scalped. Ten womer 
 and children were in the cellar and the house was on fire ; but we extin- 
 guished it and brought the women and children to the fort. I desire th( 
 Colonelto send me a reinforcement, for the men solemnly say they wil 
 not go out with the farmers, as they deserted in the battle and never fired 
 a gun. The Indians cried the halloo during the battle. 
 
 {Col. Eec, Vol. 7, p. 303. 
 
THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 83 
 
 We have one of their guns and a blanket which had two holes with a 
 
 bullet in it, and is bloody. The Indians had all red hats and red blankets. 
 
 Sir, this in distress (wanting a reinforcement). 
 
 From yours to command, 
 
 Samuel Humphreys. 
 ALBANY. 
 
 On the same day a party of Indians committed depredations on the east 
 side of the Schuylkill. No particular locality is named, but the distance 
 from Port Lebanon points out Albany as the scene. Jacob Morgan, com- 
 mander of Port Lebanon, wrote to Governor Denny, November 4, 1756 : 
 "Yesterday morning at break of day one of the neighbors discovered a fire 
 at a distance from him ; he went to the top of another mountain to take a 
 better observation, and made a full discovery of the fire, and supposed it 
 to be about seven miles off, at the house of John Fincher ; he came and 
 informed me of it ; I immediately detached a party of ten men (we being 
 about 22 men in the. fort) to the place where they saw the fire, at the said 
 Fincher's house, it being nigh Schuylkill, and the men anxious to see the 
 enemy, if there, they ran through the water and the bushes to the fire, 
 where, to their disappointment, they saw none of them, but the house, 
 barn, and other out-houses all in flames, together with a considerable 
 amount of corn ; they saw a great many tracks and followed them, arid 
 came back to the house of Philip Culmore, thinking to send from thence to 
 alarm the other inhabitants to be on their guard, but instead of that found 
 the said Culmore' s wife and daughter and son-inlaw all just killed and 
 scalped ; there is likewise missing out of the same house Martin Fell's 
 wife and child about one year old, and another boy about seven years of 
 age, the said Martin Fell was he that was killed, it was just done when the 
 scouts came there, and thej- seeing the scouts ran off. The scouts divided 
 in two parties, one to some other houses nigh at hand, and the other to the 
 fort (it being within a mile of the fort) to inform me. I immediately 
 went out with the scout again (and left in the fort no more than six men), 
 but could not make any discovery, but brought all the families to the fort, 
 where now I believe there are upward of sixty women and children that are 
 fled here for refuge. ' ' * 
 
 The Indians made their appearance again in Albany Township in No- 
 A'ember, 1756, and carried off the wife and three children of Adam Burns, 
 The youngest, child was only four weeks old. 
 
 "On Sunday evening, the 28th of November, 1756, three Indians came to 
 the house of a certain man named Schlosser, in Allemangel, and knocked at 
 the door ; the people within called who is there. Answer, was made, a 
 good friend ; they within not opening the door, they knocked again ; they 
 within asked who is there ; no answer being made from without, then one 
 
 •Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 30. 
 
84 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 
 
 of the men named Stonebrook looked out of the window, when an Indiar 
 discharged a gun and killed him on the spot. ■ They then opened the door 
 the woman and two children endeavored to escape, and the Indians pur 
 sued and took both the children. One of the men fired at the Indians anc 
 saw one of them fall, when one of the girls he had possession of made he; 
 escape from him, but the other they took away. The Indian that wai 
 fired at and fell cried out very much, but in a short time he got up anc 
 made off."* 
 
 For nearly six months there was no disturbance in the county. The 
 first murder that occurred in 1757 was that of a boy who "was killed anc 
 scalped on the borders of Berks County, and another dangerously wounded 
 who made his escape and declared he saw but two Indians. ' ' f 
 
 BETHEL. 
 
 Peter Gersinger was shot and scalped about the middle of June, 1757 
 while plowing in a field. The place of this murder is not named, but th( 
 report of it seeips to point to Bethel. 
 
 ALBANY. 
 
 The government had discussed the propriety of moving Fort Franklir 
 south of the Blue Mountains, and a ■ ' considerable way into Albany Town- 
 ship." When this report reached the ears of the people, a petition, signec 
 by " all the inhabitants of Berks County within four miles of and abou 
 Fort Franklin, over the Blue Mountains, was sent to the council in Phila 
 delphia, asking that the fort should be rebuilt on the old site, otherwise 
 their lives and property would be in danger and they would be obliged t( 
 desert their plantations and would become a burden to the inhabitants or 
 the south of the mountains. ' ' X 
 
 Reading, June 2oth, 1757. 
 
 Last night Jacob Levan, Esq., of Maxatawny, came to see me, anc 
 showed me a letter of the 22d inst., from Lieutenant Engel, dated in Al 
 lemangel, by which he advised Mr. Levan of the murder of one Adan 
 Trump, in AUemangel, by Indians that evening, and that they had taker 
 Trump's wife and his son, a lad of nineteen years, prisoners ; butthewomai 
 escaped, though upon her flying she was so closely pursued by one of thi 
 Indians (of which there were seven) that he threw his tomahawk at her 
 and cut her badly in the neck, but 'tis hoped not dangerously. Thii 
 murder happened in as great a thunder storm as has happened for twent] 
 years past ; which extended itself over a great part ^of this and Northamp 
 ton Counties — for I found much mischief done, as I came from Easton 
 Northampton County, to this town, the length of fifty-two miles — the da^ 
 before yesterday, and which I hear has broken down the dams of sever 
 forges and six grist mills on Maxatawny Creek, chiefly in this county, the 
 the rest in' Philadelphia County. 
 
 *Penna, Archives, Vol 3, p. 7?. tPenna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. n. {Penna. Archives, Vol. 3 
 p. 1536. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 85 
 
 Mr. Levari told me that at the same time that the Indians did the mis- ' 
 
 chief in AUemangel, another party killed and scalped a man near Port 
 
 Henry, in this county, and the next day carried off a young woman from 
 
 the same neighborhood. I am told, too — though I cannot tell what credit 
 
 is to be given to it — that two persons were killed and scalped near the Fort 
 
 at Northkill, in this county, Wednesday evening last, at the time of the 
 
 thunderstorm. 
 
 ■ I had almost forgot to mention (for I am so hurried Just now 'tis no 
 
 wonder) that the Indians, after scalping Adam Trump, left a knife and a 
 
 halbert, or a spear, fixed to a pole of four feet in his body.* 
 
 James Read. 
 MAXATAWNY. 
 
 The great number of relics found in Maxatawny points out that town- 
 ship as an old and extensive Indian settlement, and it is but natural to 
 suppose that if the Indians wished to have revenge upon the white people 
 for occupying their lands they would have visited this township much 
 sooner, but the forts and settlements along the Blue Mountains made it 
 hazardous for the Indians to venture so far south. Their custom was to 
 come stealthily through the mountains and uninhabited sections of the 
 country, fall upon a few families and then retreat before the alarm could 
 be given and a force collected to oppose them. If Maxatawny could have 
 been reached as readily as the upper townships it would, beyond a doubt, 
 have been the scene of some of the most brutal acts committed in this 
 county. 
 
 Maxatawny (Machksithaune) is an Indian name, which signifies Bear's 
 Path Creek, and was evidently applied to the creek that flows through the 
 township near Kutztown. Its soil is fertile, and the small tracts of wood 
 still standing show conclusively that it was once covered with the giant oak 
 and thus afforded shelter for the bears that abounded there, and their path 
 along the creek gave it the name. 
 
 Conrad Weiser, who had gone to Easton to hold a conference with the 
 Indians, wrote to Governor Denny, July 15, 1757: "In coming along 
 ihrough Maxatawny I heard a melancholy account of ten people being 
 killed by the enemy Indians. They passed by two or three plantations on 
 this side of the mountain before they attacked. A certain woman ran off 
 towards her place and told her husband of the attack, who cut the gears off 
 his horses, then in the plow, and rode as fast as he could to Lieut. Weth- 
 erholt, about three miles off. Lieut. Wetherholt, with a small detach- 
 ment, I am told seven in number, came away immediately and came to 
 the place where the murder was committed, where, by that time, a num- 
 ber of people had gathered. Wetherholt proposed to pursue the enemy, 
 but none would go with him, so he took his seven men and pursued the 
 
 "Kupp's History of Berks, p. 70. 
 
»t) lilJi. iPdJUJ-AJNIS UJb' i5J^.KK« (JUUJNTY, FA. 
 
 enemy a few miles from the house and found the place where they rested 
 themselves, and in about three miles he overtook them in thick bushes, a1 
 a very little distance. It seems they saw one another at once. One of the 
 Indians was beforehand with Wetherholt and aimed at him, but his gun 
 flashed. Wetherholt, a moment after, fired at the Indian, and thinks h« 
 hit him, but is not sure. Several guns were fiired by our people, but did 
 no execution, and the Indians' guns missing fire, thej' ran off and left twc 
 horses behind them, one belonging to the man they killed, laden with the 
 best of his household goods. * 
 
 SINKING SPBING. 
 
 The Indians became more daring and ventured further into the county. 
 
 One was seen a little beyond Sinking Spring, in the latter part of July. 
 
 1757. t 
 
 BERN. 
 
 The following extract of a letter from James Read to the Governor, datec 
 Reading, July 27, 1757, shows that the Indians were sometimes aided bj 
 the white people in committing depredations in the county. This is th< 
 first mention made of white men plundeiang property and carrying of 
 persons, but it is not known how often they were here before disguised af 
 Indians and were not detected : 
 
 " It is with great uneasiness I must inform your Honor that the day be 
 fore yesterday four white men took away from a plantation in Bern Town 
 
 ship, about thirteen miles from this town, one Good (I think that ii 
 
 the surname), a lad about sixteen years old, and carried him to four In 
 dians about eight miles from the place where he was taken. The whit( 
 men and Indians all got very drunk, and the lad happily made his escap( 
 in the night. Of his being taken I heard the evening it happened ; of thi 
 rest I was informed by Robert Smith, a sergeant who came yesterday fron 
 Fort William (Lebanon), and on his road was told by one Peter Roder 
 mel, a farmer of very good credit, who had seen and conversed with th( 
 lad. Monday, in the afternoon, an Indian was seen near Sinking Spring 
 five miles from the town, by Peter Rood, a person of as high credit as is ii 
 the county. Some of the inhabitants went immediately in pursuit of thi 
 Indian, but returned without having overtaken him. 
 
 " I, have taken care ever since the ninth of this month to keep a patro 
 of ten of the inhabitants every night about this town ; and as our peopl 
 are very uneasy upon hearing that white men are among the Indians, w 
 purpose to have a guard to-night of twenty-one ; seven at either end of th 
 town and seven in the centre, who will keep out a patrol all night." 
 The letter closed with a strong appeal to the Governor for more soldiers t( 
 
 *Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 218. tPenna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 243. JPenna. Archives, Vol 
 3, p. 246. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 87 
 
 be stationed at different places in the county that the people might feel 
 secure in their homes and that the Indians could not come into the county 
 and in the vicinity of Reading to plunder and murder without resistance. 
 
 ALBANY AND WINDSOR. 
 
 The commanding officers of the forts may have kept diaries during the 
 whole year, and if they did it is much to be regretted that they were not 
 published entire, because they present to us so many personal acts and 
 local events of interest which compose an essential part of history and 
 could hardly be kept in any other form of record. 
 
 From a journal * kept by Jacob Morgan, of Fort Lebanon, we learn that 
 the soldiers were especially vigilant in Albany and Windsor during July, 
 1757, while the farmers were engaged in harvesting their grain. Corporals 
 with squads of soldiers ranged through Albany and Windsor almost daily 
 from the first to the twelfth of July. 
 
 " 12th. I went with ten men to Windsor Township and stationed them 
 there, where I found the most proper. In the evening very heavy rain and 
 thunder obliged me to stay all night ; we sent some parties to guard the 
 farmers. 
 
 ' ' 13th. I returned in the morning to the fort. * * ^K Parties went 
 to guard the farmers, and this day in my return I met the scout which I 
 had posted in Windsor Township, ranging about the farmers' houses. 
 
 ' ' 14th. Parties ranged and guarded the farmers. 
 
 ' ' 1 5th. Being all day heavy rain, and the creeks so high that the 
 Schujdkill rose perpendicularly fifteen feet in nine hours' time, being con- 
 siderably higher than ever was known in these parts ; the guards could 
 not return, and we remained in the fort with only eight men to guard." 
 
 During the remainder of July soldiers were sent out daily to guard the 
 farmers in their agricultural work, but no Indians came to molest them 
 during the month. Here the journal ends abruptly, and we are not in- 
 formed what took place in the vicinity of Fort Lebanon thereafter. 
 
 NOBTHKILL. 
 
 There was another attack in the neighborhood of Fort Northkill, on the 
 first of October, 1757. Application Avas made to Conrad Weiser, who was 
 in Reading at the time, for immediate assistance, whereupon Captain 
 Oswald, who commanded the guards about Reading, sent two Lieutenants 
 with forty men to their relief. Conrad Weiser again appealed to the Gov- 
 ernor for aid, and advised him to withdraw the "first battalion of Penn- 
 sylvania Regiment," stationed at Fort Augusta, near Shamokin, and place 
 the soldiers along our frontier as long as the Indians were so numerous. 
 
 * Fenna. Archives, Vol. 3, pp. 253-4. 
 
88 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 GREAT DISTRESS. 
 
 During certain periods no Indians were to be found along the borders 
 of the county for a considerable time, and when the people were in the 
 enjoyment of peace and entertained the hope that they might never be 
 disturbed again in their quiet habitations, suddenly the alarm was again 
 sounded, and every family feared that it might be attacked, and' that the 
 head of the family, upon whom all depended, might be shot, some deai 
 children scalped alive, and the mother carried away by the murderers 
 into a strange land. The condition of the people is so pathetically por- 
 trayed by Conrad Weiser in a letter to Richard Peters, secretary to the 
 Governor, that its insertion here will give the reader a better idea of theii 
 dreadful sufferings than a description penned by any other person : 
 
 Heidelbeeg, Berks Co., Oct. 4th, 1757. 
 Sir : — I did not think of the post till he entered my door, else I would 
 have written particularly to the Governor, though I have been very busj 
 with writing to the commanding officers of the several forts under my care. 
 It is now come so far that murder is committed almost every day ; there 
 never was such a consternation among the people ; they must now leave 
 their houses again, with their barns full of grain ; five children were carried 
 off last Friday ; some days before a sick man was killed upon his bed, : 
 he begged of the enemy to shoot him through his heart, which the Indiar 
 answered, I will, and did so. A girl that had hid herself under a bed- 
 stead, in the next room, heard all this ; two more families were, aboul 
 that time, destroyed. Inclosed is the journal of last month of my ensign 
 at Northkill. Captain Busse lies dangerously sick at John Harris'. ] 
 hear he is tired of everything. I have neither men nor a sufficient numbei 
 of officers to defend the country. If his Honor would be pleased to send 
 orders to recall all the men belonging to my battalion, from Fort Augusta, 
 he would justly bring upon him the blessings of the Most High. I can^ 
 not say any more. I think myself unhappy ; to fly with my family ir 
 this time of danger I can't do. I must stay if they all go. I am now pre 
 paring to go to Fort Henry, where I shall meet some officers to consul 
 with what may be best to be done. I have ordered tert men, with th( 
 Governor's last order, to Fort Augusta ; I shall overtake them this even 
 ing at Fort Henry and give them proper instruction. For God's sake 
 dear sir, beg of the Governor, press it upon him in my behalf, and in be 
 half of these distressed inhabitants, to order my men back from For 
 Augusta. I will give my reason afterwards that I am in the right, 
 conclude with my humble respects to his Honor.* 
 
 And remain, kind sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 Co.N'RAD Weiser. 
 
 *Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 283. 
 
THE INDIANS OF RERKS COUNTY, PA. 89 
 
 WIDESPREAD ALABIVI. 
 
 This alarm was not confiaed to Berks County, but extended far beyond 
 its boundaries. On the fifth of October a petition signed by nearly one 
 hundred inhabitants of Northampton was sent to the Governor. In this 
 petition is set forth their defenseless condition, the" solicitude of the people 
 for their lives and property, and an earnest prayer for soldiers and guard- 
 houses to put them in a state of defense that they: would not be in constant 
 •dread of losing everything dear to this life. 
 
 Michael La Chauvignerie, a French officer, was captured at Port Henry, 
 and examined in Reading, October 16th, 1757, liy Conrad Weiser, James 
 Read and Thomas Oswald, but nothing of any particular importance was 
 'developed, except that he had been in this part of the country once before 
 ■and that his party killed and scalped a German, and took seven children 
 prisoners. He also stated that the prisoners captured by the Indians were 
 iiaken to Fort Duquesne and thence to Canada and there they were kept 
 ■■as prisoners of war and not as slaves as it was generally supposed. * It is 
 mot recorded what was Chauvignerie's doom. 
 
 FORTS IN BERKS. 
 
 James Young, Commissioner of the Musters, and Adjutant Kern, made a 
 tour of inspection to the forts between the Susquehanna and Delaware, and 
 rendered a report of their observations in the beginning of February, 1758. 
 In Fort William, which was formerly called Fort Lebanon, Captain Mor- 
 gan, Lieutenant Humphreys and Ensign Harry were the officers. The re- 
 port says that there were in the fort at the time of the inspection fifty-three 
 men, twenty-three of whom had their own arms and thirty had provincial 
 arms, seventy-five pounds of powder, eighty pounds of lead, twelve car- 
 tridges, and provision for fourteen days. Jonas Seely was the commissary 
 for this fort. 
 
 Twenty-eight men were stationed and on duty in Albany Township. 
 Nothing is said of ammunition or provisions, and we may, therefore, infer 
 that these men were located there temporarily. 
 
 No mention is made of Fort Northkill in the report. That at Dietrich 
 Six's must have been abandoned at this time. 
 
 Col. James Burd also visited the forts between the Susquehanna and 
 Delaware in the month of February. The first fort that he inspected was 
 Harris (Harrisburg), and when he came to Fort Henry, at the gap of the 
 Swatara, he ordered Ensign Holler to range from that fort to Fort North- 
 kill, and to " employ all his judgment to waylay the enemy and protect 
 the inhabitants. ' ' He says nothing further about Fort Northkill, and from 
 the absence of such a report we are led to infer that the soldiers were with- 
 drawn and the fort abandoned. He says in his journal : 
 
 * Penna. Archive.s, Vol. 3, p. 29S. 
 
90 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 "Thursday, 23d. Marched this morning (from Conrad Weiser's) and 
 arrived at Reading at 3 P. M. ; found Captain Morgan here ; this is 14 miles 
 from Mr. Weiser's. Examined the stores here and found 77 blankets,? 
 pounds of powder, 300 pounds of lead and half a cask of flints. * * 
 
 " Before I came to Reading, Adjutant Kern had sent by IJeutenanI 
 Engle blankets for four companies, viz. : Ornd, Weatherholt, Davis and 
 Garaway, 224, and one-quarter cask of powder, 300 bars of lead, and 1,600 
 flints. 
 
 " Friday, 24th. This morning set out for Fort William ; arrived at Peter 
 Rodermil's at 2 P. M., 15 miles from Reading ; it snowed and blew so pro- 
 digiously I stayed here all night. 
 
 "Saturday, 25th. Marched this morning, the snow deep, for Fort Wil- 
 liam ; arrived at Fort William at 12 M. ; here was Lieutenant Humphreys and 
 Ensign Harry ; ordered a review of the garrison at 2 P. M. ; at 2 P. M. re- 
 viewed the garrison and found 33 good men, but deficient in discipline ; 
 stores — 3 quarter casks of powder, 150 pounds of lead, 400 flints and 56 
 blankets, no arms fit for use, no kettles, nor tools, nor druni ; two months' 
 provisions. 
 
 "Here I found a target erected, ordered the company to shoot at the 
 mark, set them the example myself by wheeling round and firing at the 
 word of command. I shot a bullet into the centre of the mark, the size of 
 a dollar, distance 100 yards. Some of them shot tolerably bad ; most oi 
 their arms are very bad. 
 
 "Ordered Captain Morgan to continue to patrol to Northkill and A.ile- 
 mangel." * 
 
 On Sunday, the 26th, he left Fort William and went over the mountain 
 to inspect forts beyond the limits of Berks, and consequently the rest ol 
 his journal must be omitted here. 
 
 BERN. 
 
 Bern at this time included Centre and Upper Bern. From an "humble 
 petition of the inhabitants of the Township of Bern and parts adjacent in 
 the County of Berks," sent to Governor Denny, in March, 1758, we are in- 
 formed that the wintet was extremely severe, and on account of the severity 
 of the weather the people were not molested by the Indians, and inasmuch 
 as they could not come for several months to plunder, the in- 
 habitants were very apprehensive of an attack as soon as the snow had 
 melted and the weather become fair. They felt less secure from' the fad 
 that Fort Northkill had been abandoned and no soldiers were stationed in 
 that part of the county to range to and fro and afford them at least some 
 protection. The thought of there being "three or four Indian paths lead- 
 ing into their neighliorhood," by which the Indians could come unob- 
 served, murder a few families, and then retrace their steps over the moun- 
 
 *Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 354. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 91 
 
 tains before the alarm could be given to their neighbors to pursue and over- 
 take them, was sufficient to fill their minds with the greatest anxiety, and 
 constrained them "most humbly to beg his Honor to compassionate their 
 miserable condition, and order soldiers to be stationed for their defense 
 in some of the most exposed farm houses, or take such other effectual 
 measures for their security and protection as to his Honor's wisdom shall 
 seem best." 
 
 The Governor, in a message to the assembly, on the twenty-seventh of 
 April, 1758, said: "We have just received a petition from the distressed 
 inhabitants of the town of Reading ; their unhappy situation seems to be 
 more easily conceived than described, occasioned by the want of a due ex- 
 ertion of the military force in that quarter."* The Governor earnestly en- 
 treated that the assembly should order some of the provincial forces to be 
 sent to their immediate relief. The matter was taken into consideration 
 and a hundred provincials were sent. 
 
 C. Sauer says in one of his issues of April, 1758, that " At Tulpehocken 
 a man by the name of Lebenguth and his wife were killed and scalped. At 
 Northkill Nicholas Geiger's wife and two of his children were killed, and 
 also Michael Ditzeler's wife was killed. These were all scalped. The 
 Indians have divided themselves into small parties and surprised th(! set- 
 tlers unawares." 
 
 Teedyuscung, the chief of the Delawares, was present at the meeting of 
 the Provincial Council, May 2, 1758, to see when the houses were to be 
 built at Wyoming, which it seems the government had promised to put up 
 for them, and "the Governor then entered into conversation with Teedy- 
 uscung on the late mischiefs that had been done by the Indians on the 
 frontiers of Berks County, and desired to know if he had learned what 
 Indians were concerned in them. To which he answered he could not tell 
 who they were ; he sent his two sons to the Ohio to demand the cause of 
 these murders, and could not account for this last mischief. ' ' 
 
 Captain Busse wrote to Conrad Weiser from Fort Henry, in Lebanon : 
 De.a^e Sir : At noon I received news that this morning about 8 o'clock 
 the Indians took and carried away the wife of John Frantz, with three chil- 
 dren, six miles from here, deep in the country. I sent momently Lieut. 
 Johnston with a party of nine men to go along the mountains and to stay 
 at the Hole to intercept them. They being gone a farmer who was follow- 
 ing on horseback came back and told me that he saw three Indians near 
 the fort at Six's (Dietrich Six's or Fort Henry, in Bethel Township). 
 Being not able to spare more men, as just a detachment was out to meet 
 the wagon with provision, I sent Sergeant Christ. Mowrer only with two 
 men to look for their tracks. It is a cruel fate that we are brought to ; we 
 
 •Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 381. 
 
92 THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 shall fight without powder and lead. If some is there be pleased send it to 
 us. I hope you will give Captain Blakewell notice hereof, with my com- 
 pliments. I am, dear sir, your very humble servant, 
 
 Chkistian Busse. 
 
 Fort Henry, June 19, 1768, 2 o'clock in the afternoon.' 
 
 Just now I received news that the son of John Snabele, not- far from 
 Dub's, is killed and scalped, having five shots in his body. As this has 
 happened at the same time there must be undoubtedly a good number oi 
 the Indians. It is probable that they are still in the country, all the 
 tracks going in and none out. , I suppose, according to the tracks,' 
 that there are about twenty in the country. I believe that our verj' good 
 allies at Wyoming have done this service to us, as all the tracks 'over the 
 mountains come from the east. 
 
 The farmers of Tulpehocken have brought up some men toward the 
 Hole, and desired me to join them with a part of the garrison, whereupon 
 I have sent them a sergeant with eight men. 
 
 At. 5 o'clock.* 
 
 The capture of Frantz's family occurred one and a half miles north oi 
 Mt. jEtna, in Tulpehocken Township, on the farm of Henry, B. Brown, 
 deceased. 
 
 If the fort at Dietrich Six's was ever a military station it is evident from 
 the preceding letter that non6 were there at the time of these occurrences, 
 and it may have been in such a dilapidated condition as to afford no pro- 
 tection to the people. 
 
 Directly north of Millersburg, in Bethel Township, the Blue Mountains 
 break off abruptly in Round Top Mountain, and then recede in a north- 
 easterly direction nearly a mile, thence gradually changing their coursf 
 northwesterly and west, and thus form a large semicircle, or what, ir 
 speaking of water, would be called a ba}', and if viewed from a distance i 
 looks like a hole in the mountains. The land is productive, and, bein^ 
 bounded on the north by lofty mountains, is partly protected from the 
 cold blasts of the winter and is first to receive the genial rays of the sun ir 
 the early spring. Viewed from .the Round Top Mountain, the northerr 
 part of Bethel, diversified with hills, fertile valleys, meandering streams 
 and picturesque views along the mountains presents a prospect that wil 
 satisfy the mind of every one who inquires why some of the first'settlers o 
 our county went to the mountains. 
 
 I am under obligations to Mr. J. W. Deck, of Millersburg, forconveyinj 
 me to and guiding me to the top of Round Top Mountain to enjoy a viey 
 that fills the heart, of a lover of nature with wonder and admiration ti 
 overflowing. 
 
 • Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, pp. 425-6. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 93 
 
 The term Hole is sometimes applied to Svvatara Gap, in Lebanon County 
 in the Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives, and the allusion is so 
 indirect in some instances that it is very difficult to decide which place is 
 meant. 
 
 SUPPLIES FOR THE ARMY. 
 
 The exhaustion of provision and ammunition in the western part of 
 Pennsylvania necessitated the government to levy upon the counties in the 
 east for wagons to transport to the west such supplies as the army needed, 
 and the success of the English army during the preceding year had so en- 
 couraged the people in the east that they furnished the government with 
 many horses and wagons for the transportation of necessaries for the army. 
 The following letter from Conrad Weiser to R. Peters, secretary to the gov- 
 ernment, shows what Berks County contributed toward the prosecution of 
 the French and Indian War : 
 
 Reading, June 21, 1758. 
 
 SiE : — The second division of wagons from the County of Berks is now 
 going off for Philadelphia, in order to load stores of Mr. Joshua Howell for 
 the use of the army, commanded by his excellency, Gen. Forbes. This 
 division consists of twenty-six wagons ; four more are fitting out here, so 
 that there will be fifty-six good strong wagons from this county in this 
 service. Each wagon is completely furnished with four able horses and 
 an expert driver ; according to the direction of the general, or Col. Bouquet, 
 all (but four) contracted voluntarily with me. I appointed over each 
 division a deputy wagon-master, to serve as such till it shall be otherwise 
 ord-ered by the proper officer or officers ; both understand smith and 
 wheelwright work ; their names are John Esher and Jacob Weaver, free- 
 holders of Berks County ; have the English and the German tolerably 
 well ; I furnished them with money of my own, but have since received, 
 by order of Col. Bouquet, through means of Mr. Adam Hoops, my own 
 again, and what else was wanting. May the Most High prosper our labor 
 with success is the hearty wish of, 
 
 Dear sir, your most obedient and humble servant, 
 
 Conrad Weisee. 
 
 The Township of Tulpehocken furnished ten wagons and paid bounty 
 money to some. My son, Frederick, and one of his neighbors furnished 
 one between themselves. ' ' * 
 
 INDIAN THEFT. 
 
 Major Omd wrote from Fort Augusta, September 20, 1759, that "last 
 week three Delaware Indians that had been hunting near Tulpehocken 
 stole six horses from thence. The persons who lost the horses fell on the 
 tracks and followed them to the fort and acquainted me of the loss." 
 
 •Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, p. 428. 
 
94 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Major Ornd, on inquiry, discovered the tliieves, who confessed and saii 
 that when their property was taken not much was said, but when the; 
 took a few horses a great noise was made. They were ordered to restor 
 the horses to their owners, but they went away and .did not return. * 
 
 ALBANY. 
 
 John Fincher, whose property was destroyed by the Indians in 1756 
 met a much worse fate in the murder of nearly his whole family just abou 
 the time that peace was declared. 
 
 Sinking Spring, Sept. 10, 1763. 
 
 Honored Sir : — I am sorry I have to acquaint your honor of the follow 
 ing melancholy account which I received from Captain Kern last night 
 On the eighth instant a party of Indians came to the house of one Johi 
 Fincher, about three-quarters of a mile distant from Captain Kern's men 
 commanded by Ensign Schaffer. They killed Fincher, his wife and tw( 
 of his sons ; his daughter is missing ; one little boy made his escape fron 
 the savages and came to the ensign, who immediately went to the plac^ 
 with his party. But the Indians were gone, and finding by their track 
 which way they went, pursued them to the house of one Nicholas Miller 
 where he found four children murdered. Our party still pursued and sooi 
 came up with the enemj^ and fired on them. They returned the fire, bu 
 the soldiers rushed on them so furiouslj' that they soon ran off and lef 
 behind them two prisoners, two tomahawks, one hanger and a saddle 
 the Indians were eight in number and our party seven ; three of the enem] 
 were much wounded. The two prisoners that our party recovered wen 
 two of said Miller's children that they had tied together, and so drove then 
 along. Miller's wife is missing ; in all there are eight killed and tw( 
 missing in that neighborhood, f 
 
 I am, honored sir, your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Jonas Seely. 
 UPPER BERN. 
 
 Reading, Sept. 11th, 1763. 
 Honored Sir : — This moment, at Reading, as I was sending off the ex 
 press, certain intelligence came that the house of Frantz Hubler, in Ben 
 Township (now Upper Bern), about 18 miles" from here, was attacked Fri- 
 day evening last by the Indians ; himself is wounded, his wife and thre( 
 children carried off, and three other of his children scalped alive, two o: 
 whom are since dead.j; 
 
 I am, honored sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 Jonas Seely. 
 Jonas Seely wrote again to Governor John Penn, November 25th, 1763, 
 that the enemy murdered three men on Tuesday, the fifteenth instant, 
 
 »Col. Rec, Vol. 8, p. 406. tCol. Rec , Vol. 9, p. 44. iCol. Rec, Vol. 9, p. 44. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 95 
 
 about twenty-two miles from Reading, on the north side of the mountain, 
 in the forks of the Schuylkill. These unhappy persons were returning to 
 a plantation which they had deserted. Captain Kern, immediately upon 
 hearing of this murder, marched after the enemy, whom he pursued for 
 two days, but a very heavy snow having fallen, and the Indians having fled 
 a considerable time before Kern came up to the place where the mur- 
 der was committed, he desisted from the pursuit.* 
 
 This, though a little beyond the present limits, was the last murder 
 committed by the Indians in Berks County. 
 
 THE NUMBER OP PERSONS MURDERED AND CAPTURED. 
 
 In all the terrible conflicts during the French and Indian War the ' 
 Indians killed many white people. A few of those that were taken away 
 from their dear homes were returned after the war, but from the majority 
 of them nothing was ever heard. Since many of them were adults and 
 children who could have told the story of their capture and found their 
 way back, it is credible that they were either killed by the Indians or they 
 perished under their cruel treatment. It may seem almost incredible, but 
 during the same time only a few Indians wpre killed in this county by the 
 white people. The question naturally arises what is the reason that the 
 Indians killed and captured so many and that the white people with all 
 their vigilance, arms, military skill and forts, killed so few? A moment's 
 reflection will explain the reason. The Indians were robust, active and 
 cunning. They could endure physical exertion to a much greater degree 
 than the white race. Loskiel says, ' ' they run so swift that if a deer does 
 not fall upon the first shot, they throw off their blanket and' seldom fail to 
 overtake him." The forts along the frontier were from ten to twelve miles 
 apart. The fleet Indians would quietly cross the Blue Mountains and fall 
 upon a family unexpectedly, and then escape speedily ; or they would 
 stealthily approach a field in which a part of a family were engaged in 
 tilling the soil, whom they killed and others of the family they took pris- 
 oners, before an alarm could be given and soldiers could reach the place 
 of disturbance. And even when they were in sight of the Indians, they, 
 by their agility, would often escape through the woods and rocky places 
 over the mountains without receiving a wound. The failure to capture 
 more Indians was not owing to a want of watchfulness and determination 
 on the part of the people, but the Indians by their cunning and sagacity 
 avoided danger, and whenever they were met or pursued by the people or 
 soldiers, their fleetness would enable them to escape even when they were 
 pursued on horseback. 
 
 Allusions are made to a number of murders in Berks County in the 
 Pennsylvania Archives, but no names and dates are given, and have been 
 
 *Penna Archives, Vol. 4, p. 141. 
 
96 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, FA. 
 
 omitted in this book. There were no railroads, no telegraphs, and even 
 no mail coaches and postoffices, and consequently many trials and hard- 
 ships of the people were only partly reported while others were nevei 
 brought to the attention of the officers. 
 
 CLOSE OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 
 
 In the beginning of the French and Indian War the English were gener- 
 ally unsuccessful and in a few battles they were completely routed and 
 sustained a very heavy loss. This naturally had a tendency to dispirit th€ 
 army and cast dismay over the whole State of Pennsylvania, while, on the 
 other hand, it so encouraged the enemies that they fought more vigorously 
 and sent more marauding parties to disturb settlements, to murder inno- 
 ' cent people and thus divide the strength of the army. But in 1758 the 
 war was prosecuted with more energy and determination on the part ol 
 the English, and in consequence of an increased activity and probably 
 better generalship, the English army was victorious in nearly every one oi 
 its engagements. Louisburg, Duquesne, Quebec, Ticonderoga, Crowr 
 Point and Niagara were successively captured by the victorious English 
 army, and in 1760 the whole of Canada surrendered to the English, though 
 the treaty of peace was not sigrred until 1763. 
 
 Just as the French were driven north into Canada the large body of In- 
 dians that were allied to them followed them either north or went west tc 
 the Ohio River, so that at the time when peace was declared there were 
 only a few Indians in the eastern section of Pennsylvania, except a smal 
 settlement of friendly Indians at Shamokin, and a few families scattered 
 here and there. A few families of partly civilized Indians remained ir 
 Berks Count j' a long time after this. 
 
 INDIANS' MANNER OF SURPRISING THEIR ENEMIES. 
 
 The Indians were without education, but many of them were very skill 
 ful and resorted to ingenious stratagems to allure the white people intc 
 ambush, or to elude them when they were hotly pursued. It was theii 
 custom to walk " Indian file " (single file) on hard ground and not in sof' 
 or swampy places where their foot.'^teps could be traced. In order to en 
 snare their enemies they would imitate the call of a fawn or turkey, anc 
 this they did to perfection. When they wished to signal to their friends 
 in the day time they would immitate the quail and at night the owl. 
 
 The Indians did not steal and rob each other, neither did they loci 
 the doors of their wigwams. When they left home they would put a stone 
 or piece of wood against the door, and nothing would ever be stolen or dis 
 turbed during a long absence unless some wh-ite people came along. Thej 
 were strong and musculur and by a constant exercise in walking and run 
 ning they acquired an agility and endurance which enabled them to flei 
 from the white people under all ordinary circumstances. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 97 
 
 General Braddock was sent into America to take charge of the English 
 arinj'. He was vain, egotistic and ignorant of Indian strategy and method 
 of warfare, and his defeat and death near Pittsburg animated the French 
 and Indians and correspondingly depressed the colonial army. On their 
 way to Pittsburg, Washington volunteered to inform Braddock what kind 
 of an enemy he had to contend with, and their manner of fighting in am- 
 bush. Braddock, who should have been grateful for the information, be- 
 came surly, and expressed his surprise that a young man of Virginia should 
 presume to tell an old general how to manage a campaign against the In- 
 dians. Washington said no more, but he knew too well what would be the 
 result of a conflict with the Indians under a leader who knew nothing of 
 their ways of fighting. 
 
 In a short time the Indians unexpectedly began to fire on all sides from 
 their ambush. Braddock was mortally wounded, and then put Washing- 
 ton in charge of the army, and lived long enough to see that he had made 
 a fatal mistake. Washington rallied the soldiers, checked the enemy and 
 retreated in order. Had Washington been in command, he would un- 
 doubtedly have thoroughly routed the French and Indians, the war would 
 have been of short duration, and it is credible that there would have been 
 little if any suffering among the Palatines of Pennsylvania. 
 
 RETROSPECT. 
 
 It is not known what transpired among the Indians .in Berks Countj^ 
 prior to 1705. The white people may have had settlements here before 
 that time, and if they had no record of them can be found. From 1705 to 
 the commencement of the war in 1754 — a period of almost fifty years — the 
 Caucasians and the Copper-colored race lived together in peace and friend- 
 ship, bought, sold and gave presents with the greatest dignity and honor. 
 The Indians may have sold land very cheap, and sometimes they disputed 
 the boundary lines of certain tracks, yet, when they were shown the deeds 
 they were invariably satisfied. It will be observed by the reader that soon 
 after the advent of Penn the Indians gradually sold their land and retreated 
 north and west, until the war began, when, misled by laromises from the 
 French, they turned against the English, who had befriended them for 
 nearly seventy-five years, and from 1754 to 1763 the Indians were between 
 two fires, and in that period of time they lost more territory, more lives 
 and suffered infinitely more than they did the fifty preceding years. In 
 tracing out the history of the Indians of Berks County, the period from 
 the time that they lived in their primitive state, hunting the animals in 
 the extensive forests, and catching, in their own style, the fish with which 
 the creeks abounded, to the time of the last conflict with the champions of 
 the tomahawk and scalping knife — when their history ceased as a race — 
 extends over less than sixty years. In examining their history and study- 
 
98 - THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ing their character in their wigwams we must admire them for their lieroism, 
 commend them for their unexceptional honesty in dealing and look upon 
 them as men possessing many' fine and noble qualities, but in war we find 
 them implacable foes, murdering their enemies in the most cruel manner, 
 and inflicting upon innocent women and children the most cruel tortures 
 of which the mind could conceive. 
 
 CATJSE OF THE BREACH OF FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 AVe have followed the Indian in all his relations with the white man as 
 closely as the records enabled us ; we found him friendly and he left us a 
 bitter enemy. We look back and find that until 1754 there was no occur- 
 rence that marred the peace between the provincial government and the 
 tribes of Indians. There were conflicts between individuals, but they were 
 always adjusted and the offended parties appeased. Traders would go 
 among them with large quantities of rum, and after they had intoxicated 
 the Indians they would defraud them and often rob them of their skins. 
 The government passed stringent laws for the punishment of such traders, 
 and this act of the government gave them assurances of their protection 
 against w-rong, so that they entertained no hostile feelings on this account. 
 There is, however, no record of such traders from Berks County. Then 
 what did the white people do to excite the erimity of the Indians ? What 
 was the cause for all these massacres of unoi?ending people in Berks 
 County ? There is no justifiable one. 
 
 In 1755 the Governor was trying to solve the same problem, and in order 
 to make a full investigation a committee of three — Robert Strettell, Joseph 
 Turner and Thomas Cadwalader — was appointed to find the cause of the 
 defection of the Indians. A paragraph in their report embodies the result 
 of their inquiry : 
 
 " And we further beg leave to remind your Honor that at one of the con- 
 ferences held with Scaroyodv, one of the Six Nation chiefs, and Andrew 
 Montour, in the council chamber, they being particularly asked if the Del- 
 awares or Shawanese had any cause of complaint given them by this gov- 
 ernment ; they declared that those Indians never mentioned any to them, 
 and that they never heard or did believe they had any ; but that they at- 
 tributed their defection wholly to the defeat of General Braddock, and the 
 increase of strength and reputation gained on that victory by the French, 
 aiid their intimidating those Indians and using all means by promises and 
 threats, to seduce and fix them in their interest ; and to the seeming weak- 
 ness and want of union in the English, and their appearing unable or un- 
 willing to protect them, and particularly this government, who had conr 
 stantly refused to put the hatchet into their hands ; and we beg leave to 
 say we are entirely of opinion that this is the true and sole' cause of their 
 defection."* 
 
 * Ool. Rec, Vol. 6, p. 737. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 99 
 
 Teedyuscung, a chief of the Delawares, at a meeting in Easton, June 
 28th, 1762, in a speech to Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, and Sir 
 "W'illiam Johnson, of New York, said : 
 
 "At a treaty held here about six years ago, I made a complaint against 
 the proprietors and charged them with depriving us of our lands by for- 
 gery and fraud, which we did at a time when we were just come from the 
 French, by whom we were very much incensed against our brothers, the 
 English. This matter was, afterwards, by our mutual consent, referred to 
 the great King George over the waters, who directed you, brother, to en- 
 quire into the circumstances of the case and make a report to him that he 
 might see what was just therein. 
 
 "You have taken the trouble to come for this purpose and many days 
 have been spent in this affair. It now appears, by sundry old writings 
 and papers which have been shown by the proprietary commissioners, 
 iind read at this conference, that the said charge of forgery was a mistake, 
 into which mistake we were led by the accounts we had received from our 
 ancestors concerning the lands sold by Maykerildshe, Sahoppey and 
 Tahaughsey to old William Penn in the year 1686."* 
 
 "What bitter hostility, what indescribable woe and what terrible slaugh- 
 ter resulted from a misunderstanding — a miMahi'. 
 
 REGINA. 
 
 One of the most touching and thrilling, incidents of the whole French 
 and Indian War culminated on December 31st, 1764. A Palatine family 
 from Wurtemberg settled in Tulpehocken, with a number of other families, 
 to seek a place of religious freedom. The family consisted of father, 
 mother, two sons and two daughters. There were no Sunday-schools, the 
 church at Tulpehocken was some miles away, and if there were schools 
 they were inconvenient. The parents were pious people and taught their 
 children to pray, to read the scriptures and to sing. On October 16th, 
 1755, the mother and youngest son were gone to mill, a few miles 
 distant, and when they returned they were horror stricken to find the 
 father and the oldest son murdered and scalped by the Indians, and the 
 two girls, Barbara, twelve years of age, and Regina, ten years of age, 
 taken captives, and the buildings burned. It would have been impossible 
 to describe their feeling if by some accident the father and son had lost 
 their lives, but to have been murdered in cold blood by the Indians and 
 to see that the two bright innocent daughters were taken captive by the 
 murderers, and not knowing to what hardships and cruelties they would 
 be subjected, and to think that the daughters had to see their father and 
 brother killed and scalped and then to be compelled to march along with 
 the barbarous Indians, not knowing whither, are thoughts which cause us 
 
 •Penna. Archives, Vol. 4, p. 85. 
 
100 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 
 
 to shudder even at this day. The mother and son came down to "Kurtz's 
 Church," which was at Stouchsburg. 
 
 The children were taken into an obscure part of the mountains until a 
 number were gathered together, and then they were compelled to march. 
 The younger ones were tied on the backs of the older ones and their jour- 
 ney was through woods, briers and stoneg, so that their clothing was nearly 
 all torn off their bodies. Thus they traveled several hundred miles and 
 then Barbara and Regina were separated and Regina was taken about one 
 hundred miles further, where she, with a little girl whom she had to carry, 
 was given to a cruel squaw who had one son. The son was often away 
 from home a whole week and then Regina was compelled, under threats 
 of death, to gather such edibles as they lived upon. Conrad Weiser said 
 that when he lived in New York they often made a meal on " wild pota- 
 toes and ground beans, which grew in abundance." These undoubtedly 
 furnished food for the Indians of New York where Regina was. She often 
 took her little companion away from the hut and said her prayers and 
 sang the hymns which she was taught to sing at home. 
 
 After she had survived the hardships of her journey and partly laid 
 aside the grief from the loss of her parents, brothers and sister, and not 
 having any hojje of ever seeing Tulpehocken again, she at length sub- 
 mitted to her fate, became inured to Indian life, adopted their customs and 
 learned their language. The war was still raging and depredations and 
 murders were still committed in Berks County, but the English army was 
 rapidly gaining ground until 1760, when the Indians and French were 
 routed and driven from this part of the country. When the treaty of 
 peace was signed. Colonel Bouquet, who had charge of the English army, 
 included in the articles of peace a condition that all the children that had 
 been taken as captives during the war should be returned. They were 
 accordingly gathered from different sections and brought to Port Duquesne, 
 now Pittsburg, but they were ragged and some of them almost without 
 clothes. The captain and garrison of the fort generously gave them some 
 of their food and collected all the clothing, blankets, &c. , except what the}^ 
 needed for their immediate necessities, and gave them to the children to 
 cover their nakedness and protect them against the severity of a cold 
 December month. 
 
 The children were then brought to Carlisle, and notice was given in alt 
 the papers that parents whose children had been taken captive during the 
 war should come and claiiii them. Regina's mother went to Carlisle with 
 an anxious heart and ardent hope that she might be able to find her dear, 
 lost daughters, Barbara and Regina. The children were drawn up in a 
 line and the mother walked along the line, looked carefully at each child, 
 and came to the end without recognizing any of her daughters. It must 
 be remembered that Regina was ten years of age when she was taken cap- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 101 
 
 tive, and at this time she was nineteen. The change from girlhood to 
 young womanhood and from civilized life to that of the Indians, without 
 the use of a hat and a civilized wash for years, produced such a change in 
 her personal appearance that it is not surprising that the mother did not 
 recognize any of her daughters. Col. Bouquet asked her whether she had 
 no mark about her body by which she could recognize her, or whether she 
 could not do something by which her daughters could recognize her. She 
 replied that they used to sing some hymns at home and she might remem- 
 ber them yet. 
 
 Colonel Bouquet told her to sing one of those hymns. She began to 
 sing : 
 
 Allein und doch nicht ganz alleine, 
 
 Bin ich in meiner Einsamkeit ; 
 Dann wenn ich ganz verlassen scheine, 
 
 Vertreibt mir Jesus selbst die zeit, 
 Ich bin bei ihm und er bei mir, 
 
 So kommt mir gar nichts einsam fuer. 
 
 Alone, yet not alone am I, 
 
 Though in this solitude so drear ; 
 I feel my Saviour always nigh, 
 
 He comes tiie wear}' hours to cheer, 
 I am with Him and He with me. 
 
 Even here alone I cannot be. 
 
 Scarcely had the mother sung two lines when Regina sprang from the 
 line, began to sing and mother and daughter embraced each other and shed 
 tears of joy that they could meet again after a dreary separation of nine 
 3'ears. But Barbara was not there and Regina heard nothing of her after 
 their separation soon after their captivity. When the mother was on the 
 point of leaving with Regina, Regina' s companion clung to her and with 
 tears begged to go with her to her home. The record implies that she was 
 brought along to Tulpehocken. 
 
 This occurred on December 31st, 1764. 
 
 The hymn book, Bible and prayer book were burned with the build- 
 ing, in 1755, and the mother may not have had one of these books since, 
 but when Regina had returned to the home of her mother she inquired for 
 the family Bible and hymn book. 
 
 Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg writes in " Hallesche Machrichten, " 
 that mother and Regina came a distance of from " sixty to seventy miles," 
 and the mother told him that Regina often asked for ''the book in which 
 Christ so kindly spoke to the people and the people could speak to Him. ' ' 
 He gave her a Bible and money to buy a hymn book. He told Regina to 
 
102 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA: 
 
 open the Bible, put her finger to a verse and read it. She opened it and 
 her finger struck the second verse of the first chapter of Tobit, one of the 
 Apocryphal books, and read distinctly, beautifully and fluently : 
 
 Derselbige ward mit gefangen za den Zeiten SalmannKficr, des Kaixigs in 
 Assyrien, and loiewohl er also unter Fremden gefangen trar, ist cr dennoch von 
 Gottes Wort nicht abgefallen. 
 
 Who in the time of Enemasscr, king of the Assyrians, -was led captire out of 
 Thisbe, which is a.t the right hand of that city, which is called properly Neph- 
 thali, ill Galilee above A-'<er. 
 
 The attention of the reader is called to two very remarkable things. 
 Regina Avas beyond the limit of civilization from ten to nineteen years of 
 age, during which she scarcely heard a German word except the conversa- 
 tion which she had with her young companion, and much less did she see 
 a German book, and that she could still read fluently, proves that she must 
 have been taught well by her parents and must have had a bright mind. 
 The second remarkable thing is the peculiar force with which the verse 
 describes her own captivity. The German is more expressive than the 
 English translation. Regina and her mother returned to Tulpehocken 
 with their Bible and hymn book. Here their record ends, and it is be- 
 lieved that they spent the remainder of their lives at their humble home 
 in Tulpehocken. 
 
 Now what seems so ineffably strange is the failure of Rev. Muhlenberg, 
 in his detailed account of this incident, even to mention Regina' s family 
 name. He gives the birthplaces of father and mother in Germany, and 
 says that the "father was already old and too weak to do hard work, but 
 endeavored to bring up his children in the fear of God in this land where 
 few schools were to be found," and yet never mentions the name of the 
 familj^ 
 
 Some writers ascribe the name of Henry Hartman to the father of 
 the family, and there is some circumstantial evidence to show that 
 the name is correct. On page 61 the reader will see an account of the 
 murder of Henry Hartman, and the place must have been in Bethel Town- 
 ship, and not far distant from the place where Fort Henry was soon after 
 erected. The reader must remember also that there was no settlement on 
 the north side of the Blue Mountains, except along the Schuylkill, and 
 the first mountain mentioned in William Parsons' letter referred to a range 
 of high hills northwest of Millersburg, and on page 69 Peter Spiker re- 
 ferred to the same hills and the people living in the vicinity of them, when 
 he wrote, ' 'The people are fled to us from the hills. ' ' 
 
 There is a difference of two weeks between the dates given by the two 
 parties. Regina' s mother, who would be likely to remember the date, re- 
 ported to Dr. Muhlenberg that the murder of her husband and son occurred 
 on October 16th, 1755, and according to William Parsons' letter the mur- 
 
THE INDIANS OF REIiKS COUNTY, I'A. 103 
 
 der of Henry Hartman occurred on October 30th, 1 755. It is possible that 
 the mother, after a lapse of nine years, worried by grief at the destruction 
 of her family, may have erred in the date. The history of Regina's cap- 
 tivity, hardships and return to her home is read with profound interest, 
 and the reader in vain longs for some definite knowledge of the family. 
 Dr. Muhlenberg was always very precise in his writings, and he may have 
 omitted the family name by request. 
 
 Some persons are under the impression that Regina did not remain long 
 at Tulpehockcn, but returned to the Indians. This is certainly incorrect. 
 Rev. Muhlenberg says in Hallm-hen ^Swhrichtcih that at Carlisle, "some 
 of the captives who had humane masters, no wants and leisure times, would 
 have preferred to remain with the Indians," and this may have given rise 
 to the opinion that Regina, dissatisfied with civihzed life, returned to the 
 Indians. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Before the French and Indian "War the bartering that was carried on be- 
 tween the white people and the Indians and the close proximity of their 
 settlements had a tendency to subdue some of the wild features of the In- 
 dian character and thus some families lived in the county unmolested dur- 
 ing the war, and remained a long time after its close. When peace had 
 been made and tranquility restored traveling bands of Indians would fre- 
 quently come into the county to barter and sell such articles as they made. 
 
 Mr. Jacob Leiby, of Perry, who is 83 years old, (1880) says that he remem- 
 bers quite vividly that, when he was yet a small boy, three Indian men, three 
 women and some children came to his father's house, about two miles above 
 Dunkle's Church, in Greenwich Township, and asked for milk. His 
 mother gave them a potful. After they had drunk the milk they returned 
 the pot and gave two baskets made of variegated wood, for which he thinks 
 his mother gave a little money in addition to the milk. The baskets were 
 well-made and were in use in the family for many years. The Indians 
 had cloth wrapped around the body, but their arms, legs and feet were 
 bare. 
 
 In 1819, while Mr. Leiby was working at his trade, blacksmithinp, in 
 Reading, a party of Indians, consisting of ten men and two women, came 
 to Reading and "put up" at the public house of Abraham Whitman, 
 southeast corner of Fifth and Franklin Streets. They had a paper or cer- 
 tificate of friendliness which commended them to the kindness and generos- 
 ity of the people, stating that they were undergoing the process of civiliza- 
 tion and that they came here for the purpose of getting some information 
 to arneliorate their condition. The people collected a considerable sum of 
 money and presented it to them. In the evening they put the chairs in 
 the centre of the room and danced around them, singing songs in their 
 peculiar way. TJie money wliicli was presented to them was intended for 
 
104 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 a better object, but with some of it they purchased all the beads they could 
 find in Reading and the rest they expended for liquor and had an uproar- 
 ious time before they left. It was the opinion that they took none of the 
 money along that was given to them. Mr. Jacob B. Hoff, of Reading, 
 who is 85 years of age, confirms the preceding incident and says that he in 
 his boyhood often saw Indians in Reading. 
 
 Mr. Leiby has a good memory and is a fluent talker. Among the many 
 interesting histories that he relates of former times there is one of peculiar 
 interest. He says that his grandfather often related that, at a time when 
 the Indians were still numerous, he was hunting on the Blue Mountains, 
 and after he had expended all his lead he met an Indian on his home road 
 to whom he stated the object of his- going home. The Indian told Mr. 
 Leiby to accompany him, and that he would give him as much lead as he 
 wanted. When they had gone some distance the Indian told Mr. Leiby 
 that he could not show him where he obtained the lead, and that he should 
 kindle a fire while he went to bring it. After a short absence the Indian 
 returned with his hands full of "lead ore ; " the ore was melted and Mr. 
 Leiby continued his hunting. In addition to the reliableness of this state-^ 
 ment there are traditions among the people of Albany that the Indians 
 used to come south of the main range of the mountains and after a short 
 absence they would return loaded with ' ' lead ore. ' ' This induced the 
 people of Albany to believe that there was a "lead mine" somewhere in 
 the mountains and that they kept it concealed so well that it escaped the 
 observation of the people. In 1869, when I was county superintendent 
 and was in Albany making my tour of teachers' examinations, a fine spec- 
 imen of g'alenite, found on one of the mountains in the township, was shown 
 to me. Considerable money and labor were expended in searching for 
 lead, but none was found. The geological formation does not seem to in- 
 dicate the probability of a deposit of lead, and whence did the galenite then 
 come? It might have been possible for a Caucasian to drop it while cross- 
 ing the mountain, and another one to find it, but it is just as plausible 
 that the Indians brought lead from Galena as copper from Lake Superior. 
 Several copper implements were found in Berks County, and it is generally 
 believed that the Indians obtained their copper at the great lake. Another 
 surmise in regard to ilr. Leiby's statement is that the Indian might have 
 brought the pure lead and not the " ore. " The government often furnished 
 them with considerable quantities of lead, some of which they might have 
 'had concealed in the fissures of rocks for safety. 
 
 An Indian remained with the Bertolet family in Oley a long time after 
 all the others of his race had left, but suddenly he disappeared and nothing 
 was heard of him afterward. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 105 
 
 EDUCATION AMONG THE INDIANS. 
 
 'The Indians knew nothing of schools, books, newspapers or the art of 
 writing. In many respects they were ingenious and skillful, and more 
 recent attempts to educate them have proved that they have abilities and 
 that they are able to learn quite readily the arts and sciences of civilized 
 nations to a considerable extent, but in their original state they were 
 entirely ignorant, and had neither an alphabet nor a system of characters 
 by which they could communicate information or record events. Some of 
 the implements that are found at the present day, as well as some of the 
 rocks where they lived, bear some hieroglyphics which were undoubtedly 
 intended to convey some information, but no one is aljle to decipher them. 
 Every Indian that had occasion to affix his signature to a deed or release 
 from land, was the inventor of his own hieroglyphics, and hence no two 
 are alike. It is not probable that the Indians used anything in the form 
 of pen, ink and paper until they sold land to the white people, and it be- 
 came necessary to "sign the deeds. The -Pennsylvania Archives give one 
 hundred and twelve of these characters which the Indian chiefs attached 
 "to deeds as their signatures. I will give the fac-simileg of the chiefs that 
 lived in this part of the country : 
 
 1 2 3 4 
 
 ^^ 
 
 'tV 
 
 10 
 
 -o^ 
 
 ^ 
 
106 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 jS'os. 1, 2 and 3 are characters made by Taminent, chief of the Dela- 
 waree, Jxine 23d, 1683, for the sale of land between Pennepack and 
 Neshaminy creeks, flowing into the Delaware north of Philadelphia. No. 
 1 was evidently intended to represent a snake, and the curious figure at- 
 tached to its tail was symbolical of something, but my inability to see its. 
 resemblance to any object, forbids me to venture on a conjecture. No. 3 
 was his signature for the receipt for money. The angular character. No. 
 4, is the mark Kekerappan made June 23d, 1683, and No. 6 is the one he 
 made September 20th, 16S3, when he sold the land to William Penn re- 
 ferred to on page 12, No. 5 is another of Taminent's marks, June 15th, 
 1H92, for land described on page 13. On the 11th of October, 1736, a deed 
 was signed by twenty-three chiefs of the Six Nations, conveying lands on 
 both sides of the Susquehanna to the Kittatinny (Endless Mountains), 
 '* eastward to the farthest spring of the waters running into the said river." 
 This deed included parts of Bethel, Tulpehocken and Upper Tulpehocken, 
 drained by the Little Swatara. The names of all of the chiefs are strange 
 and all may have resided in New York except Shekellamy, who was an. 
 Oneida and lived at Shamokin. No. 7 is his signature, which is given, 
 here because of his frequent visits to Berks. The others must be omitted. 
 Twenty-four chiefs signed the deed for the sale of the land north of the- 
 Blue Mountains, on the 22d of August, 1749. Nos. 8 and 10 are the sig- 
 natures of the only two Delawares, Nutimus and Qualpaghach. Nutimus 
 appears not to have had a definite object in view when he signed the deed ; 
 Qualpaghach had, but not being very dexterous in linear perspective he- 
 fails to convey to the eyes of the observer what animal he intended to rep- 
 resent. Were it not for the absence of two legs, a little study would en- 
 able the imagination to conceive that the picture might represent any 
 animal from a mouse to a deer. Probably that was Qualpaghach' s inten- 
 tion, and if it was he succeeded admirably. No. 9, the pipe of peace, is- 
 the signature of Tacknecdorus (Spreading Oak), the oldest son of Shek- 
 ellamy. The drawing is rather graceful and natural, with a few irregulari- 
 ties in the stem, M^hich indicate a fracture, and, when Tacknecdorus drew 
 the calumet on the parchment, the thought of a treaty that was only partly 
 fulfilled may have occurred to his mind and caused him to indicate it by 
 a broken stem. Some of the other signers drew turtles and animals, the 
 species of which it is as difficult to identify as No. 10, while others made- 
 unintelligible ' ' hooks and crooks. ' ' This is the only original literature of 
 the Indians that is extant. 
 
 Heckewelder and others that spent a great deal of time among the In- 
 dians have handed down to us vocabularies and fragments of the Delaware 
 language, but the work was all done by these men by means of English 
 letters in imitation of Indian pronunciation as closely as possible. The- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 107 
 
 following is the conjugation of the verb love in the indicative mood, 
 present tense : 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 1. N'dahoala. 1. N'dahoalaneen. 
 
 2. K'dahoala. 2. K'dahoalohhimo. 
 o. Wdahoala or 3. ahoalewak. 
 
 ahoaleu. 
 
 If the sweet coalescense of the letters which is so common in the English 
 language in words denoting love and affection was also a striking character- 
 istic of the Indian language, locing among them was not so agreeable an 
 affair as it is among civilized people. But the conjugation of dahoala in 
 their vernacular, may not have been as grating to their ears as it seems to 
 ours,- and when the word was pronounced by them, it might have been 
 much more melodious than we imagine it to have been. 
 
 The following is the Lord's Prayer in the Delaware language, as the 
 Moravians of Oley, Bethel and probably a few other places in Berks taught 
 it to the Ifidians. Nearly every word is a jaw-wrencher. It is inserted 
 here to show the unwieldiness of their language and to make it accessible 
 to those who may get tired of repeating it in simple Anglo-Saxon words 
 and may wish to repeat it in a language stronger and more forcible. It is 
 not the idea that Christians " shall be barbarians unto " each other, and 
 it is, therefore, recommended only for the use of private devotion : 
 
 Ki Wetochemelenk, talli epian Awassagame. ]\Iachelendasutch Ktelle- 
 wunsowoagan Kfakimawoagan pejewigetsch. Ktelite hewoagan legetch 
 talli achquidhackamike, elgiqui leek talli Awossagame. Milineen elgisch- 
 quik gxmigischuk achpoan. Woak miwelendammauwineen'n Tshan- 
 nauchsowoagannena elgiqui niluna miwelendammauwenk nik Tschetscha- 
 nilawequengik. Woak katschi 'npawuneen li Achquetschiechtowoaganung, 
 tschukund ktennieen untschi Medhickung. Alod knilaillatamen ksakima- 
 woagan, woakktallewussowoagan, woak katallowillussowoagan ne wuntschi 
 hallemiwi li hallamagamik. Amen. * 
 
 The Delawares, like all other Indians, had no written language, and 
 hence their vocal language disappeared with them, with the exception of 
 sakima (sachem), ochqueu (squaw), tamachicari (tomahawk), wickwam 
 (wigwam), the names of some rivers, mountains and places, and a few 
 fragments preserved in the writings of missionaries, which have already 
 been alluded to. 
 
 I have thus far given the history of the Indians as I found it in the old 
 records, gathering a fragment here and another there, and attempted to 
 connect them together so as to throw as much light upon the early history 
 of Berks as possible. I have also given a few traditions of a reliable source. 
 Many others might have been collected, but they did not appear to be well 
 
 •Loskiel, Part 1, p. 22. 
 
108 THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 authenticated. I will now take up the study of the unwritten history of 
 
 the Indians, which is found in the ahundance of the relics and a few other 
 
 vestiges that still remain, and will endeavor, with a limited knowledge of 
 
 their original life, to portray them as denizens of the forests before their 
 
 habits of life were modified by being in contact with the civilized race. 
 
 INDIAN VILLAGES. 
 
 The places Avhere the Indians had their villages or settlements can only 
 
 be determined by the relics that are found at the present day. It is true 
 
 that relics are found over the whole county, but they had their residences 
 
 where they are found in the greatest number, and these localities are also 
 
 marked by great quantities of "flint chips," which show unmistakably 
 
 the places where the Indians had their workshops. The relics that are so 
 
 sparsely scattered in some sections of the county were lost by the Indians 
 
 when they were out in search of game. It is impossible to conjecture what 
 
 was the Indian population of Berks County when they lived here in the 
 
 greatest number, but judging from the number of relics that have been 
 
 iound, and knowing that many are not unearthed yet, we have strong proof 
 
 that Berks was very densely populated along the Schuylkill and its princi- 
 
 r)al branches. 
 
 VIRGINSVILLE. 
 
 At Yirginsville was one of the most densely populated towns in the 
 county. Here is where the Sacony empties into the Maidencreek. This 
 place was called Sacunk by the Indians, and means plcwe or oiotlet of a 
 stream, but is now applied to the stream of water that comes through that 
 beautiful little valley from Kutztown and joins the Maidencreek here. 
 
 The relics are found over a larger extent of ground and are more varied 
 than usual. The farms on which they appear to be most numerous are 
 those of Messrs. Charles Adam, Jacob Leiby, Augustus Lenhart, Simon 
 Dreibelbis, Abraham Fink, Ephraim Dreibelbis, Esq., and Joel Dreibelbis, 
 Esq. 
 
 From this section of the county an immense number of relics have been 
 gathered, and thousands of relics were given away or sold, and it is only 
 within a comparatively recent date that the collectors are beginning to ap- 
 preciate the value of these Indian implements, and would not sell them 
 now at any price. Six collectors have over 12,000 relics gathered within a 
 small circuit. About that number was sold and still there are man}' to be 
 
 found yet. 
 
 JOEL DREIBELBIS' FARM. 
 
 There are half a dozen farms that abounded in relics, but there is none 
 
 so prolific as that of Joel Dreibelbis, Esq. The densest Indian population 
 
 must have been on this farm.. Mr. Dreibelbis was raised on this farm, and 
 
 he informed me that they used to gather axes, pestles and other Indian 
 
 implements with stones on their fields and dumped them into ponds and 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 109 
 
 low places for the purpose of filing up. Occasionally a good axe was taken 
 to the house and thrown on the ground, and when the house was rebuilt 
 some years ago, probably a dozen fine axes were buried. Six years ago he 
 began to make a collection, and if he knew where those axes were buried 
 he would undoubtedly unearth them now and put them into his collection. 
 Some idea of the abundance of the relics on this farm may be formed when 
 we consider that collectors operated on it for twenty years and six years 
 ago he began to collect and has already 5,000, and among these are some 
 very fine and rare specimens. 
 
 Mr. Driebelbis made some interesting observations in collecting his relics. 
 The relics found in the lowland along the Maidencreek are made of jasper, 
 basanite and chalcedony, and on the more elevated land on his farm the 
 implements are all made of quartzite and quartz. This is difficult to ex- 
 plain. Even if the manufacturers in the lowland used jasper, &c. , and 
 those on the knolls quartz and quartzite, it is natural to suppose that since 
 these localities are only a few hundred yards apart, that many of the arrow- 
 heads of quartzite would have been taken to the low clayey land, and 
 those of jasper would have found their way to the higher land on the farm, 
 but for some reason this did not occur. He also states that all the trian- 
 gular arrow-heads, of which he has a great number and many fine speci- 
 mens, are found in the lowland, and this is easily explained. Very few 
 triangular arrow-heads are made of quartzite. They are made of minerals 
 that are susceptible of fine chipping such as jasper, basanite and chalcedony, 
 and since these minerals are found exclusively in lowland, it is readily 
 understood why the triangular arrow-heads are found there. 
 
 NEVERSINK STATION. 
 
 Mr. Jonas DeTurk's farm, upon which Neversink Station is situated, 
 was also the seat of an Indian village. His fields along the Schuylkill are 
 full of chips and many relics are found there. In 1879 I visited Mr. De- 
 Turk, who conducted me and two others to a field that had been recently 
 plowed, and in an hour and a half we found over a hundred specimens, in- 
 cluding a fine axe. The majority of these specimens were perfect. A 
 little further up the Schuylkill, on Mr. Christian's farm, the relics are also 
 abundant, in fact the territory occupied by the Indians extends as far up 
 on the east side of the Schuylkill as to the Big Dam. The chips of -jasper 
 and chalcedony are scattered profusely along the river for the distance of a 
 mile and a half, and since these stones are not native to the place, and in- 
 dicate a great deal of chipping, the village must have extended over the 
 whole space. 
 
 My opinion is that the Schuylkill Indians referred to previously were 
 the Indians occupying the land from Reading to Exeter Station, including 
 those of Poplar Neck, and extended from the west side of the Schuylkill to 
 
110 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 the Reading and Philadelphia pike, though the densest portion of the pop- 
 ulation was in the vicinity of Neversink Station. Mr. DeTurk ha.s a very 
 fine collection, found principally on his farm. 
 
 On Mrs. DeTurk' s farm, a little northeast of the station, an Indian 
 village of considerable size must have existed. Large quantities of relics 
 are still found there. There are several very fine springs on the farm. 
 The Indians, in selecting places for their habitation, invariably settled near 
 a spring. One of the lower fields-in which a great variety of implements 
 has been found, and many fragments and "chips" are scattered over the 
 surface, is bounded partly on the north and south by immense rocks piled 
 upon each other, which with a little bark and a few skins would protect 
 them from the cold winds in the winter and afford them excellent shelter, 
 while the opposite side, with its large trees and foliage, woiild seem to be 
 one of the most desirable places for summer. Their wigwams were not 
 confined to this field, because chips and relics are found over a large por- 
 tion of the farm, though not so copiously. 
 
 DICKS ISLAND. 
 
 Dick's Island, opposite Neversink Station, was once a resort for the In- 
 dians. Much of it is washed away, but fragments of quartzite, jasper and 
 chalcedony are lying around in large quantities. A few years ago I visited 
 this island in company with Dr. Schoenfeld, who found an axe in the water 
 a short distance from the shore. This was in the dry season and shows 
 that a portion of the island was washed away. We also found large pieces 
 of chalcedony carried there by the Indians, from which they chipjjed their 
 arrow heads. 
 
 Formerly many relics were found on this island but the action of the 
 water upon the island, sometimes washing some of it away and then fill- 
 ing up again, has now removed all traces of relics. 
 
 DICK'S AND LEWIS' FARMS. 
 
 Indian relics are found along the Schuylkill, but not in such large quan- 
 tities as to show that there were large villiages lower down. In crossing 
 the Schuylkill from Dick's Island we get to Dick's farm — one of the most 
 renowned places for Indian relics, and immediately above is the farm of 
 Mr. William Lewis, upon whichmany and rare specimens have been found. 
 What has been said about Mr. DeTurk' s fields also applies to these 
 farms. More will be said about them when I give a description of the 
 stone implements. 
 
 POPLAR NECK. 
 
 Mr. Ezra High's farms had a large Indian population. There are other 
 localities where more relics may be found, but there is none in which so 
 many large specimens have been found in so small a circuit. Here are 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. Ill 
 
 fine springs, the soil is very fertile and produced large crops of Indian 
 corn, and the magnificent bend of the Schuylkill, the eligible site for a 
 village, and the romantic scenery along the mountains, excite the admira- 
 tion of civihzed man, and much more enticing must it have been to the 
 Indians when the country was dressed in its original livery. 
 
 ANGELICA. 
 
 Fritz's Island, and the farni now owned by the Reading Land and Im- 
 provement Company, were also occupied by a considerable body of In- 
 dians. AMiat was said of Dick's Island may be said about Fritz's Island. 
 Some years ago large numbers of fine relies were found on the island, but 
 the changes effected by the floods have buried or washed away the last 
 vestiges of the Indians. Near the mouth of the Angelica, where the sewer 
 disposal plant is located, numerous relics were found, but the erection of 
 the Angelica dam and other .improvements have effaced all remains of 
 
 Indian life. 
 
 READING. 
 
 There are evidences to prove that where the City of JReading now stands 
 the Indians had a large town. The city is so closely built up and the 
 ground has been disturbed so much, that these evidences ^are rarely ob- 
 served in the heart of the city, but in the direction of the Mineral Spring, 
 arrow heads are still found and " chips " may be seen through the whole 
 valley. Mr. James L. Douglas informed me that before the city was built 
 up along the foot of Sixth Street he used to find many relics, and that he 
 with a few companions picked up an ordinary hatful of arrow heads at 
 one time on the spot where Harbsters' Foundry now 'stands. This oc- 
 curred immediately after the ground had been plowed. Mr. John F. 
 Moers recently presented me a large stone hammer which he found at the 
 foot of Spruce Street while men were excavating for a building. 
 
 Twelve years ago Mr. William S. Young made an alteration in one of 
 his houses in the part of the city in which I live, and in removing a part 
 of the wall he found a large Indian axe, which he kindly presented to me. 
 The house had been built sixty-five years and was undoubtedly found on 
 the lot and put in the wall at that time. 
 
 TXJLPEHOCKEN. 
 
 Tulpehocken was one of the most widely known Indian settlements in 
 the county, and the first to be mentioned in history. This village was lo- 
 cated a little east of Stouchsburg, principally upon land owned by Mr. 
 Bubp and William Rieth. Relics are, however, found over a large terri- 
 tory, and thus prove that the Indians must have been numerous there. 
 There are relics found all along the Tulpehocken to the place where it 
 empties into the Schuylkill, but nowhere so abundantly east of Stouchs- 
 burg that we have any reason to believe that there were any villages. 
 
112 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 On the farm of Mr. Franklin B. Reed, two miles east of Stouchsburg,. 
 niimerous fine and unique relics have been found, and Mr. Reed's collec- 
 tion is gathered almost exclusively on his farm. 
 
 BERN. 
 
 In going up along the Schuylkill we find rehcs on every farm, and on 
 some farms in Bern there are so many that it is not probable that the 
 Indians lost them either in hunting or in traveling from one town to- 
 another. The Indians must have sojourned in Bern, especially east of 
 Leinbach's Hotel, because a variety of fine implements have been found 
 
 there. 
 
 ONTELAXJNEE. 
 
 North of Leesport the Indians withdrew from the Schuylkill and fol- 
 lowed the Maidencreek, which by them was called Ontelaunee. Schuylkill 
 is of Swedish origin. Dr. S. S. Haldeman says that the Indian name of 
 the Schuylkill was Ganshowehanne, Roaring Stream. Rupp, however, 
 states that according to tradition the Indians called the Schuylkill Mana- 
 yunk, meaning Mother ; and the branch that flows into it south of Leesport 
 Ontelaunee, meaning Little Maiden, hence the English name Maidencreek. 
 
 LEESPORT, 
 and some of the surrounding farms, especially those belonging to the Iron 
 Company, Mr. A H. Gernant and John Gernant, were occupied by a 
 large body of Indians. A large number of relics have been found there, 
 and some varieties that have been found nowhere else in the county. Not 
 many relics are found north of Leesport. 
 
 moselem:. 
 
 Relics are found along the Maidencreek, though not very plentifully, as 
 far up as to Moselem, there they become very abundant. A considerable 
 distance up Moselem Creek are evidences of a dense|Indian population. 
 The Indians called the creek Maschilamehanne, which signified Trout 
 Stream ; but the successors to the Indians, thinking that this word had 
 too many angles, ground and polished it down to Moselem. 
 
 MAXATAWNY. 
 
 Probably the most extensive Indian settlement in the county was in 
 Maxatawny. Relics are found over a large extent of the township, but in 
 the vicinity of Kutztown they are found in the greatest abundance. Mr. 
 H. K. Deisher reported that he obtained nearly 7,000 relics from a single 
 farm. Thousands of stone implements were gathered years ago and were 
 sent out of the county, and more recently several collectors disposed of 
 their collections. 
 
 H. K. Deisher found two genuine Indian clubs on his father's farm, a 
 short distance north of Kutztown. The one, when struck, has a very clear 
 ring, and is from Ringing Rocks, near Pottstown ; and the other is made 
 of the micacious rock north of Philadelphia. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 113 
 
 BURYING GROUNDS.— BIG DAM. 
 
 There are unmistakable evidences of a large Indian population formerl}-, 
 and thousands of them and their implements must have been buried where 
 thej^ had their villages, but now there are no visible marks remaining and 
 comparatively little is known of their burying place, and the manner in 
 which they interred their dead. This is readily accounted for. The places 
 where the Indians had their villages and where they buried were, on ac- 
 count of the fertility of the soil, excellence of springs and natural beautj', 
 some of the finest places in the county. When the white people followed 
 the Indians, they, too, would settle upon the best and most eligible land, 
 and the places where the Indians lived were generally the first to be taken 
 up by them. This is proved by the early settlement of Amity, Douglass- 
 ville, Oley, Tulpehocken, ^laxatawny and Albany. The Indians buried 
 their dead where the ground was easily excavated with their rude imple- 
 ments, and this always happened to be a spot most easily cultivated, and 
 having the best soil. Thus, after the ground was plowed and harrowed 
 several times, the mounds were leveled, and the marks by which they 
 would still be recognized have been obliterated. There are but two bury- 
 ing grounds in the county that can be approximately located. 
 
 On inquiry I learned that when the Schuylkill Canal was made the 
 workmen dug through a burying-ground where Lewis' and Dick's farms 
 join, a short distance below Neversink or Big Dam. I called upon Mr. 
 William Lewis, who said that he was quite young yet when the canal was 
 made, and that skeletons and Indian implements were dug up. He also 
 stated that he distinctly remembers that his father brought several skulls 
 home which were lying about the house for some time, and after the nov- 
 elty was "worn away " they were used as vessels out of which the cats 
 were fed. 
 
 Mr. S. H. Christian found a fine axe in the canal at this place when the 
 water was drawn off in the winter of 1879 and 1880. The water washed 
 the ground away from a grave, and when the axe was set free it slid toward 
 the bottom of the canal. It is probable that a number of other specimens 
 could be found at the same place, if careful search were made. 
 
 INDIAN BURYING GROUND AT KUTZTOWN. 
 
 In consequence of the cultivation of all the land occupied by the Indians, 
 and the disappearance of all their graves, the following letter from A. B. 
 Wanner, Esq. , of Reading, gives some valuable information with reference 
 to the burial of the Indians : 
 
 Reading, Pa., April 11, 1881. 
 Peof. D. B. Brunner. 
 
 Dear Sir : — Knowing that you are about publishing a history of the In- 
 dians and relics of Berks County, and fully appreciating the great worth 
 
114 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 and value of such history, I desire to give you tlie following information, 
 which, if you consider of any value, you may use at your pleasure. 
 
 My mother was horn about the year 1790 on a farm formerly belonging 
 to her father, and now owned by the heirs of David Sharadin, dec'd, situate 
 about half a mile northwest from the borough of Kutztown. During my 
 early life she frequently told me and my brothers that there were a large 
 number of Indians buried on the northwestern portion of said farm, then 
 consisting of a dense woods, and when a small child the mounds of the 
 graves were clearly visible. The graves as pointed out were on rising 
 ground, and a short distance therefrom was a ravine, through which, from 
 all indications, must have been flowing a considerable stream of water, but 
 is now dry for at least 60 years. In about the year 1848 myself and others 
 concluded to make a search of the place pointed out to us of the burial- 
 ground and such relics as we could find. "We had no difficulty in discov- 
 ing graves ; the nature of the soil was so different from the surrounding 
 that it was detected at once. At a depth of about three feet we discovered 
 a full set of bones of a human person, but nothing else. We suspended 
 further search for about two weeks, and then made another effort in close 
 proximity to the place we were digging before. At about the same depth 
 we found a full set of bones and the following additional articles : A small 
 copper-kettle holding about two quarts ; lock and barrel of a pistol about 
 a foot in length ; a bullet-mould ; a number of bullets ; a pocket knife ; 
 another knife about 9 inches long, resembling the point of a German scythe, 
 with an iron handle ; a certain kind of a shell, and over a pint of glass 
 beids, ranging from a small blue glass bead, J of an inch long and 1-16 of 
 an inch thick, and white ones from the size of a cherry stone to an ordi- 
 nary shell-bark. The bones were generally well preserved. The day fol- 
 lowing this discovery, a party from Kutztown went to the same place and 
 opened a grave, not two feet from the one we were at the day before, and 
 found the remains of another body, which evidently must have been a 
 squaw. They took out of the grave 18 brass finger-rings, and about a 
 quart of spotted glass beads, ranging in size the same as above. This is 
 the only time that I know of any search having been made. In the three 
 graves that were opened the bodies were buried with the feet almost due 
 west. On the same farm were found in former years a large number of 
 arrows and tomahawks, showing that the place must have at one time been 
 inhabited by a large number of Indians. A. B Wanner. 
 
 The kettle, pistol lock and barrel are in the possession of Dr. C. Wanner, 
 of Kutztown, and a number of the beads are in Mr. E. J. Sharadin' s col- 
 lection. 
 
 BLUE ROCKS. 
 
 There is a reputed burying-ground a few hundred yards west of the Blue 
 Rocks, in Windsor Township, about four or five miles east of Hamburg. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 115 
 
 M'hen I heard of this a few years ago I engaged Mr. Samuel Burkey, of 
 Reading, who spent the early part of his life in the house nearest to the 
 place, to conduct me to the spot. We made the first tour in the spring of 
 1875. 'We could not get the necessary digging tools in the neighborhood, 
 because the farmers were engaged in repairing their roads ; we examined 
 the ground for a considerable distance and found a number of artificial 
 mounds, fifteen or twenty quite close together. The external appearance 
 was what a person would imagine to be an Indian burying-ground. This 
 place is near the base of the Blue Mountains, and about two hundred yards 
 in the woods. Not being able to make an investigation of the mounds we 
 ascended Pulpit Rock, the most conspicuous point on the mountains in 
 Windsor Township, from which we admired for a long tinje the grandeur 
 and sublimity of the works of nature, and after passing over the famous 
 Blue Rocks we returned to Reading the same day. 
 
 In the fall ot 1876 I made arrangements to visit the place again, but my 
 "co-laborer'' failed to make his appearance, and the day happened to be 
 extremely hot, nothing was accomplished. In the spring of 1S77 I visited 
 the place a third time, in company with Messrs. Amos S. and Alfred S. 
 Greenawalt, of Albany. ^Ve were prepared to do a large amount of exca- 
 vating, but it was in April, the groxind was naturally full of water and a 
 fine spring in the midst of the mounds we were not able to dig sufficiently 
 •deep on account of the abundance of water, ^^'e left again without any 
 satisfactory results. On the 29th of October, 1879, I visited the place the 
 fourth time. This time I was accompanied by Dr. C. G. Loose, of Centre- 
 port, to whom I am greatly indebted for his assistance in examining one of 
 the mounds. We selected one of the most prominent ones, and one that 
 had been dug up at a former visit. We dug down until 
 we came to the solid ground, and widely enough to discover 
 whether any thing was buried there. We found nothing 
 and decided that no Indians were buried there, but we left the place 
 without being able to determine how those mounds were produced. If 
 there were only several of them they might be heaps of ground made by 
 trees that had been blown over, but there are too many close together. 
 They lie irregularly, the ground is loose and generally free from stones, and 
 is scraped up on both sides. The origin of these apparently artificial 
 heaps of ground is a mystery. 
 
 OLD HOUSES. 
 
 Berks, as well as our neighboring counties, has made wonderful progress 
 within the last century. The wood has been cut down and the soil put 
 •under cultivation, and thus all the old Indian landmarks have been de- 
 stroyed. The spirit of improvement and the demand for better accommo- 
 dation among our progressive people have necessitated the rasure of nearly 
 all the old buildings that were erected to serve both as dwelhng houses and 
 
116 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 
 
 forts or defenses during the time that the Indians were here. Architectu- 
 ral beauty received no attention. The primary object was to build houses 
 that were durable and would insure the greatest protection to life. They 
 were, therefore, built with thick walls and few windows, and these were 
 invariably small. The shutters were made of strong material, well riveted 
 together so as not to be easily battered through by the Indians, and the 
 roofs were made of tiles and thus it was not an easy matter to. set their 
 houses on fire. These houses were also provided with port-holes, through 
 which the people fired at the Indians when they approached them. There 
 are but three of these houses still standing, at least only three have come 
 under my observation. 
 
 The oldest house in the county was built at Douglassville by Mounce 
 Jones and was described on a previous page. The second house is the 
 Kurtz's House, on the Tulpehocken Creek, in Marion Township, a short 
 distance east of Reed's Church, the congregation of which was organized 
 as early as 1729. It is a spacious house, and a sandstone in the gable 
 bears the inscription " Johann Jacob Lash 1753," and also a star, a heart, 
 and another symbol which is not easily recognized. Andrew Lash became 
 the owner of this property by patent dated September 17th, 1735. John 
 Kurtz, the great grandfather of the present owners, William, James and 
 Samuel Kurtz, purchased it April 16th, 1764, since whicTi time it has been 
 under the proprietorship of the Kurtz family. Tradition also says that 
 this house had port-holes, which is very credible, because it is located 
 where often the greatest excitement and consternation were felt. 
 
 The third house stands in Albany Township, on the farm of Benjamin 
 Levan, deceased. I was informed by persons well acquainted with the 
 premises that but a few years ago bullets were cut out of the timbers, that 
 the Indians shot into them while they were firing at the people in the 
 house, during the French and Indian War. 
 
 HOW THE INDIANS LIVED. 
 
 The food of the Indians consisted of meat, vegetables, nuts and berries.. 
 They ate nearly all the animals they captured, but they relished venison 
 and the meat of the bear more than any other. Deer and bears must have 
 been numerous. The Delawares presented one hundred and twenty deer 
 skins to the Lieutenant-Governor and council on October 14th, 1712, and 
 on August 1st, 1735, the Conestoga, GanaAvese and Shawanese presented 
 163 deer skins, 4 raccoon skins and 2 bear skins. The Indians rarely in- 
 cluded bear skins in their presents and yet they must have been abun- 
 dant in certain parts of the state. Maxatawny signifies bear's path creek, 
 and Macungy, in Lehigh, means feeding place of bears, and from this we 
 may infer that they abounded in Berks and Lehigh and that the Indians- 
 valued them so highly that they did not part with them. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 117 
 
 The Indians were accustomed to hunt in companies. They would file 
 out and surround a large extent of country and then move toward a com- 
 mon centre, surround the deep and kill it with bow and arrow. They 
 used the bow and arrow even when they had guns, because the report of a 
 gun always frightened the deer and drove them to more distant places. 
 Loskiel says " in former times the Indians killed only as much game as 
 they wahted for food and clothing, as the dress both of men and women 
 was made of skins. These animals, of course, were then very numerous 
 everywhere. But now when a large buckskin sells for a Spanish dollar, 
 the game is pursued for the sake of trade, and a clever huntsman will 
 shoot from fifty to one hundred and fifty deer in one Autumn and conse- 
 quently they must decrease very fast in number. ' ' 
 
 The fish which abounded in our rivers and creeks also furnished them 
 with a large amount of food. 
 
 Potatoes, corn and tobacco were the only agricultural products which 
 were generally cultivated. Chestnuts, hickory nuts, "ground nuts" and 
 a great variety of berries also abounded and, at certain seasons of the year, 
 yielded them a large amount of rich and palatable sustenance. 
 
 BELICS. 
 
 The Indians left the county more than 150 years ago and left behind 
 them relics and implements of daily use which must have required much 
 time and labor to put into shape with their primitive methods of manipu- 
 lation. For many years these implements were looked upon with in- 
 diflference and were not regarded as having any historical value, and, in- 
 deed, on account of the cruelty toward the white people some few seemed 
 to look upon them with hatred and contempt, but now they are gathered 
 everywhere and are generally preserved as historical mementoes. A few 
 still collect and sell them, but a large majority of the collectors preserve 
 them. 
 
 I made a personal inspection of most of the collections and made as ac- 
 curate an inventory of the relics as it was possible. A few of the collectors 
 to whom I addressed letters of inquiry failed to respond and this makes 
 the total less than it should be. 
 
118 
 
 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 COLIiECTIONS OF INDIAN RELICS. 
 
 <U I 
 
 o 1 
 
 ■D OS 
 fco D, 
 
 Pes 
 
 Joel Dreibelbis, Virginsville 
 Jacob A. Boyer, Virginsville 
 J. W. Brensinger, Virgins' e 
 A. Wentzel, Virginsville, . 
 A. G. Mengel, Virginsville 
 Sylvester K. Loy, Virgins' e 
 L. H. Lesher, Perry, 
 A. H. DeTurk, Leesport, 
 E. D. Greenawalt, Kempton 
 P. W. Kistler, Kempton, 
 Seth Kistler, Kempton, 
 Henry Boyer, Kempton, 
 H. D. Merkel, Moselem Sp's 
 H. K. Deisher, Kutztown 
 W. H. Krause, Kutztown, 
 
 E. J. Sellers, Kutztown, 
 A. M. Kline, Fleetwood, 
 A. W. Luckenbill, Fleetw'd 
 Theo. S. Merkel, Fleetwoodi 
 M. S. Schaeffer, Fleetwood! 
 John A.^^'eiandt, Fleetwood 
 
 F. B. Reed, Stouchsburg, 
 J. H. Bubp, Stouchsburg, 
 H. L. Illig, Millbach, . 
 Ezra High, Poplar Neck, 
 Jonay DeTurk, Neversink, 
 Jas. S. DeTurk, Neversink 
 W. R. Bertolet, Oakland, . 
 M. L. DeTurk, Friedensb'g, 
 W. F. Kohler, Klinesville 
 John B. Brobst, Reading, 
 Henry Weidensaul, Reading 
 Henry D. Dick, Reading, 
 Charles W. Berg, Reading. 
 D. B. Brunner, Reading, 
 
 11^ 17 
 
 ii; 26 
 
 2' 7 
 
 2 
 
 5; 5 
 
 ! 2 
 
 4 
 
 20' 44 
 
 li .3 
 
 ^r: 
 
 5' 6 
 
 45'16{) 
 
 2 2 
 
 I 2 
 2' 16 
 3' 4 
 2, 8 
 
 '27 
 
 5 17 
 20 
 12 
 
 8 20 
 
 8 20 
 1 
 
 6 27 
 
 75 105 
 
 3 4 
 
 2, 2 
 
 3 13, 
 12, 72, 3 
 
 12 3650 
 
 5150 
 520 
 285 
 
 1100 
 560 
 130 
 
 6140 
 320 
 225 
 110 
 890 
 700 
 12500 
 412 
 650 
 125 
 500 
 356 
 520 
 
 1100 
 
 12| 1850 
 
 10 1240 
 
 ' 550 
 
 910 
 
 9640 
 950 
 
 2150 
 
 275 
 
 75 
 
 12000 
 
 150 
 
 145 
 
 1410 
 
 6870 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 20 
 
 234'677il4|l24i74158 80 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 9 35 9 
 
 40! 3 
 
 1; 10; 1 
 
 6i 1 
 
 15^ 2 
 12 
 
 24J12 
 
 20i 
 1 
 
 25: 
 5 25! 
 10 100'l5 
 
 o 
 4 
 6 
 4 
 4 
 
 60 
 
 1120 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 650 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 50 
 6 
 48 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 451 5 
 
 26 
 
 28 
 48 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 4 
 
 670, 125 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 65 
 
 4883 
 
 5238 
 
 554 
 
 293. 
 
 1147 
 
 592 
 
 137 
 
 6249 
 
 336 
 
 247 
 
 115 
 
 932 
 
 756 
 
 13500 
 
 416 
 
 662 
 
 128 
 
 524 
 
 375 
 
 568. 
 
 1147 
 
 1937 
 
 1318 
 
 563 
 
 962 
 
 9760 
 
 975 
 
 2276 
 
 309 
 
 75 
 
 13035 
 
 151 
 1454 
 7104 
 
 1111213 67 2190 78868 
 
 Sixteen years ago when the first edition of this book appeared there were 
 less than 20,000 relics in the collections of the county, and how there are 
 in round numbers 80,000, and estimating those that have been sold and 
 presented to parties in places outside of the county at 20,000, we get a 
 total of 100,000 relics found up to this time. The collectors are still find- 
 
THE INDIANS OF BEIIKS COUNTY, PA. 119 
 
 ing them in plowed fields after a rain, and in some places they are still 
 numerous. 
 
 The preceding catalogue is not intended to be a correct classification of 
 the relics found in Berks Count}', but to be a statement exhibiting under a 
 few heads the total number at the present time. Some of the collectors 
 began to gather specimens but recently, a few are not ambitious to make 
 large collections, and hence accept none but the very best specimens (this 
 accounts for a few small collections), while others have many more than 
 are indicated by the figures in the catalogue, but they are specimens not 
 from Berks — generally from the west — and cannot be described here, be- 
 cause this history is to be confined exclusively to the Indians and the relics 
 of this county. 
 
 If the specimens that were but recently taken out of the county were 
 added, the total would be largely increased. There are many single speci- 
 mens of axes and small lots of arrow heads in the hands of farmers who do 
 not make collections, but they cherish and hold on to them because they 
 found them on their farms. 
 
 The collection of Mr. H. L. Illig, Mill bach, Lebanon County, deserves 
 mention here. It contains over five thousand specimens, and shows that 
 Lebanon also had a large Indian population.. Only a small portion of his 
 collection is from Berks County. 
 
 About one-third of my collection is from the vicinity of Virginsvilie, 
 one-third from Maxatawny, and the remainder from all parts of the county 
 where relics are found. I have been greath' aided in making my collec- 
 tion by a number of persons, and I desire to express my thanks for val- 
 uable specimens to Messrs. L. 8. and J. D. Updegrove, of Uinon ; F. S. 
 Updegrove, of Monocacy Hill ; J. D. and A. J. DeTurk, of Neversink Sta- 
 tion ; H. D. Dick, of Cumru ; H. D. C Kuser, of New Berlin ; Calvin 
 Jackson, of Exeter ; Dr. R. B. Rhoads, of Amity ; D. K. High and Henry 
 K. High, of Cumru ; S. B. Knabb, of Oley ; .J. B. Kremer and B. F. Y. 
 Leinbach, of Bern ; Dr. Schoenfeld and B. F. Y. Shearer, Esq., of Read- 
 ing ; S. D. Heil, Esq., of Hereford; George Degler, of Strausstown ; J. 
 H. Hartman, of Ontelaunee ; J. B. Burkej', of Bernville ; .Jonas Keller, 
 of Hamburg ; L. H. Lesher, of Perry ; P. S. Albright, of Maidencreek ; 
 Amos S. and Alfred S. Greenawald and Ceorge Bolich, of Albany, and 
 J. H. Rothermel, of Blandon. 
 
 INDIAN IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 In order to stud)' the implements of the Indians properly, and to get a 
 correct idea of their life, when they lived in their real aboriginal condition, 
 it will he necessary to imagine a race of beings. placed in a country abound- 
 ing in wild aninaalp,, far away from all the influences of civilization, with 
 no tools to erect houses, no axes to cut wood, no guns to ^hoot animals for 
 
120 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 food, no looms to weave their clothing, no plows to cultivate Indian corn, 
 and no matches or even steel to ttrike fire to warm themselves during the 
 long winter. They were compelled to erect wigwams to protect themselves 
 against the inclemency of the weather, and devise means to catch fish and 
 capture wild animals for food. Entirely ignorant of the mechanical arts 
 that have had so much to do with the rapid advancement of civilization, 
 they were necessitated to tax their ingenuity to shape wood and stones so 
 as to utilize them as tools. The old adage "necessity is the mother of 
 invention" never applied to any race so strikingly as it did to the In- 
 dians. Not having any knowledge of the metals, they had only one ma- 
 terial, of which they made nearly all their implements. Their axes, 
 knives, spades, spear-heads, arrow-heads, beads, Jewelry, &c., were all 
 made of stone, and in making them they displayed more than an ordinary 
 degree of ingenuity, and the stones that they used for the manufacture of 
 their utensils and ornaments proved the fact that they had a practical 
 knowledge of lithology. The stones that could easily be fashioned into 
 an ornament wer^^g^l^ when ground into the form of an axe, and the 
 stones that would have made the most durable axes were too hard to be 
 ground into the proper shape, but were the only stones that could be 
 chipped readily into arrow ai\d spear-heads. The succeeding part of this 
 history will be devoted to illustrations of Berks County relics, the manner 
 in which they are made, and explanations of their uses as far as known. 
 
 The Indians had already relinquished many of their practices, and used 
 implements which they had obtained from the white people at the time 
 when our historians first began to give descriptions of their modes of life, 
 so that in some instances it is impossible at the present day to state what 
 were the uses of some of these implements. 
 
 MINERALS USED BY THE INDIANS. 
 
 The minerals used by the Indians were aluminous rocks, quartz and quartz- 
 ite, jasper, basanite, chalcedony, slate and soapstone. 
 
 Some variety of aluminous rock, such as diabase, syenite, dioryte and 
 pyroxene, were used in making their axes and pestles. These rocks a^-e 
 found abundantly through Alsace, Ruscombmanor and Rockland. A few 
 specimens of sandstone and red shale are found but they are not numer- 
 ous. These are hard and compact stones and not susceptible of chipping. 
 
 Quartzite is a compact variety of granular quartz and was largely em- 
 ployed in making spear heads, knives and arrow heads. Quartzite is a 
 mineral that can be chipped with ease, but it is a coarse-grained mineral, 
 and hence the majority of the relics of this material are rather rough, 
 while a number of them are very graceful in shape and beautiful in form 
 and finish. There are a few axes and pestles made of quartzite. Many of 
 the collections have very fine specimens of arrow heads of white quartz. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 121 
 
 AH fhe fine, slender and unique arrow heads are made of jasper, basa- 
 nite and chalcedony. Jasper and basanite, which is a black flint, are found 
 near Pricetown and Longs warn p in small quantities, but very abundantly 
 ■on " Flint Hill," in Rockland Township. 
 
 Arrowheads of limestone and other softer rocks are occasionally found, 
 but they are all irregular and clumsy, l^ecausc the stones are too soft and 
 cannot be chipped. 
 
 Tablets, banner stones and ornaments are generally made of slate, and 
 'bowls of soapstone. 
 
 AXES. 
 
 The axes were generally made of a hard rock, such as diabase, horn- 
 folendic or pyroxenic rock, sandstone, &c. The Indians used to take a 
 fragment of rock, which they obtained by striking one rock upon another, 
 -and after thej' had in this manner trimmed it down as nearly as possible 
 to the desired shape, they ground d(nvn all the irregularities by some pro- 
 ■cess of abrasion. This they could have done by .rubbing the stone to be 
 polished on a sandstone, or by using sand as abrasive material upon any 
 iiard stone. When we consider how slow a process this must have been, 
 we may form some idea of the unbounded patience it must have required 
 to grind the large;r axes and pestles into shape. I have a lapidary's mill 
 with a corundum wheel and lead wheels fed with emery and corundum, 
 which I had driven by steam and hand power for preparing microscopical 
 specimens, and polishing mineral specimens of every degree of hardness 
 ■except the diamond, and T\hen I compare the present process of polishing 
 with the mode employed by the Indians, I judge that the making of an 
 .axe was the work of weeks, unless they had a process of chipping those 
 stones unknown to mineralogists of the present day. 
 
 The question is often asked with a great deal of emphasis, how did the 
 Indians cut wood with these axes ? The Indian could not use his stone 
 Axe for the same purpose for which we use the steel edge. Loskiel says 
 "their hatchets (or axes) were wedges made of hard stone, six or eight 
 inches long, sharpened at the edge and fastened to a wooden handle. 
 They were not used to fell trees, but only to peel them or to kill their 
 enemies." The next question that arises is how did they fell their trees? 
 Loskiel answers again, "formerly when they had no axes but those made 
 ■of stone, as above mentioned, they used to kindle a fire around large trees, 
 -and burn them so long till they fell ; then by applying fire to different 
 parts of the stem and branches, they divided them into smaller pieces for 
 use." " Formerly they kindled a fire by turning or twisting a dry stick, 
 with great swiftness upon a dry board, using both hands." They kept 
 -their fires constantly burning in their wigwams. It is difficult to imagine 
 low happy the Indians must have been when they first obtained axes from 
 the traders or settlers with which they were enabled to manipulate their 
 
122 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, VA. 
 
 wood and erect their wigwams more expeditiously and satisfactorily. The 
 axes were used also to girdle the trees, and take off the bark which they 
 used to cover their huts. In making their canoes thej^ Avould cover the 
 sides of the log with ground or other material which was constantly kept 
 wet, and would burn out the middle. The axes are supposed to have 
 been employed to remove the charcoal in this operation. These are the 
 purposes for which it is generally conceded that the stone axes were 
 adapted, hut the variety of their implements was comparative! 3' small, and 
 they might have used their axes for various other objects. 
 
 There are three kinds of axes, the grooved, double-grooved and the un- 
 grooved. Axes of the first class have a groove near the head or "poll" 
 into Avhich a forked stick was put and tied together with ligatures of hides 
 so as to hold it firmly to the axe. This stick formed the handle to the- 
 axe. No. 1 was found on Monocacy hill, and is the gift of Mr. F. S. 
 Updegrove. This axe is made of a hard compact stone ; the head and 
 the sides are beautifully rounded and the whole implement is well pol- 
 ished. The axe is six inches long and three inches wide ; the cut is one- 
 half the length and breadth of the axe, and hence presents only one-fourth 
 of the area. The cutting edge of the axe is scarcely an inch in length and 
 has never been subjected to rough usage. Both sides are regularly curved, 
 but the curvature of the one is twice as great as that of the other. If this 
 axe was used for any other purpose than killing people, it must have been 
 employed in taking the bark off trees. In examining a large number of 
 axes it will be perceived that there are general principles that the Indians 
 observed in making their axes, and yet it is impossible to find two alike. 
 Some of the shapes may have been suggested by the fragment of rock from 
 which they made them, others may have been shaped according to the 
 whim of the maker,, while others were probably made in a peculiar shape 
 for a specific object. No. 2 is a specimen in the collection of Mr. L. H. 
 Lesher, and was found near his residence in Perry Township. It is made 
 of a diorytic rock, is five and three-fourth inches long and two and three- 
 eighths wide, and has very much the appearance of the finely crystallized 
 aluminous pyroxene, which is found in large masses on the hills in Alsace 
 and Longswamp, though the dark crystals do not have the jet black color 
 which characterizes the pyroxene of our rocks. The majority of the axes 
 found in Berks County are made of the same material as No. 2, though some 
 of the rocks may have been brought from other states. On a recent 
 trip to Philadelphia, a "skinner," that was found in South Carolina, was 
 shown to me bj^ Dr. F. A. Genth. I had a similar implement with me, 
 and on examination we found that both were so nearly alike in crystalliza- 
 tion that they might have been made from the same rock. The peculiari- 
 ties of this axe are its straight faces and the large deep groove on three of 
 its sides. The axe is an excellent specimen, and has no defect except a 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. V2:'> 
 
 scratch made by some agricultural implement. It is generall}- believed 
 that the absence of the groove on the one side is to present a straight sur- 
 face to drive a wedge in, to fasten the handle more firmlj^, after it is tied 
 to the axe. This form of the axe is not common in Berks. 
 
 No. 3 is a very odd form of an axe, and the only one of this peculiar 
 shape in all the collections of the county. It is made of dioryte and comes 
 from Maxatawny. It is grooved on its two faces. The indentations on 
 the sides appear like large grooves, but they are not. The axe was worked 
 in that shape to give it an ornamental appearance. All irregularities on 
 the axe are ground off, and the cutting edge and the grooves are highly 
 polished. It is difficult to conjecture to what particular use this axe was 
 devoted. 
 
 No. 4 is from the collection of Mr. John H. Bubp, and is made of the 
 same mineral as No. 3. The body is very large in proportion to the poll. 
 The groove encircles the axe and is so shallow that it must have been very 
 difficult to fasten a handle to it to effect any hard work. This specimen 
 belongs to a class of axes not verj' numerous in this county, ilr. Ezra 
 High has the most unique specimen belonging to this class. The axe is 
 about six inches long and of a corresponding width. On the one side the 
 groove is about three-fourths of an inch from the top of the poll and runs 
 obliquel}' to the top on the other side. It seems almost impossible to 
 fasten a handle to it to be used for any kind of work. 
 
 No. .5 is not an axe in form, but it has a fine groove for a handle, and 
 must have been used in the same manner as axes were used, and for this 
 reason it is classed among them. It might also be properly classed a,mong 
 the hammers. It is the only specimen of the kind found in the county, 
 and it is extremely doubtful whether a specimen equal to this in 'beauty of 
 form could be found anywhere. There is no doubt with regard to the use 
 of this implement. The Indians tied a handle to it in the usual way and 
 used it in the same manner as an axe in killing people. This weapon was 
 found at Virginsville. It is four and a quarter inches long and over two 
 inches thick and nearly round. Is made of granular quartz. It was picked 
 into shape and then the asperities were ground down so as to give it a 
 smooth surface, with the exception of small marks made by a pointed in- 
 strument. 
 
 No. 6 is in Mr. W. F. Dreibelbis' collection. This axe is very graceful 
 in form and is remarkable for its large deep groove. It is scarcely five 
 inches long and its groove is one inch and a quarter wide. If the handle 
 was thick enough to fill the groove, then the axe and the handle were quite 
 out of proportion. But it is probable that a handle of ordinary size was 
 used, and that the groove was filled up with thongs wound around the- 
 handle. 
 
124 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 No. 7 is the only ungrooved axe in the county. It was found by Master 
 Harry H. Buckvvalter along the Wyomissing, near Shillington, and was 
 presented to me by the finder. The axe is well shaped, beautifully pol- 
 ished and has no defect or scratch except the fracture at the poll. It is 
 diflicult to conjecture what was the especial object of the ungrooved axes, 
 liecause it must have been a laborious task to fasten a handle to them 
 neatly. 
 
 No. 8 is an axe in form, but it has no cutting edge, and would be classed 
 among the hammers if it were not thin and would have the appearance of 
 being used as a hammer. The groove is on its face and on one side, and 
 runs obliquely across the implement. It is shallow on the faces, but deep 
 on the edge. This specimen was found by P. S. Albright, Esq., near 
 Evansville. 
 
 No. 9 is one of our smallest axes, found on Mr. William Lewis' farm. 
 It is made of a kind of red shale, is three and a-half inches long, two inches 
 wide or thick, and nearly cylindrical. The groove is deep, and the cut- 
 ting edge is very blunt on account of the thickness of the axe. It could 
 not have been used for barking trees, and was evidently employed only as a 
 "weapon in killing their enemies. 
 
 No. 10 is a specimen in the collection of S. L. Young, Esq. This axe is 
 made of a dark diorite and is remarkable for its beautiful form, elegant 
 polish and its unusually .large groove. The axe is six and a-quarter inches 
 long, its greatest width is three and a-half inches, and the groove is deep and 
 averages nearly one and three-quarter inphes in width. The axe ie decidedly 
 the finest specimen in the county, and was beyond a doubt the property of 
 an Indian of high rank. It was found at Douglassville and may have been 
 lost by one of the chiefs that remained a few days at Douglassville to await 
 the arrival of the Governor in 1728. 
 
 No. 11 is a double-grooved axe of a beautiful finish and rare workman- 
 ship. It was found in Richmond Township, near the Borough of Fleet- 
 wood, and was until recently in the possession of Dr. Long. The grooves 
 have the usual depth and the ridge between them is considerably elevated. 
 The upper part is nearly cylindrical and the lower part has the usual shape 
 of an axe. It is made of a hard light blue stone. Mr. Joel Dreibelbis 
 has one of as beautiful and graceful a form, made of the same material, 
 and was perfect when he found it, but through a failure to put it to a safe 
 place it was broken a little at the " poll." H. K. Deisher, of Kutztown, 
 has a fair specimen of a double-grooved axe, and Jacob A. Boyer, of Vir- 
 ginsville, found one a few years ago and disposed of it, and now since he 
 began to make a collection he would gladly recall that sale if he could. 
 
 No. 12 was found in Greenwich Township, near Virginsville. It is three 
 a,nd three-quarter inches long and as wide. It is made of sandstone, well 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 125 
 
 grooved, and has its cutting end so blunt that it could not have been used 
 for all the ordinary purposes of an axe. 
 
 No. 1.3 is an excellent specimen of a great number of axes found in 
 Berks County, some of which slope more toward the cutting end, while 
 others have larger polls, and, with few exceptions, are grooved all around ; 
 this one is grooved only on three sides. It was obtained near Fritztown 
 by Dr. Schoenfeld, who kindly presented it to me. Ezra High, Esij. , 
 owns the largest axe in the county. It weighs nine pounds. 
 
 No. 14 belongs to Mr. Abraham H. DeTurk's collection, and was found 
 on the farm of Mr. Reese Davies. It is made of a very finelj^ crystallized 
 diorite. Its greatest width is two and a quarter inches, its length three 
 and a half inches, and its thickness in the middle three-quarters of an 
 inch, gradually' sloping in every direction so as to form a cutting edge all 
 around. This implement was first chipped. The lower part is well pol- 
 ished, the upper is chipped very evenly and the groove extends around 
 the implement, though it is shallow. The groove implies that it was used 
 as an axe, otherwise it would be classed among the digging tools. 
 
 Mr. F. B. Reed has a similar one of finer mineral and half an inch shorter 
 and the part above the groove is a little wider than that of No. 14. 
 
 No. 15 represents the form of the tomahawk, which the Indians obtained 
 from the early settlers in exchange for skins, &c. The cut is one-half the 
 natural size. This specimen is in the possession of Mr. H. D. Dick, and 
 was found immediately below Dick's farm several feet under ground, and 
 was in all probability buried with its owner. The handle is iron, is welded 
 to the axe and ended on the opposite side in a point, but it is broken off. 
 The head or poll also came to a point, but is now broken off. Mr. Kupp, 
 of Unionville, also has one of these tomahawks, the handle of which is 
 broken off, but the other parts are complete yet. A. H. DeTurk has one 
 of a similar pattern, but it had a wooded handle. 
 
 No. 16 is a double-edged axe from the collection of A. H. DeTurk. The 
 groove is not in the middle, but the axe is well proportioned and the cutting 
 edges are perfect. Doubled-edged axes are exceedingly rare. There is an- 
 other double-edged axe in the same collection, but the specimen is not 
 of fine workmanship and mineral. 
 
 No. 17 is a beautiful axe of an odd shape, made of quartzite and well 
 polished, in the collection of J. W. Brensinger. The peculiarities of this 
 axe are the width and the groove at its one side and the thickness, which 
 is only three-fourths of an inch. Mrs. Brensinger found the axe at their 
 " woodpile," and she is of the opinion that they have their " woodpile " 
 on the spot where the Indians had theirs. 
 
 No. IS is a unique specimen and is the only one in the county. It was 
 found by Frankhn B. Reed on his farm east of Stouchsburg. It is made 
 of brown compact shale and is perfect with the exception of a fracture 
 
126 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ■caused by an agricultural implement. Its form is that of a hoe or digging 
 tool and for this reason it might have been classed with the digging tools, 
 but the relic has no marks at the lower end to show that it was ever used 
 for digging, and it is my impression that it was employed for the same 
 purposes as No. 5. The sides are planes. The straight edge is a plane 
 also, and the curved edge is oval, and the groove is deep and extends 
 around the implement. 
 
 No. 19 has at first sight the appearance of a double-edged axe, but it is 
 no axe, and is placed among them on account of its groove. It has no 
 ■cutting edge. Its sides are planes, it is five-eighths of an inch thick, the 
 edges are rounded and a fine groove encircles it. Its use was in all likeli- 
 hood the same as a banner stone and the groove was used instead of a hole 
 for the purpose of attaching a stick to it. It is the only relic of this kind in 
 the county and belongs to Mr. H. K. Deishej-'s extensive collection. 
 
 No. 20 is in IMr. Ezra High's collection, and is placed among the axes 
 because it has a cutting edge, and was in some respects used as an axe. 
 The upper end is an inch and a-quarter thick and this gives it the form of 
 a wedge. Mr. A. H. DeTurk has a similar specimen. 
 
 Joel Dreibelbis, Esq. , has an axe that deserves special mention. It is made 
 of the finest quality of quartzite and is nearly pure quartz. The groove is 
 almost perfect, but the lower part was chipped by the Indians or fragments 
 were broken off by a plow, and the edge is sharp enough to cut wood. It 
 is the only axe in the county that is made of a rock coming so nearly to 
 pure quartz. 
 
 Mr. H. C. Rathman, of Brecknock, has an axe of quartzite, eleven 
 inches long and four inches wide, with the groove near the middle. It is 
 a gracefully shaped axe and resembles No. 16. 
 
 The inventory of relics on page 118 shows that there are 677 axes in the 
 collections of the county, but there are more in the county. ]\Iany farmers 
 who make no collection find a fine axe on their farms, preserve it and put 
 a high value on it. Among a number of such farmers is Mr. Adam B. 
 Krick, of Sinking Spring, who is the owner of one of the finest and largest 
 axes in the county. It is ten inches long and five inches wide and perfect 
 in every respect. Mr. Krick will not part with his axe for any considera- 
 tion. 
 
 TANNING AND BARKING TOOLS. 
 
 There are implements found in the county which in all probability were 
 used in the art of tanning, ^'ery little is known of the process used by the 
 Indians to prepare bear and deer skins for shoes and clothing. Loskiel 
 says, ' ' their shoes are of deer skin, without heels, some being very neatly 
 made by the women. Their skins are tanned with th(i brains of deer, 
 which make them very soft ; some leave the fur upon the skin, and such 
 iur shoes are remarkably light and easy. ' ' The buffalo robes sold by our 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 127 
 
 iurriers, tanned by the Indians, are softer than those tanned by civilized 
 people. During the process of tanning the skins required scraping and 
 rubbing, and for this purpose the lu'Itx might have been used to some ex- 
 tent, but the following implements, in view of their peculiar shape and 
 evidence of use, are denominated ta.nning tools : 
 
 No. 21 is a specimen in the collection of Mr. J. DeTurk, Neversink Sta- 
 tion. This implement is made of red sandstone. It is ten inches long 
 and its greatest width is two and five-eighths inches, and its greatest thick- 
 ness is nearly two inches. The whole of its surface, except a small spot, 
 is well polished. The thicker end shows that it was never used for grind- 
 ing corn. The thinner end has the form of a handle and is smoother than 
 the other end. It is probable that this was one of the war clubs, though 
 it may have been used in their process of tanning. 
 
 No. 22 (Mr. Ezra High's) is a pebble in the form of a triangular prism 
 whose ends and edges are rounded. Two small cavities are pecked into 
 one side, into which fingers can be placed and the pebble grasped firmly. 
 The relic is smooth and was evidently used to rub soft material, and for 
 this reason it is classed among the tanning tools. 
 
 No. 23 is a very fine specimen of slate, three-eighths of an inch thick 
 and tapering gracefully towards the ends and sides so as to form a cutting 
 edge around the implement. It is highly polished andds especially smooth 
 along the edge. This utensil was undoubtedly used to scrajie and clean 
 useless matter off the skin. 
 
 No. 24 is no pestle. This is the only specimen of the kind in the county, 
 and is described here because there is no class of implements to which it 
 has a closer relation. It is made of very finely ground sandstone, is nearly 
 six inches long, two inches wide and its greatest thickness is one and a-half 
 inches. It is difficult to conjecture what could have been its use. The 
 curvature of the handle adapts it well to the hand, but the faces at the 
 edge form such a large angle that it is too dull for a skinning knife. It 
 might have been used in tanning skins. The implement has a good polish 
 and has no marks to indicate its use. 
 
 No. 25, from Maxatawny, is only a fragment. The bead around the 
 upper end shows that it was not used for the ordinary purposes of the 
 pestle. The missing part might have been used for grinding corn, but be- 
 ing made of soft light-colored shale, it is not likely that it was used for 
 that purpose. The ornamental end would seem to imply that it was more 
 an object of ornament than use. 
 
 Loskiel says the Indians prepared bark to cover their huts in the follow- 
 ing manner : "They peel trees, abounding with sap, such as lime trees, 
 &c., then cutting the bark into pieces of two or three yards in length, they 
 lay heavy stones upon them that they may become flat and even in dry- 
 ing. ' ' The axes were used for girdling the trees and in most cases in bark- 
 
128 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ing them. No. 27 is an implement found by Mr. J. DeTurk on his 
 farm, which was used for the purpose of taking the bark off the trees. It 
 is seven and a-half inches long, two and a-half inches wide and nearly an 
 inch thick in the middle, from which it tapers gradually to the ends and 
 sides. This utensil is made of diorite and when fastened to a handle it 
 somewhat resembled the tools now in use for the same purpose. No. 26 is- 
 a longitudinal section of the implement. 
 
 No. 28 is a relic in the collection of Mr. Wm. R. Bertolet, at Oakland. 
 It is fifteen inches long, two and a half inches wide and an inch and a 
 quarter thick near the top. Three of its sides are straight plane faces and 
 the upper is curved, as indicated in the cut, and the ends are beveled on 
 opposite sides. The instrument is worn smooth and bears evidence of long 
 usage. On account of its size and shape it was well adapted as a tanning 
 and barking tool. The mineral is a diorite. 
 
 No. 29 is an exceedingly fine specimen of a tanning tool. The imple- 
 ment is fourteen and a half inches long and two and a quarter inches in 
 diameter, pecked into a regular shape, and has a very smooth plane sur- 
 face on top, ten inches long and one inch and three-eighths wide. The 
 surface is such as the rubbing of hides for a long time would produce. The 
 tanning tool was found by Jonas DeTurk on his farm which supplied hira 
 with many rare relics. Mr. Wm. R. Bertolet has a similar specimen, 
 though not quite so long and well shaped. 
 
 No. 30 is a rare and excellent specimen of a tanning tool. The cut is 
 one half the natural size. It is made of a hard greenish stone. The handle 
 is nearly cylindrical and the upper part has a cutting edge on both sides as 
 well as at the end. It has the shape of a paper cutter, and in the removal 
 of refuse matter from a skin it was one of the most effective instruments 
 the Indians had. Mr. A. H. DeTurk, of Leesport, found it on John Her- 
 bine's farm and values it very highly. 
 
 No. 31, formerly belonging to Dr. Cyrus Wanner' s collection, is made 
 of hard shale. It is five and a quarter inches long and three and a half 
 inches at its greatest width, and nearly an inch thick in the middle, sloping 
 gradually toward the edge, which is rounded and has the appearance of 
 having been used in rubbing some soft substance, as skins, &c. 
 
 PESTLES, &C. 
 
 Pestles form a numerous class of rehcs, and vary in length from four and 
 a quarter inches to twenty-three inches. The majority of them were un- 
 doubtedly used for pounding and grinding corn. If this liad been their 
 exclusive use they should be classed and explained with the mill stones 
 and grinders, ' but the peculiar shape and marks on some of them show 
 that, though they are pestles in form, the use of many of them is ex- 
 ceedingly doubtful. It is easily seen that many of theni were handled 
 
THE JNDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 129 
 
 frequently because the wear and smoothness are such as would be pro- 
 duced by a long continued rubbing of the hand. 
 
 No. 32, the gift of Mr. L. S. Updegrove, of Union Township, is a true 
 pestle, but pestles of this form are rare. It is made of a hard, uncrystal- 
 lized rock. Its entire length is eighteen and a half inches, its greatest 
 thickness is two and a quarter inches. The pestle is round and tapers off' 
 beautifully until it comes nearly to a point. The lower end shows that 
 the pestle was used for grinding corn, while the upper end is worn particu- 
 larly smooth by the hand and is an evidence that the pestle was much 
 in use. 
 
 No. 33 was found in Bern Township, and is a present from B. F. Y. 
 Shearer, Esq. It is made of a piece of solid shale, is eighteen inches long^, 
 two and three-quarter inches wide and two inches thick. The upper and 
 lower faces are planes, but the sides and ends are curved and are 
 rounded off. The shape in which the ends are worn indicates the po- 
 sition in which the pestle was held, and also shows that it was subjected 
 to a great deal of use. The faces are as smooth as any ordinary stratified 
 rock. The sides were pecked into shape and then ground until nearly all 
 the marks of pecking had disappeared. 
 
 No. 34 is from the farm of Mr. L. S. Updegrove. This relic is elliptical 
 in both of its dimensions. Its length is fourteen and a half inches. The 
 greater diameter (width) in the middle is three and a quarter inches, and 
 its less diameter (thickness) is one and a half inches. The mineral of 
 which it is made is red shale. The implement has an ordinary polish, no 
 imperfection except an accidental fracture at one of the ends, and has no 
 marks of any usage. I am entirely at a loss to form any idea for what 
 purposes this specimen could have been intended. The stone is too soft to 
 grind corn and could not have been used for the performance of any hard 
 work, and yet on account of its want of intrinsic beauty and high polish it 
 could scarcely have been used only as " a thing of beauty." 
 
 No. 35 is another utensil in the form of a pestle, but was never used as 
 such. Its length is ten and a half inches and its width and thickness a 
 little over two inches. The ends are round and very smooth, worn so by 
 the hand in using the utensjl. The body is not cylindrical. It is a little 
 irregular in shape and has the appearance of having been in long continued 
 use for rubbing. It has no scratches and hence it could not have been 
 used for polishing stones. Its surface is quite smooth, and it is highly 
 probable that this instrument was used to rub the skins soft while they 
 were undergoing the process of tanning. 
 
 No. 3B is an ordinary cobble stone six and a half inches in length. It 
 has two small cavities on the opposite sides for the insertion of the fingers. 
 The lower end is battered somewhat by use. It is a very compact granular 
 quartz, well adapted to the hand by its peculiar shape, and may have been. 
 
130 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 used a long time for pounding com. The specimen belongs to Mr. I. 
 DeTurlc's collection. There are several other pestles with small cavities 
 in the county. 
 
 Mr. W. Schaeffer has a fragment of a pestle about eight inches long 
 which is made of a kind of serpentine rock and is studded with twelve 
 garnets. The garnets protrude from the pestle and at first sight appear to 
 have been set by a skillful hand, but the rock of which it was made con- 
 tained garnets and in the making of the pestle the garnets were not re- 
 moved but allowed to project. 
 
 CELTS. 
 
 The implements next in order that bear some resemblance to the axes 
 are the celts, so called from celtis, a chisel. They vary in lei%th from four 
 to seven and a half inches. A cross section of the celt is generally ellipti- 
 cal, and the end that was held in the hand is tapering and beautifully 
 rounded. 
 
 No. 37 was found on or near the farm of Conrad Weiser by I. Y. Kintzer, 
 Esq. , of Womelsdorf , and presented to the author by him. It is made of 
 diorite, is seven and five-eighths inches long, and is decidedly the finest' 
 specimen in the county. It appears from certain marks that the specimen 
 was first pecked into shape and then ground off until it had the polish 
 usually given to dioritic specimens. 
 
 No. 38 is an excellent specimen found in Windsor, in the vicinity of 
 Hamburg, and was presented to the writer by Mr. Jonas Keller. It is 
 made, of a solid piece of slate. The semicircular edge is as sharp as it is 
 possible to make it. The celt, except where it is chipped, is highly pol- 
 ished. It can scarcely be regarded a supposition to say that it was at one 
 time a perfect specimen, but the owner desiring a thinner handle, took it 
 to an Indian artisan to have it chipped down" and polished, but after the 
 first operation the celt was lost or mislaid. 
 
 No. 39 is the general form of the pestle. This cut represents three- 
 fourths of the pestles in the county. Some are cylindrical and differ only 
 in length and diameter. The longest pestle is twenty-three inches in 
 length, two and a half inches in diameter at the middle and tapering a 
 little toward each end. No. 39 is shaped regularly, well polished, and 
 could never have been used as a pestle or a utensil, because, if it had been 
 employed as a pestle or utensil, it would have some marks by which its 
 use dould be conjectured. This relic was found by Ezra High, Esq., on 
 his farm, and at the same place two ovoidal stones (Fig. 40). These 
 ovoidal stones are made of a hard yellow colored serpentine, well polished, 
 and as nearly in the form of an egg as it was possible for an Indian to 
 make them. They are two and three-quarter inches long. After a close 
 examination of the relics and books on Indian worship, I came to the 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 131 
 
 same conclusion as Mr. High, that these relics represented one of their 
 objects of worship. 
 
 No. 41 is from Dick's farm, and 44 from Mr. Bubp's collection. Both 
 are of the same mineral as No. 37. They are good specimens and in shape 
 represent many of the celts in the county. 
 
 Nos. 42 and 43 are from the collection of H. M. Keim, Esq., of Read- 
 ing. They were undoubtedly used as knives and are remarkable 
 for their small sizes, but more especially for being the only two polished 
 specimens of hard mineral. No. 42 is made of quartz that is a little por- 
 ous; and is ground to a fine edge. No. 43 is made of red jasper and is 
 ground all over. A few chips are visible and this demonstrates that the 
 knife was first chipped and then ground. It is exceedingly well polished 
 and would require very little time to give it the gloss of a modern lapidist, 
 and it would be difficult to grind a jasper and give it a keener edge than 
 this has. These two implements prove that the Indians could grind and 
 polish quartz and minerals of equal hardness, but, since only two speci- 
 mens have been found in the county, we may infer that the process was 
 very slow and tedious. 
 
 No. 45 is in Mr. Bubp's collection. The ndneral of which it is made is 
 slate, and is the smallest in the county. The handle or body is not round 
 or oval in its cross section, but it is four-sided, and the sides are nearly 
 straight and nearly plane surfaces. This is the only specimen of this des- 
 cription in the county. 
 
 HAMMERS AND ftTJOITS. 
 
 The hammers of the Indians form a large class and are so multifarious 
 in form that it will be impossible to give a cut of each form, neither is that 
 necessary. Some are manipulated nearly into the form of a modern mallet. 
 The second class consists of hammers used to pound and grind their corn, 
 and the third is a nondescript class, the use of which it is difficult to de- 
 termine, and this class is very numerous in some localities. 
 
 No. 46 is a very fine specimen of the grooved hammer. It was found 
 on Mr. Leinbach's farm, in Bern Township, and was presented to me by 
 Mr. B. F. Y. Leinbach. This hammer is five and a-half inches in length, 
 'one and three-eighths inches thick and is nearly round. It is made of red 
 shale and has the usual polish. This hammer could not have been de- 
 voted to any rough or heavy work on account of the softness of the mate- 
 rial of which it is made ; neither does it bear any mark of such usage. 
 The most rational conclusion seems to be that it was used as a weapon in 
 killing their enemies. This style of hammer is not very common in Berks 
 County. 
 
 No. 47 is a neat and well shaped hammer in the collection of Mr. John A. 
 Weyant, and was found near Fleetwood. It is made of a pebble arid is smooth 
 
132 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 
 
 over its whole surface and shows no rough usage. A beautiful groove sur- 
 rounds this hammer. 
 
 No. 48 is a specimen in the collection of Mr. Abraham H. DeTurk, 
 who found it on the farm of Mr. Charles Forney, in Ontelaunee Township. 
 This hammer is made of a pebble nearly four inches in diameter and one 
 and three-quarter inches thick. Both sides are worn off considerably by 
 being used in grinding corn. There is a hole drilled through the middle. 
 For one-third of the thickness of the stone the diameter of the hole is five? 
 eighths of an inch. The remainder of the bore is only three-eighths of an 
 inch in diameter. A wooden handle is put into the hole and then it was 
 used to pound corn. This is evident from the fact that the whole circum- 
 ference of the hammer is worn off a great deal. This stone was used by 
 the Indians as a hammer to crush their-corn, and then as an upper mill- 
 stone to grind it. This is the only one of the kind in the county. 
 
 The Indians, like all other races, had their amusements and games. It 
 is not known what was the nature of their amusements, nor what was the 
 variety and character of their games, but a number of relics that are found 
 in the county show conclusively by their forms that they were used as 
 quoits. No. 4!) would at first sight appear to be a hammer of the second 
 class, but the stone is thin along the edge and has no marks of having been 
 used as a hammer, and must, therefore, be classed among the quoits. 
 Some are only the ordinary pebbles with cavities, such as are found along 
 creeks and rivers, while others are worked into proper shape so as to adapt 
 them well to the hand for throwing. No. 49 is from Maxatawny ancl is a 
 very excellent specimen. It is made of granular quartz and has a fine 
 polish. The quoit has a cavity on the upper side for the thumb, and the 
 lower side is round, and thus it is well fitted to the hand for throwing. - 
 No. 50 is a lateral view of the quoit. The cut is one-half the natural size. 
 
 Nos. 51 and 56 were apparently used for the same purpose, but they do 
 not have the regularity and finish of No. 49. 
 
 No. 52 is another excellent specimen of this class. The edge and the 
 cavity on the one side show that it was first used as a hammer to pound 
 the corn and afterwards it was used as an upper millstone until the cavity 
 on the one side was worn entirely away. This specimen is from the Big 
 Dam. 
 
 No. 53 represents a class of hammers that the collector finds occasion- 
 ally. I have three in my collection. 
 
 No. 54 is a peculiar form of hammer and represents only a small class. 
 Hammers of this class are in nearly all cases cylindrical, and this is the 
 only one in the form of the frustum of a cone. Its length is two and 
 three-eighth inches and the greater diameter is two and a-quarter inches. 
 It seems to have been a difficult task to attach a handle to it, but the In- 
 dians accomplished it by means of thongs. It was found in Maxatawny. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 133 
 
 No. 55 is a sphere of hard stone two and a-half inches in diameter. It 
 is exact in its rotundity, well polished, and must have been a masterpiece 
 of Indian skill. This is not a real hammer. The Indians used to encase 
 these balls in raw rides and attach them firmly to a handle, which they 
 used as a war club. These balls are quite numerous and are found in 
 nearly all collections, and some have as many as a dozen. 
 
 No. 57 is a very fine specimen in the possession of R. A. Gilmer, Esq., 
 proprietor of the Conestoga Hotel, in Cajrnarvon Township, and was one of 
 the implements used by the Conestoga Indians, and has been in the vicinity 
 more than fifty years. It has the shape of a hammer, but it has no marks 
 to show that it was used as such. It is eight and a half inches long and 
 weighs 16 pounds. Mr. Gilmer has five axes and a number of arrow heads 
 of jasper that have no superior in beauty of material and finish. 
 
 No. 58 has the form of a celt and the groove of an axe. It was capable 
 of being used as a hammer and a celt or axe. It is a fine relic without 
 any defects and belongs to the collection of ]Mr. E. J. Sellers, of Kutztown. 
 
 No. 59 is a rare and unique relic, found by Mr. Franklin B. Reed on his 
 farm. It is described among the hammers, but it is neither a hammer, an 
 axe nor a tablet. It is made of a dark quartzite, oval on all sides and in 
 both directions, and beautifully polished. It has a hole near the one 
 corner, but it is too heavy for a tablet. There is no other relic in the 
 county that resembles this. 
 
 KILLSTONES. 
 
 Loskiel gives twelve ways in which the Indians prepared their corn. It 
 might be interesting to the readers to give all the methods, but since only 
 a few have reference to the subject under consideration, only three will be 
 quoted: "1st. They pound it small and boil it. 2d. They grind it as fine 
 as flour by means of a wooden pestle and mortar, clear it from the husks 
 and make a thick pottage of it ; and 3d. They knead the flour with cold 
 water and make cakes about a hand's breadth and an inch thick. These 
 they enclose in leaves and bake in hot ashes, putting live coals upon them, 
 and use them as bread. ' ' The hammers of the second class were used to 
 pound the corn and the pestles, either stone or wooden, as well as some of 
 the hand hammers were employed as upper millstones to grind the corn to 
 flour. The lower millstone was generally some convenient and suitable 
 stone without having any reference to shape, except a flat side for grind- 
 ing. Many of the larger stones have been put into fences or destroyed in 
 the removal of rocks, but a number of the smaller ones are still in existence 
 to give us a good idea of the mills of the Indians. 
 
 No. 60 is a hammer in W. Schaeffer's collection in Friedensburg. It is 
 of quartzite and broken at the top, which indicates that it had a handle. 
 It was an instrument to pound and grind corn. 
 
134 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 No. 61 is an odd relic and has the appearance of a part of a pestle, 
 though the lower end is not a fracture, but is dressed in the same manner 
 as the rest of the implement. It has a hole in the middle about one-third 
 through the relic. There are no marks of usage about it, and I am inclined 
 to believe that it is unfinished. It is in the collection of Mr. Milton S. 
 Schaeffer, of Fleetwood. 
 
 No. 62 is decidedly the largest compounder or upper millstone in the 
 county. It is five inches in diameter and seven and a half inches high. It 
 was pecked into shape and the base of it is even and worn smooth. The 
 mineral is a quartzite and this rare relic belongs to the collection of Mr. 
 A. M. Kline, of Fleetwood. 
 
 No. 63 is from Dick's farm. It should probably not be classed among 
 the lower millstones. It was used for grinding corn or for a similar pur- 
 pose, but the specimen is ground into an ornamental shape and is well 
 polished. It is six and a half inches long and hence rather small for a 
 millstone, but it may have been used to prepare their vermilion, which 
 they used in painting their skin. No. 65 is a very good specimen in 
 Mr. A. J. DeTurk's collection. The stone is nine inches long and wide 
 and fi-ve inches thick. There is nothing artificial about the stone except 
 the cavity in the top worn by long use. 
 
 No. 64 is a beautiful and rare nondescript in Mr. Joel -Dreibelbis' col- 
 lection. It has the cutting edge of an axe and the finger holes of a ham- 
 mer. The edge is as sharp as that of an axe and the apposite side is an 
 inch and a quarter thick. The relic is well polished and a cavity on each 
 side for the insertion of the fingers. Neither the edge nor the thick part 
 of the relic has any mark by which its use could be surmised, and yet on 
 account of the labor required to put it into shape it must have been in- 
 tended for some special object. It could not have been made for an orna- 
 ment. 
 
 HAMMERS OF DOUBTFUL USE. 
 
 No. 66 is another hammer in Mr. Joel Dreibelbis' collection, of which 
 he has a large number and a great variety. These hammers or quoits are 
 made of small cobble stones along the Maidencreek and have as many 
 shapes as there are stones. The only work bestowed upon them was the 
 making of small cavities for the fingers. Some contain a cavity on two 
 sides. Others contain two cavities on opposite sides for the insertion of two 
 fingers. Others again have those cavities on three and four sides. No. 66 
 represents one of those hammers in the form of a cubical block whose sides 
 vary a little from two inches and is the only one with a cavity on each 
 side. It is doubtful whether they w6re employed as hammers, because the 
 majority have no marks along the edge. They might have been used as 
 quoits, but what would be the object of having finger cavities on three, 
 four and six sides ? A few of these relics are found over the whole county, 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 135 
 
 but Mr. Dreibelbis' farm has more of them than the rest of the county. 
 There is no beauty about these re) ics and collectors generally accept a few 
 Only as specimens, but Mr. Dreibelbis, who began his collection but re- 
 cently, has resolved to see what is still on his farm and gathers these relics 
 also and has at least 1,000 of them, enough to make a cart load. 
 
 The theory is that Sacunk, or Virginsville, was a general resort for In- 
 dians from other towns and that they had a certain game or drill in which 
 these stones were used. A number of these stones are found on other 
 farms in the vicinity, but only sparsely scattered, but on Mr. Dreibelbis' 
 they are found in such great numbers. There is certainly a very interest- 
 ing history connected with these relics, but on account of their variety and 
 great number it is difficult to surmise what use they really made of them. 
 
 MORTARS. 
 
 The stones described under the preceding head are large with shallow 
 cavities, while the mortars are small and have a deep cavity. They were 
 undoubtedly intended for various purposes, but it is probable that the 
 principal object was the preparation of some pigment for their faces. 
 "Vermilion is their favorite color, with which they frequently paint their 
 whole heads. Here and there black streaks are introduced, or they paint 
 one-half of their face and head black and the other red." These mortars 
 were -especially used for the preparation of this paint, which the Indians 
 valued so highly, and which they often went a great distance to obtain. 
 
 No. 67 is a fine specimen made of a pebble. The lower side is ground fiat 
 so as to give it a firm base to stand upon. The cavity is not concave like 
 that of other mortars, but it is as wide at the bottom as at the top, and is 
 half an inch deep. The cavity was made by drilling holes from an eighth 
 to a quarter of an inch apart and then by breaking and chiseling out the 
 parts remaining. The marks and core of a few holes that were drilled 
 deeper than the others show that the drill was a reed or a tube-like instru- 
 ment, three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and the core was half the 
 size of the drill. This mortar was found on the farm belonging to the 
 Leesport Iron Company and is in Mr. DeTurk's collection. 
 
 The Indians had their doctors who, with their peculiar medicines and 
 modes of treating patients, may have alleviated the sufferings of their fellow 
 men with more skill than civilized people generally believe that they had. 
 It is doubtful whether they knew anything about a system of chemistry, 
 and yet it is credible that they had their laboratories, and that they made 
 many compounds of medical ingredients that were never brought to the 
 knowledge of the white people. That they manufactured and used some 
 kind of acid is proved by No. 68. This mortar is made of a pebble upon 
 which acid acts slightly. The outside of the mortar is smooth and solid, 
 but the inside surface is rotten as though it had been exposed to acid. 
 
136 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 There is no doubt but that this mortar was used to make acid compounds 
 find that its long use corroded the stone until it was worn entirely through. 
 
 No. 69 is a very fine specimen of mortar in Major S. L. Young's collec- 
 tion. It is made of calcite. The upper face is ground even with a groove 
 ior emptying the contents, the lower round, but they are not polished ; 
 the marks of coarse sand used in abraiding the stone to the desired shape, 
 are distinctly visible. The mortar does not appear to have been finished, 
 because the sides and ends received very little attention from the maker, 
 who intended to make the body of the mortar circular. The apparent frac- 
 ture on the left side was made by sawing into the stone and breaking out a 
 fragment. The cut seems to indicate that the saw was a leather string or 
 thong fed with fine sand. This specimen was found in Maidencreek. 
 
 No. 70 represents the natural size of a mortar that is more- common in 
 the county. The one represented by the cut was found at the base of 
 Monocacy Hill. Mr. S. H. Christian found two similar specimens on the 
 Christian farm, a short distance below the Big Dam. These mortars are 
 made of hard brown-colored pebbles. The outside of No. 70 is beautifully 
 polished, and the inside is smooth, but the color instead of being deep 
 brown like the outside, is light yellow. The color, both inside and out- 
 side, differs from the natural color of the pebble, and it is not a mere con- 
 jecture to say that this was a mortar in which the Indians mixed their 
 paint. The difference in color can easily be accounted for. A long use in 
 the preparation of vermilion or red ochre, and a long exposure to the 
 weather or burial under ground must have given it the brown- color and 
 the use of yellow ochre must have given the inside the yellow color. It is 
 probable that it contained yellow ochre when it was lost. This form and 
 size are found in a number of collections. Mr. Jonas DeTurk has four of 
 
 them. 
 
 POLISHINO STONES. 
 
 Nearljr every collector in the county has some relics that are marked 
 ■with grooves or notches that were produced by sharpening or grinding tools 
 or rounding cords for bow strings. The relics are generally irregular in 
 their form and include a variety of minerals. 
 
 No. 71 must have been devoted to some especial purpose, because the 
 handle is ground into a beautiful shape and is polished as well as red shale, 
 the material of which this specimen is made, can be polished. It is four 
 and a-quarter inches in length, two and a-quarter in width and three-quar- 
 ters of an inch in thickness. 
 
 No. 12 is a beautifully shaped pebble with an oblique face which is 
 rather too straight and even for a polishing stone, but it is impossible to 
 imagine for what other purpose it could have been used. The mineral is 
 a granular quartz and was used very effectively in roughing off large im- 
 plements. The specimen is in Mr. C. A. Klink's possession. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 137, 
 
 No. 73 is a neat, smooth pebble with a groove, which was caused either 
 by rubbing some hard material or was made so by design and then used 
 to round thongs. It was found along the Monocacy, in the lower part of 
 Exeter, by Mr. E. V. R. Ludwig, who kindly presented it to me. 
 
 No. 74 is a quartzite that must have been in use a long time. It was 
 worked into shape, ground or polished on all sides and is well adapted to 
 the hand. Both sides of the upper end were used for polishing and is a 
 very convenient implement. It is the property of H. D. Merkel, of Moselem. 
 
 No. 75 represents a relic that is more common in Berks County. This 
 specimen is from Mr. I. D. DeTurk's collection. Messrs. E. J. Sharadin 
 and A. J. DeTurk have specimens with more grooves and on both sides of 
 the stone. Some of the grooves are rough and have the appearance of 
 having been used in connection with sand as fin abrasive material, while 
 others are smooth and must have been used to put on the final polish. 
 These stones vary in grit from a very fine to a coarse whetstone. 
 
 No. 76 is classed among the polishing stones. It is smooth and worn 
 over its whole surface, but there are no indications to show for what pur- 
 pose it was used. 
 
 No. 77 is a pebble from the Big Dam. The mineral is a granular quartz. 
 The lower surface is flat and nearly one-half of the stone is worn away by 
 rubbing it upon some hard object. The wear of the relic indicates that it was 
 used frequently and on a flat surface, because it has no irregularities caused 
 by use. It could not have been a tanning tool since the surface appears to 
 have been used with sand as an abrading material. 
 
 No. 78 is a polishing implement from the collection of Mr. E. D. Green- 
 await, of Kempton, and differs from all others. It is made of a hard 
 black stone, elegant in polish, a little thicker and wider below than above. 
 It has a number of grooves at the lower end such as .a string would make, 
 and has a hole drilled in the upper part. The mineral and place of the 
 hole are similar to Xo. 49. The hole shows no wear, but must have been 
 put into the relic for some purpose and may have been for other purposes 
 than rubbing thongs. 
 
 No. 79 is a relic that is rarely met with in the county. It may not be 
 proper to class it among the polishing stones, but its use is similar, and 
 hence it is described here. The stone has a number of small grooves along 
 the edge which were worn in by some pliable object as a string. This im- 
 plement was used to round cords and thongs for bow-strings. It is made 
 of shale and the fracture at the lower end shows that it had a handle when 
 it was complete. Mr. Jared Huntzinger found this relic on his farm a mije 
 south of Wernersville. 
 
 No. 80 is a beautiful little relic with a smooth surface and could only be 
 used to do work on a small scale and was probably used to polish orna- 
 ments. It is three and a-quarter inches long, one and a-half inches wide 
 
138 THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 and three-eighths of an inch thick in the middle from which it is rounded 
 off toward the sides so as to form a kind of edge around the whole knife. 
 The implement is highlj' polished and the point of the knife is still almost 
 as sharp as it is possible to make it. It was found at Stouchsburg, and 
 belongs to Mr. J. H. Bubp. 
 
 No. 82 is a specimen of quartzite in the form of an arrow-head, and 
 might have been used as such until the point was broken off. It is chipped 
 very evenly. The peculiarities about this relic are the notches along both 
 edges and the general smoothness caused by use. The notches were worn 
 into this relic by rubbing it along a string or a narrow strip of the hide of 
 some animal to round it for a bow string. A handle was fastened to the 
 stem and then it formed a very convenient tool for the purpose, and must 
 have been in use a long time. 
 
 SINKERS AND PENDANTS. 
 
 Sinkers and pendants are names that have been applied to a class of well 
 shaped and polished relics which were intended for suspension, and it is 
 generally believed that the Indians used to attach the smaller ones to their 
 fish lines. There are many larger ones made of pebbles four and five 
 inches in length with notches at the sides by which they could be firmly 
 attached to a net, if the Indians had such means for catching fish. 
 
 No. 81 is symmetrical in its form and resembles a . carpenter' s plummet 
 of the present day. It is made of a hard mineral and is the only one of 
 the kind in the county. ^Ir. E. J. Sharadin, of Kutztown, is the fortunate 
 owner of it. 
 
 No. 83 is from Mr. E. J. Sharadin' s collection. Mr. A. H. DeTurk, of 
 Leesport, has a specimen precisely like it. It is an ordinary pebble whose 
 natural size is represented by the cut and its thickness is three-sixteenths 
 of an inch. The hole is of a uniform diameter. It is plausible that this 
 relic was worn as an ornament or a charm, but it has neither polish nor 
 beauty. 
 
 The peculiarity of No. 84 consists in its globular form. It is made of a 
 fine-grained sandstone and has an ordinary polish. The specimen was 
 found in the vicinity of Leesport and is in Mr. A. H. DeTurk' s collection. 
 
 No. 85 is a fine specimen of sinker found by Mr. A. S. Greenawalt, at 
 Greenawalt's Station, in Albany, and through his generosity it came into 
 my collection. It is not a pebble, but is made of quartzite, regular in 
 shape and has a deep and well executed groove. 
 
 No. 86 appears to be made of finely crystallized diorite. It is in the 
 fc^m of a parabolic spindle and the groove would seem to indicate its use 
 as a sinker, but two faces worn on opposite sides prove conclusively that 
 it was intended for some other purpose. The groove is small and toward 
 the tapering end, the relic is of an excellent finish and must have been 
 made for some special use. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 139 
 
 No. 87 represents two pendants jn Mr. Ezra High's collection. They 
 are beautiful cylindrical pebbles with no work upon them except the 
 drilling of a hole at the end. 
 
 Nos. 88 and 89 are placed among the pendants though they might 
 with equal propriety have been classed with the tablets. No. 88 (Mr. I. 
 D. DeTurk's) is made of a light yellow stone resembling a variety of chal- 
 cedony in this county, but it is not so hard. The straight side is sharj) 
 and appears to have been used as a scraper. The other sides are rounded 
 and the stone has a good polish. The cut gives the natural size. No. 89 
 was found near Leesport by ^Ir. A. H. DeTurk and now gives value and 
 variety to his collection. It is almost of the same shape and size as the 
 preceding relic, but it is ornamented by a number of nitches at the bev- 
 eled edge and has two holes. This relic was evidently used as an orna- 
 ment or a tablet. 
 
 TABLETS OB PLATES. 
 
 Nearly every collector in the county has a variety of aboriginal relics 
 that are made of pieces of slate worked into ornamental shapes and pierced 
 with one or two holes. There is very little known of the use of these relics. 
 Some writers maintain that there were strings put through the holes and 
 that they were worn as ornaments, while others suppose that they were 
 used in rounding bow-strings by drawing them through the holes. Neither 
 of these theories can be correct with regard to the Berks County specimens, 
 because these plates are rnade of soft stones, and in most cases the drilling 
 was performed on both sides, thus leaving a ridge in the middle which 
 would have been worn off by suspension at a string. In (he absence of 
 such evidence we must conclude that many of our specimens had either 
 not been in use or they were designed for a purpose entirely unknown to us 
 
 No. 90, a relic in the hands of Mr. Jonas J. Boyer, of Virginsville, is a 
 perfect specimen of an unusual form. It is exceedingly rare to find so 
 large a specimen with but one hole. This tablet is made of brown slate 
 and is well polished. It is three-eighths of an inch in thickness and its 
 faces are planes. The cut represents the natural length and width. No. 
 91 is in Mr. Ezra High's collection, and differs from No. 60 in shape and 
 quality of slate. This specimen is not symmetrical in form, and in addi- 
 tion to its high polish it has two perforations and a number of notches at 
 each end. Since these notches are not on every specimen of the kind, 
 they must have had their peculiar significance and they give occasion to a 
 great deal of conjecture among archteologists with regard to their meaning. 
 
 No. 92, from Major S. L. Young's collection, is made of a hard greenish 
 slate, and is so well preserved that its polish has still a beautiful gloss. 
 The specimen is an excellent one and its form is not common. 
 
 No. 93 is from Mr. Joel Dreibelbis' varied collection. The tablet is 
 broken at the one end, but the rest of it is still in an excellent condition. 
 
140 THE INDIANS OP BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 It is of brown slate and contains a number of lines on one of its faces, a 
 few notches and has one hole. No. 94, from the large collection of Mr. 
 John B. Brobst, of Reading, is made of the same kind of slate but differs 
 from all the preceding in its shape and number of holes. The ends are 
 cut out and are worn as though a string had been around it lengthwise. 
 In addition to its use as a tablet it evidently was employed for other pur- 
 poses. 
 
 No. 95 represents a very beautiful, rare and unique relic. It is made of 
 a brown mineral harder than slate and has a finer polish than could be im- 
 parted to slate, but like so many rare relics it is broken on one side. 
 
 No. 96 is a cut of the base. It is hollowed out nearly to the top, has a 
 groove on the top and a hold near each end of the groove through which, 
 by all appearances, strings were passed. This relic was found by Mr. A. 
 H. DeTurk, on Mr. Reese Davis' farm, along the Maidencreek, who regards 
 it as one of the most valuable of his rare specimens. Mr. Jacob A. Boyer, 
 of Virginsville, has one of a dark mineral of the same size and shape, 
 though without a groove and holes, but his relic is from the west. Mr. 
 Boyer' s relic is one of a more recent date and that two relics of a peculiar 
 form should be made so far apart in time and place would seem to imply 
 that they were made for a specific object. They may have been ornaments 
 worn only by Indians of the highest distinction, or they may have been 
 used as ceremonial badges or implements. 
 
 The triangular tablet. No. 97, J. B. Brobst's collection, is made of 
 black slate and has a number of very distinct marks upon the upper surface. 
 
 No. 98 is an axe in shape, but not in use, because it has no cutting edge 
 and the mineral is soft. It is made of a fine quality of red slate and is 
 well polished. The cut represents one-half its dimensions. It has a well- 
 made groove around it, a hole in the middle a short distance below the 
 groove and a zigzag line from the hole to the lower part of the axe. The 
 hole does not show as though any use had been made of it. It was found 
 in Maxatawny and was probably the badge of an Indian who had gained 
 some fame by the use of the axe, or it may have been a symbol of power. 
 It is in the possession of M. S. Schaeffer, of Fleetwood. 
 
 No. 99 is the cut of a beautiful ring found by J. W. Brensinger, in one 
 of the fields at Virginsville. The ring is of a black mineral, harder than a 
 slate, circular in form and body, well polished and to my knowledge it is 
 the only relic of this shape in the county. 
 
 No. 100 represents gne-half the size of a tube-like relic of a fine quality 
 of sandstone. It is curved and cylindrical with the exception of the in- 
 side curvature where it has a face nearly an inch wide. It is regular in 
 shape. It has the best polish that can be put on a sandstone and a little, 
 thicker at one end than the other. The hole was drilled from both ends. 
 They meet in the middle, though they do not centre. The hole is large and 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 141 
 
 this makes the relic rather light, and since it was made of a fragile rock it 
 is a great wonder that it is still entire. It was found in the vicinity of 
 Reading and is now in the possession of Mr. John B. Brobst. 
 
 No. 101 is an interesting relic from the collection of Joel Dreibelbis, 
 Esq. It is of black slate, not a quarter of an inch thick and appears to 
 have a fracture to the right of the hole and this would indicate it to be a 
 part of an odd form of a tablet. The shape resembles somewhat that of a 
 banner stone, but it is too thin and it has the marking of a tablet. 
 
 No. 102 is a relic in the form of a large bead made of gneiss. It is fig- 
 ured here because its use may have been the same as No. 100, but in every 
 respect it resembles a bead. It was found in the vicinity of Fleetwood and 
 Mr. M. S. Schaeffer became the happy owner of it. 
 
 No. 103 is a unique tablet or pendant in Mr. J. W. Brensinger's collec- 
 tion, found at Virginsville. It is of light blue slate, the plate is three- 
 sixteenth of an inch in thickness and upon this there is a circular elevation 
 of nearly one-eighth of an inch. This is a neat and very rare relic. 
 
 No. 104, from I\Ir. J. DeTurk's collection, represents, in its form, the 
 largest class of stone tablets, but it is unique on account of its numerous 
 marks. This specimen has two holes, which were drilled on opposite sides, 
 meeting in the middle, though not concentrically. The cutting edges of the 
 drill made an angle of about seventy degrees, and this left an inequality in 
 the middle of the stone similar to a thread in a nut, which is as acute as 
 though the drilling had been done recently. In addition to the two grooves 
 across the upper side it has ten distinct cuts or small notches along one of 
 its sides and forty along the edges on the lower side. This tablet was evi- 
 dently intended as a badge of distinction. The numerous small marks 
 may have been put on as ornaments, but it is more probable that they 
 were characteristics that denoted some title or rank. 
 
 No. 106 is from Union Township. It is made of dark slate and is worn 
 considerably at the holes by being suspended at a string and is in Maj. S. 
 L. Young's collection. 
 
 BANNER STONES, CEREMONIAL RELICS, &c. 
 
 There is no class of Indian relics about which there seems to be so nmch 
 doubt with regard to their use as the relics that are now to be described. 
 Prof. Rau calls them Drilled Ceremonial Weapons. In some parts of Berks 
 they are erroneously called tomahawks. They are made of all kinds of 
 stones except jasper, though most of them are made of slate, serpentine, 
 &c. The majority have a large hole drilled laterally through the middle 
 by which the implement was nearly cut off and so weakened that it could 
 not have been intended for any violent use. Besides, they were generally 
 made of the softer stones, and the fragments that have come under my ob- 
 servation are all perfect at the ends, where they would certainly bear evi- 
 
142 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 dence of use, had they been used for any other purpose than ceremonies. 
 The Indians displayed the same variety of taste in their ceremonial weapons 
 as they did in their other implements. Owing to the fragile material and 
 the peculiar form of these relics very few perfect specimens are found. A 
 number have been found that are pecked, but not polished and drilled, 
 from which we may safelj^ conclude that they are unfinished specimens. 
 Some of these relics have holes and were evidently placed on sticks and 
 carried like banners and hence they are appropriately called banner stones. 
 Some authors call some of these perforated relics gorgets. 
 
 No. 105 is made of a beautiful light green slate abundant in Albany 
 Township, and when it came into my possession some years ago there was 
 written on it, " Dug out of an Indian grave on Mr. Deisher'sfai*m in Max- 
 atawny Township, Berks County. ' ' The next two came from the same place 
 and are made of the same kind of slate. 
 
 No. 107 is from the same place. When it was complete it differed very 
 little in its form from No. 105. This specimen is made of very dark ser- 
 pentine and the lateral hole was drilled entirely through it. Many frag- 
 ments of this class of relics have a conical hole drilled from the opposite 
 faces and meeting in the middle, and appear to have been used for the same 
 purposes and in the same manner as the relics denominated Ceremonial 
 Weapons. This specimen has also zigzag lines running nearly parallel with 
 the straight side. 
 
 No. 108 is so small a fragment that it is impossible to determine the size 
 and shape of the relic of which it is a part. It has nearly the shape of a 
 pestle and may be the fragment of one. It is made of a compact sandstone 
 or shale, and is hardly of a finish to have made it an ornament, but on ac- 
 count of its perforation it is classed with other relics with the same char- 
 acteristic. 
 
 No. 109 is a perfect specimen — the finest in the county. It was found 
 by Mr. Amos Lewis on Mr. William Lewis' farm. It is made of diorite 
 and is highly polished. It is five and a-quarter inches long and a-quarter 
 of an inch thick in the middle of the " wing," gradually sloping toward 
 the edge where it is only an eighth of an inch thick and gracefully rounded. 
 The hole is both five-eighths of an inch in diameter and depth. That the 
 , drilling was done by means of a reed and sand is evident from the fact that 
 the thickness of the reed is distinctly marked, and a small piece of the core 
 is still remaining. The symmetrical form of this relic, its fine polish and 
 accurate drilling display a great deal of Indian skill and patience. 
 
 No. 110 (formerly of E. J. Sharadin's collection) is a symmetrically 
 shaped relic of brown slate. The hole is half an inch in diameter and ex- 
 tends through the whole length of the stone. The specimen has a good 
 polish and is perfect except a small fracture at the edge and one at the 
 under surface, produced apparently by driving a stick into the hole. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 143 
 
 No. Ill is a very rare specimen in the collection of Joel Dreibelbis, Esq., 
 and is placed among the banner stones because it is made of blue slate and 
 similarly drilled. It is nearly as thick as wide, nearly flat on top, but the 
 rest of the relic is regularly shaped and rounded. S. L. Young has a sim- 
 ilar relic of a black mineral, but from another county, and Dr. D. C. 
 Abbott, in his "Stone Age of New Jersey," mentions only one that came 
 under his observation in the whole state. 
 
 No. 112 is the natural size of one of the few fine and perfect banner 
 stones in the collections in the county and was found by Mr. A. H. De- 
 Turk, on Mr. Thomas Willet's farm, along the Maidencreek. A hole half 
 an inch in diameter is drilled through it. It is polished nearly as well as 
 No. 109 and it is ornamented with a number of notches at the ends. It is 
 worked out of a hard black stone. It was first pecked and then polished. 
 
 No. 113 was evidently intended not to be drilled at all, because at a, 
 where the drilling was commenced, the relic is rounded off most gracefully 
 and is thinner, whereas the drilled specimens are all thicker at that place. 
 On the opposite side at b the relic is also rounded, but it is thicker and a 
 hole might have been drilled from that side ; but in that event the drill 
 would have defaced the side «, because of its thinness. I am, therefore, 
 of the opinion that this specimen was not intended to be used as a banner ; 
 the others might have been, but I shall not venture to conjecture for what 
 purposes the Indians designed them. The cut represents half the natural 
 size of the relic, which belongs to Mr. H. K. Deisher. Joel Dreibelbis, 
 Esq., has one of nearly the same size, shape and finish and of the kind of 
 rock, which is an aluminous pyroxene. 
 
 No. 114 was found on the " Company's Farm," at Leesport, by Mr. A. 
 H. DeTurk. It is of blue slate nearly as thick as wide, and in addition to 
 a hole one-half inch in diameter drilled from both ends it has small cavi- 
 ties on the sides as though a beginning had been made to drill a hole 
 through it laterally. 
 
 Some archaeologists believe that these relics were used among the Indians 
 in the same manner as banners are used among the civilized people. This 
 theory is' very plausible. The thinness of these relics in the middle and 
 the fragile material of which they were generally made, prove the fact that 
 thev were employed exclusively for ceremonial or ornamental purposes, 
 and the hole in the middle at once corroborates the idea that a stick was 
 inserted and that the relic was carried in their processions like a banner. 
 If all the specimens were drilled that they could have put upon sticks and 
 borne like banners, no valid objections could be offered against this theory, 
 but there are some that have shallow holes, drilled with a conical drill. 
 
 No. 115 differs in shape from those that have been described, but this 
 is no material point, since the forms of the relics were often suggested by 
 the blocks from w^ich they were made or by the fancy of the maker. The 
 
144 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 distinguishing characteristic of this specimen is the conical hole, half an 
 inch in diameter and nearly half an inch deep. The hole was evidently 
 drilled with a conical drill which will be described under " Drilling Tools." 
 This relic is made of black serpentine, which was first pecked and then 
 polished ; a number of the marks of the pecking tool are still visible. It 
 is a perfect specimen, well preserved, and belongs to the collection of Dr. 
 C'yrus Wanner, of Kutztown. Since Dr. Wanner' s decease his relics 
 passed into other hands. 
 
 No. 116 (S. L. Young, Esq.) resembles a fossil nut in its form, but it is 
 no fossil ; it is artificial. This is a very rare and unique relic. It is made 
 of purely white calcite, and there is a hole drilled into it nearly three-six- 
 teenths of an inch in diameter and half an inch deep, into which a string 
 or piece of wood was wedged by which it was suspended. This relic was 
 found near Morgantown and was the property of a Conestoga Indian. 
 
 No. 117 is a hard, well polished stone, a little more than a quarter of an 
 inch thick, with a beautiful bead around the circumference. It is made of 
 a hard stone with an ordinary polish. It has no marks of any use and 
 may have been intended for an ornament, but it is no " thing of beauty." 
 
 No. 138 may not be the half of a specimen, since it is broken off at both 
 ends. It is three-fourths of an inch thick at the drilled end and tapers but 
 little toward the other end. The hole is conical and only three-eighths of 
 an inch deep. It is probable that the drilling was not Completed. 
 
 No. 119 (Maj. S. L. Young's) is a fragment of a relic made of green 
 serpentine, and is evidently the liead of a snake or serpent. A cross sec- 
 tion of the specimen is triangular in itg form. The head is a little thicker 
 about the eyes, one of which is a semi-globular elevation, and is a part of 
 the original stone, and the other is a globule of sulphuret of iron, three- 
 sixteenths of an inch in diameter, partly imbedded in the stone and fastened 
 with cement. There is nothing about the head to represent the mouth, 
 but near that extremity there are, though in a different direction, four 
 notches on the one side and three on the other, and on the top of the head 
 are distinct notches about an eighth of an inch apart, and along one of the 
 lower sides are notches also. These notches, like some marks on some of 
 the preceding relics, may have been ornaments, or they may be significant 
 records of great deeds or marks of honor. 
 
 BEADS AND SHELIiS. 
 
 There were no ornaments among the Indians that were more highly 
 prized by them than beads, and a string of beads of brilliant colors appears 
 to have been as much an object of desire and admiration as a diamond 
 necklace among the civilized races. It is credible that the Indians of Berks 
 had many of them, but they were small and for this reason only a few 
 have been found, except those obtained from Indian graves. The cuts 
 represent the natural sizes. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY. PA. 145 
 
 Nos. 120, 121 and 122 are specimens from a string of sixteen beads of 
 white, green, blue and red colors. There are five (No. 120) with eight 
 pentagonal faces. The two largest (No. 121) are made of enamel. The 
 others are all of glass, of which No. 122 is the smallest. 
 
 No. 123 is of brown slate, well poHshed, but not drilled, though centered 
 at both ends for that purpose. 
 
 No. 124 (J. J. Boyer's) is serpentine and in addition to the hole it has 
 a well-made groove around it. 
 
 No. 125 is of soapstone and notched at the circumference. The hole is 
 large and elliptical and may not have been used as a bead by the Indians. 
 Mr. William Rieth, of Stouchsburg, has one precisely like it. This bead 
 has since passed into the possession of Mr. W. R. Bertolet. Mr. A. H. 
 DeTurk has two similar beads of the same mineral, though nearly twice 
 the diameter, and Mr. A. "Wentzel, of Virginsville, also has one of the same 
 size and material. 
 
 No. 126 is one made of blue slate with a groove, but no hole, and was 
 found by Mr. J. W. Brensinger, at Virginsville. 
 
 No. 127 is made of slate. It is the only one of this form, and is an ex- 
 cellent specimen, except a small fracture at the larger end. The hole is 
 three-eighths of an inch in diameter. 
 
 DIGGING TOOLS. 
 
 In examining specimens and observing the marks of usage, it is often a 
 mere conjecture to say that a certain utensil was employed in a certain 
 operation, because such a use would affect a stone implement in a similar 
 manner, and yet it is reasonable to believe that the Indijins, with few excep- 
 tions, designed any implements for specific uses, but that they used all im- 
 plements wherever practicable. The relics I am about to describe now 
 are relics that might have been employed for a variety of purposes, but 
 there are certain peculiarities that induce me to call some digging tools. 
 The Indians subsisted principally upon the fish and the wild animals they 
 caught, but they cultivated patches of corn, and for this purpose they 
 needed utensils. These, like their other instruments, were made of stones, 
 and enough of them have been found to form some idea of the farming 
 operations of the aborigines of Berks County. 
 
 No. 128, though small, is a good specimen of a digging tool. It is 
 chipped from a quartzite rock. The lower side is nearly flat, but the upper 
 side, 'or the one represented in the cut, is chipped and considerably elevated 
 in the middle. The narrow end is barbed and this enabled the Indians to 
 fasten a handle to it more securely. It was found at Stouchsburg and is 
 now in Mr. William R. Bertolet' s collection. 
 
 No. 129 is a grooved pick found in the vicinity of Virginsville, and is the 
 property of Sylvester K. Loy. The cut represents' one-half the natural 
 
146 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 size of the pick. It is a good specimen and has no marks, except such as 
 would be made by a frequent use in digging in the ground. 
 
 No. 130 is the natural size of a spade. Joel Dreibelbis found six while 
 plowing in a field on his farm where no relics are found. The owner of 
 these spades evidently buried them at what he considered a secure place, 
 and then forgot the place where he secreted them, or left Sacunk without 
 taking all his personal effects with him. Mr. Dreibelbis has many other 
 spades of smaller size. Mr. H. K. Deisher has a lot of spades of same 
 size and rock which is quartzite. 
 
 No. 131 is placed among the digging tools, though I am inclined to be- 
 lieve, on account of its polish, that it belonged to the tanning implements. 
 It is chipped quartzite, but it is ground down or worn off by use that only 
 the forms of some of the largest chips can be seen, but this does not seem 
 reasonable. Digging in the ground would wear off the asperities, but this 
 relic has a fine smooth polish. It is in the collection of Mr. A. G. Merigel, 
 of Virginsville, who has half a dozen similar relics. This form is not 
 unique ; it is found in several collections. 
 
 No. 132 is the most elaborate spade in the county, found on Mr. "William 
 Lewis' farm, below the Big Dam, and is a perfect specimen, except a frac- 
 ture at the narrow end. The mineral of which it is made is diorite. The 
 spade is well shaped and polished on all sides, and its edge is as sharp as 
 that of a stone axe. Its length is five and a-half inches, its breadth is 
 nearly four inches and its thickness is three-fourths of an •inch. A wooden 
 handle was fastened to the narrow end by means of strips of raw hide, and 
 then, in the absence of steel spades, this must have been one of their most 
 serviceable digging utensils. No. 133 is chipped like a spear-head, but it 
 seems to be too blunt for that purpose. It may have been used as a dig- 
 ging tool. 
 
 Mr. Ezra High's collection contains a form of relic. No. 134, that I did not 
 notice anywhere else. They are fragments of rocks that are brought into 
 shape by coarse clipping. They are thick at the stem and taper like a 
 wedge to a sharp edge, and are much wider at the edge than at the stem, 
 where they appear to be broken off by use. • This relic seems to have had 
 an extension to the lower end which served as a handle. 
 
 No. 135 (Major S. L. Young's) is an excellent specimen of quartzite, 
 well chipped and having a fine edge at the broad end and sides. With a 
 handle fastened to the stem it would have served well either as a digging 
 tool or scraper. I have several in my collection, but their edges are blunt 
 and were probably made so by long use. 
 
 No. 186 of jasper and No. 137 of basanite are two digging tools that rep- 
 resent a large class of relics. They are too blunt for any other purpose. 
 They have a shovel-like shape and are battered at the edges as though they 
 had been used a long time in digging in the ground. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 147 
 
 No. 138 is a cut of a shovel or digging implement, intended to be used 
 with the hand, and represents one-half its natural size. It is made of shale 
 and has a handle chipped to it by which it can be grasped firmly. This 
 specimen is chipped roughly and is without polish. A relic, similar in size 
 and shape, made of the same mineral, is in the collection of the Keystone 
 State Normal School, at Kutztown. 
 
 COPPER IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 Copper relics are not numerous in Berks. The Indians Icnew nothing 
 about the process of obtaining copper from the ores and hence they could 
 make copper implements only when they had the native element, which 
 appears to have been found very sparingly in N. J., but very abundantly 
 along Lake Superior. It is probable that the copper was brought from 
 Lake Superior, and this belief is corroborated by the fact that a number of 
 arrow-heads have been found in the county that are made of flint from the 
 Western States. Only four copper relics are known to have been found im 
 the county. Prof. I. B. Hankey obtained a copper axe, found in the vicin- 
 ity of Friedensburg, when he was principal of Oley Academy. It was 
 placed in Dr. Bertolet's collection, and after the Doctor's death his collec- 
 tion was moved out of the county and no one now knows where it is. Mr. 
 J. DeTurk found two relics — one a chisel two and a half inches long, one 
 inch wide and three-eighths of an inch at the top and gradually tapering to 
 a fine edge, and the other a knife three inches long with a projection op- 
 posite to the edge for the attachment of a handle, which, when completed, 
 resembled the gibbous knife used by saddlers. Both of these implements 
 were borrowed by collectors a few years ago and they have not yet found 
 it convenient to return them. 
 
 GOUGES. 
 
 No. 139 is the only tangible specimen of copper and is in the hands of 
 Mr. H. D. Dick, by whom it was found on the Dick Farm. This relic is 
 a gouge and as far as known it is the only implement of this form in the 
 county. Its length is six and a half inches, its width in the middle one- 
 and five-eighths, tapering towards the ends and weighs nearly one pound', 
 and three ounces. It does not appear that this implement was ever usedl 
 with a hammer or mallet. The edge is blunted a little, but it appears as 
 though that had been done recently. 
 
 No. 140 is a relic in the form of a gouge of shale and was found by Mr. 
 J. A. Boyer, at Virginsville. It is only a fragment, but the part that he 
 has is in a good condition. The bevel at the cutting edge is worn smooth,, 
 very much like the tanning tools, and may have been used partly for that 
 purpose, but the groove was evidently intended for some special oise. 
 
 No. 141 is evidently one-half of a relic. It is five-eighths of an incb 
 thick, tapers very little toward the end, but the fractured part tapers to- 
 
148 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 ward the side so as to become very thin. The shape of this relic shows 
 conclusively that it was not drilled laterally. It is one of those whose specific 
 purpose cannot be surmised. It is made of blue slate and was probably 
 intended to be used as a banner stone. 
 
 REIilCS OF UNKNOWN USES. 
 
 The use of some of the relics that have been described was based upon 
 conjecture, but the peculiar shapes and marks of usage so plainly pointed 
 out the objects for which they were intended that the conjecture fell very 
 little short of certainty. The relics that are to be described now are un- 
 classified, and the last of the polished specimens. 
 
 No. 143 is a peculiarly shaped and well polished stone, found by Mr. Ezra 
 High on his farm. The mineral is a carbonate of lime. It might be 
 argued that it was a pebble from the Schuylkill, and that the shaping and 
 polishing of the stone was the operation of the water, but there is strong 
 proof to the contrary. A^'ater has a tei:idency to round stones on all sides. 
 This one is conchoidal on the top, three-fourths of an inch thick in the 
 middle, round below, but a little concave toward the projection on the left 
 in the cut, and tapers until it comes to a fine edge from a to b. There is 
 no relic in the county that has a finer cutting edge than this, and it might 
 have been a skinning or scalping knife, but No. 142, which is made of the 
 same kind of stone and in some respects resembles No. 143, was undoubtedly 
 intended for some other purpose. While the projection of No. 143 is very 
 sharp, and might probably have been used as a knife, that of No. 142 is a 
 triangular pyramid and projects nearly midway between the upper and the 
 lower surface. The stone is two inches thick at a and tapers like a wedge 
 towards the lower extremity, where it has a fine cutting edge. The upper 
 part has nearly the form of a triangular pyramid, with its sides, angles and 
 apex rounded. The lower surface of the stone differs very little from the 
 upper. Towards the left side there is a deep groove above and below, but 
 diminishes toward the upper extremity. This relic is well polished. It 
 has no defects or marks of usage by which to form even a vague conjecture 
 of the object for which the Indians designed this stone. 
 
 Nos. 144 and 145 are in Mr. A. H. DeTurk's collection. Both are made 
 of quartzite. Both are chipped very evenly and then ground so as to have 
 an ordinarily smooth surface. They are not grooved, but indented at the 
 sides, and it is doubtful whether those indentations were intended for the 
 fastening of a handle. The ends are nearly alike and at no part of the 
 relics are any marks of usage to be seen. They are too small for hammers 
 and must be classed among the relics of doubtful use. 
 
 No. 146 (Dr. Wanner's) is the only shell that I found in the county. 
 It is three-and-a-quarter inches long and three inches wide. The shell 
 is very thin along the edge and somewhat decayed, and may have had 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 149 
 
 quite a different shape -when it was in the hands of the Indians. In addi- 
 tion to the three holes in the shell there are six punctures in a straight Une 
 across the shell. These punctures are certainly significant and might con- 
 vey very interesting information if they could be deciphered. 
 
 BOWLS AND POTTERY. 
 
 Bowls, pots and kettles were as essential in the Indian household as in 
 that of the white man. Before they purchased these from the traders or 
 took them in payment for land, they were obliged to make them in their 
 own peculiar way. No entire specimen has been found, but fragments 
 sufficiently large to determine the size of some of the vessels and the pro- 
 cesses by which they were made. They made their "earthenware" either 
 by cutting the vessel out of a solid block of soapstone, or by making a mix- 
 ture of clay, silica, &c. , and forming it into the shape of the vessel and 
 burning it in a manner similar to that followed in the potteries of the 
 present day. A fragment of a large and elaborate bowl in Mr. J. W. 
 Brensinger's collection is shown in figure 147. The pari is scarcely 
 large enough to construct the bowl or give its dimensions. It was made of 
 a rock like granite, though not as hard, but harder than soapstone. The 
 rim of the bowl is nearly an inch thick and the bowl itself is nearly half an 
 inch thick. A small hole is drilled in the fractured part, and unlike the 
 holes in most of the tablets, it is smooth, and this proves beyond a doubt 
 that by some misfortune the bowl was broken and an effort was made to 
 restore it by tying the fragments together. Joel Dreibelbis, Esq., has thir- 
 teen fragments of a bowl similar in make and in size, and when I gathered 
 the parts to construct the bowl I discovered that they were made of diff- 
 erent minerals. That of Mr. Dreibelbis is cut out of a serpentine rock and 
 at least one piece has a hole in it which was also intended to tie the parts 
 together. Mr. W. Schaeffer, of Friedensburg, has a fragment of a bowl 
 about the same size and thickness as No. 147. 
 
 Many of the collectors of the county have parts of bowls and this proves 
 that serpentine bowls were in general use, but the rock is rather brittle and 
 easily broken by a plow or harrow, and hence we find only small pieces. 
 
 All crockery is fragile and for this reason only small pieces of Indian 
 earthenware can be found. It is also probable that the Indians paid little 
 attention to pottery after the advent of the whites, from whom they ob- 
 tained copper kettles and other vessels, which were more durable and at- 
 tractive. Whenever Penn made presents to the Indians copper kettles 
 were included. 
 
 Fragments of pottery are found wherever relics abound. Mr. F. B. 
 Reed found many pieces on his farm and presented me one of his largest 
 pieces which was three inches square. These pieces are composed of sand, 
 clay and small pieces of mica. Mr. DeTurk states that after plowing a. 
 
150 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 field near the Schuylkill River there is a black circular spot on which he 
 finds many pieces of pottery. This was unquestionably the place where 
 the Indians made and burned their pottery. 
 
 Nos. 148, 149 and 150 are specimens (natural size) from this locality. 
 It was the custom among the Indians to ornament their earthenware with 
 ornamental lines and figures. No two of the many fragments that have 
 ibeen found are alike. Most of the pieces of pottery are solid yet, and 
 when we consider that they were exposed to the weather at least one hun- 
 dred and fifty years, we must conclude that the Indians had a process of 
 making a plastic material which, when burned, formed durable vessels. 
 It is much to be lamented that the relics of these culinary implements are 
 so few and imperfect, that we cannot form any idea of their size and va- 
 riety. 
 
 No. 151, formerly in William Reed's collection, of Stouchsburg, but now 
 in the ownership of William R. Bertolet, represents a fragment and the 
 relative dimensions of a bowl cut out of a solid block of soapstone. The 
 fragment is five and a-half inches long, three and a-quarter inches wide 
 and half an inch thick, and its curvature is the arc of an ellipse whose longer 
 diameter is nine inches and the shorter six inches. Its depth was about 
 three and a-half inches. The fragment has also a large ear by which it 
 could be seized and carried. Mr. Jonas DeTurk found on his farm a piece 
 ■of soapstone vessel which is not quite as thick as, the preceding one and is 
 part of a vessel not so large in circumference but greater in depth. 
 
 No. 153 is a cup cut out of a serpentine rock and is remarkable for its 
 odd though graceful shape and numerous curved lines on the back or 
 bottom. It is in a good condition with no scratch, but a small part on the 
 top at the right side is broken off. It has an elongation at the upper end 
 and a shorter one at the lower. These may have been used to lift and 
 handle the cup. It may have been used as a drinking cup, since if it had 
 been used as a paint cup there would be some marks about it to give evi- 
 dence of such use. It could not have been used to hold a liquid for any 
 length of time, because the bottom is as oval as the inside of the cup and 
 Tvould not stand unless it were placed on a support. Neither was the cup 
 intended for anything except what required gentle handling, on account 
 of the fragile mineral and the thinness of the sides. 
 
 No. 152 represents the lines on the bottom of the cup. It is four and a- 
 quarter inches long, two and a-half inches wide and an inch deep. It was 
 found in Carnarvon Township, which is in the Conestoga Valley, and 
 hence it is a relic from the Conestoga Indians. It now belongs to Harry 
 A. Weidensaul, of Reading. 
 
 CHIPPED IMPLEMENTS. 
 The relics that were described thus far were, with a few exceptions, those 
 that were ground and polished, and those that remain to be described are 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 151 
 
 relics whose surfaces are uneven, and were brought into shape by a process 
 called chijiping. In mineralogy there are ten degrees of hardness. Talc, 
 or soapstone, is 1; the diamond, the hardest substance known, is 10. The 
 ground and polished implements range in hardness from 1 to 5, and a few 
 6, with the exception of two skinning knives. The chipped implements 
 are nearly all made of minerals whose hardness is 7. A quartz or jasper 
 axe would have been more durable than those made by the Indians, 
 but it would be a tedious work to shape an axe out of a block of jasper 
 with a modern lapidary's mill, and it would have been infinitely more 
 so among the Indians. The reason why the Indians used the hardest 
 stones for chipping is because it is almost impossible to chip the softer 
 stones. The minerals used by the Indians for chipping were quartzite, 
 quartz, jasper, chalcedony and basanite, (also called lydian stone and 
 touchstone) and a few of limestone, but these are all ill-shaped speci- 
 mens. These minerals are found abundantly through Ruscombmanor, 
 Rockland, Longswamp and Maxatawny. A few specimens have been 
 found that were made of Western flint, and this shows that the Indians 
 bartered with each other. 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to know how they chipped their arrow-heads, 
 knives, &c. It must be remembered that they had no steel hammers, cold 
 chisels and vises, and if they would have been in possession of these useful 
 tools they could not have used them for chipping. Every mineralogist 
 knows that when a delicate mineral is to be trimmed a steel hammer gen- 
 erally fractures it in a direction contrary to the desired one. The only 
 things they needed were bone and wood, and skill to use them. That the 
 Indians had workshops or places where they made their implements, is 
 evident from the fact that where they had their villages certain spots are 
 found covered with chips of stones from which they made their arrow- 
 heads, and it is credible that they had mechanics who made their axes, 
 pestles, ornaments and large spear and arrow-heads; but the more ordinary 
 arrow-heads were made by all Indians and even by boys. When Tocacolie 
 was murdered on the Cacoosing, John Robert's wife said in her testimony 
 "that the Indian boy that was in company with the other Indians was in 
 the house, and made three arrows in the house. ' ' 
 
 The question is often asked, how did the Indians make the arrow-heads ? 
 The first step was to select a solid stone of uniform density, and, by trial, 
 discover which way the stone chips. ' ' Flints ' ' do not chip equally well in 
 all directions. The second step is flaking or breaking large chips off a rock. 
 This operation can be performed well by taking a solid bone and setting one 
 end of it near the sharp edge of a stone, in the manner of a cold chisel, and 
 striking on the other end with a hammer. An iron chisel will touch the 
 stone at one or two points and cause the stone to break off irregularly, but 
 a bone yields a little and buries itself into the irregularities of the stone, so 
 
162 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 that the contact is greater, and a Mow is not so abrupt as to shatter tlie 
 flake or chip. I was recenth' experimenting very successfully with a block 
 of chalcedony and a hard dry piece of hickory. 
 
 The third and last step is to take the flakes or chips and chip them into 
 arrow-heads. This operation is performed by pressure. A stroke with a 
 hammer does not chip but break the stone. The preceding cut illustrates 
 the process of chipping. Any man with ordinary skill can make a .small 
 arrow-head in his hands with the handle of a tooth-brush by giving it a 
 gentle pressure and an upward movement. If it is desirable to chip to the 
 middle of the stone it will be necessary to hold the bone nearly perpendic- 
 ular to the plane of the stone, like the brush in the cut, but if the operator 
 desires to chip more bluntly, he must give the bone an inclination. For 
 the large and even middle-sized chipped implements the Indians must 
 liave tied a bone on a heavy stick and used it as a lever, otherwise it is 
 difficult to conceive how they could have obtained a sufficient amount of 
 pressure ; direct physical force would have been inadequate. 
 
 ARBOW-HEADS AND KNIVES. 
 
 Arrow-heads constitute liy far the largest class of relics. They were made 
 of hard fragile minerals and consequently many were broken by being shot 
 against trees or by falling upon stones, but thousands of them are found that 
 have not been injured by use or accident. The variety is so great that it is 
 impossible to give cuts of all those that differ only in minor points. AVith 
 regard to form arrow-heads may be divided into certain general classes, 
 each of which is to be illustrated. Men often ask whj' the Indian.s made 
 arrows-heads of such various forms. C)thers say that each variety indicated 
 a different tribe or sul>-tribe. In this part of the countr}^ the large imple- 
 ments are of the same form and made of the same material. In making 
 arrow-heads the flakes may often have dictated their form, whereas others 
 were shaped in accordance with-the taste and fancy of the maker. If the 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 153 
 
 Indians had desired it they could have made all their arrows of the same 
 size and form, except the conchoidal fractures produced by chipping. It 
 was as easy for them to chip a large arrow-head down to a small one with- 
 out breaking it, as it is for a Caucasian to whittle a stick down to a tooth- 
 pick. 
 
 The Indians used to take a stick, split one end, insert the arrow-head 
 and tie it firmly where it was notched. Their shooting with the bow and 
 arrow was similar to that of the present day. 
 
 The cuts of the chipped implements represent their natural size. 
 
 No. 164 is an excellent specimen of a knife belonging to Mr. A. M. 
 Kline's collection in Fleetwood. It is of reddish jasper, Avell chipped, 
 with a good edge and a sharp point. It is a very fine and perfect speci- 
 men of many knives of a similar shape. No. 155 is another knife chipped 
 on the same plan. It is without a defect, not pointed, and could only be 
 used for the purpose of cutting. It is a specimen in Mr. H. K. Deisher's 
 collection. 
 
 No. 156 is undoubtedly a genuine scalping knife. The sharp edge, the 
 prominent point of the blade, a peculiar curve in the blade and the handle 
 seem to adapt the knife to the purpose of scalping and confirm the belief 
 that it was the object for which it was exclusively intended. It is made of 
 a species of very hard carbonate of lime. There is scratched on it with a 
 steel point " Found by John H. Gernant, July 11, 1850." Mr. Gernant 
 lives at Leesport, but this very rare and valuable specimen is now in the 
 possession of S. L. Young, Esq. , of Reading. The knife is 7 J inches in 
 length. 
 
 No. 157 is a very excellent specimen of a numerous class of implements 
 generally denominated spear-heads, but it is my impression that this one 
 was used as a knife. It has a sharp point and a keen edge. These fea- 
 tures would have made it very effective as a spear-head, but it is only a 
 quarter of an inch thick in the middle, and, in consequence of its thinness; 
 the slightest lateral pressure would have broken it, besides the spear-heads 
 were generally stemmed. This specimen is made of yellow jasper and is 
 chipped most elegantly, the primary chips on both sides meeting near the 
 middle. The irregularity on the right edge in the cut is a fracture caused 
 by an agricultural implement. It was found by and has been in the pos- 
 session of Mr. George Bolich, who lives in the northwestern part of Albany 
 Township, on the spot where the Gerhart family was murdered by the In- 
 dians in 1756. Some time ago, when an old orchard was plowed on Dick's 
 farm, sixteen similar though larger implements of basanite were un- 
 earthed at one time. 
 
 No. 158 (Mr. J. H. Bubp's)-is the only specimen of this peculiar shape 
 in the county. It is made of a brownish jasper, elegantly chipped and 
 perfect with the exception of a fracture at a, which indicates that a promi- 
 
154 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 nent point like that on the opposite side was broken off. It is not sym- 
 metrical enough for an arrow-head. It is plausible that the point was used 
 as a perforator and the projections or barbs near the stem, one of which is 
 still very sharp, were used for cutting purposes. 
 
 The knives are very useful articles. They are very numerous in all the 
 collections and of every conceivable size and shape. No. 159 (Mr. Jonas 
 DeTurk's) and No. 160 (Mr. Henry Boyer's) are of jasper, have fine cut- 
 ting edges and are rare specimens. 
 
 No. 161 is a knife of a unique form in the collection of Mr. A. G. Mengel. 
 The one side is nearly straight and the other is curved. There are other 
 knives whose sides do not converge equally, but this has peculiarities which 
 distinguish it from all others. 
 
 No. 162 represents a small number of relics in the county. They are 
 made of jasper, rather thin and may have been used as knives. They have 
 the usual cutting edges, though I am inclined to believe that they were 
 used for a special purpose. This one is in Mr. William R. Bertolet's col- 
 lection. There is one, in Mr. High' s collection, of precisely the same size 
 and thickness, but there is a fracture at the lower end, which seems to in- 
 dicate that it had a handle when the implement was complete. 
 
 Nos. 163 to 166 are the usual form and size of the arrow-heads and are 
 found numerously in all collections. They vary in length from an inch to 
 the size of a spear-head, and this often makes it difficult to tell whether a 
 relic in this form should be called an arrow or spear-head. In view of this 
 great variety in the chipped implement and their doubtful uses, no attempt 
 will be made at a classification. The smaller are generally regarded arrow- 
 heads and the larger spear-heads. 
 
 No. 167 is made of basanite. All the teeth except one are broken off at 
 the points, of which there were four on one side and three on the other. 
 When it was in its complete state it was an arrow-head of rare beauty and 
 workmanship. No. 168 is notched at the sides with a concave base. No. 
 169 is notched at the sides with a straight base, and No. 170 is notched at 
 the sides with a convex base. 
 
 No. 171 is a stemmed implement of quartzite, in Mr. A. H. DeTurk's 
 collection. It is chipped similarly on both sides, though the one is 
 straighter than the other. The cutting edge is perfect, but a small part of 
 the stem is broken off. 
 
 No. 172 (Mr. E. J. Sharadin's) is an exceedingly fine specimen — a relic 
 that may have been a dagger. It is made of a grey flint, a mineral evi- 
 dently from the west, and has a blade nearly as thick as it is wide. A 
 handle attached to this blade would make an effective weapon. No. 173 
 (Mr. E. J. Sharadin's) is decidedly the finest and most elaborate spear- 
 head in the county. It is made of a fine quality of jasper. An inch at 
 the point, one of the barbs and a part of the stem are of a deep red color. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 165 
 
 and the rest is of a beautiful yellow. The body of this spear-head is three- 
 tenths of an inch in thickness, and the chipping along the edge is excel- 
 lent and was performed by one of the most skillful Indian mechanics. The 
 edges are beveled on both sides. 
 
 This relic and a number of arrow-heads have red points, and some col- 
 lectors are of the opinion that the Indians dipped them' into poison and 
 this caused the color of the Jasper. An acid that changes the color of a 
 stone affects the texture of it. I have examined some with the magnifj'- 
 ing glass and find the jasper clear and solid. Many of our jaspers are 
 parth' yellow and red, and I am positive that the red point is incidental. 
 
 No. 174 is a basanite relic of a very unique form. It has a sharp tooth 
 at each side, a deep chipping at the base and a small notch on each side. 
 The teeth may have been intended as retainers for the strings or things 
 that were used to fasten the arrow-head. 
 
 DRILLS. 
 
 Nos. 175, 6 and 7 were drills. Quite a variety of these elongated relics 
 are found ; the most splendid ones are usually defective. Arrow-heads 
 pass so gradually into drills that it is often difficult to determine whether 
 the relics are drills or arrow-heads. The drills were fastened to a stick and 
 whirled round with the hand or a bow and string. The small holes in 
 Nos. 92 and 94 were drilled in this manner. Large holes were drilled 
 -with a reed and fine sand ; the marks made by the sand are distinctly 
 visible. No. 109 contains a hole that proves this mode of drilling in the 
 most satisfactory manner. 
 
 No. 178 is a serrated relic of yellow jasper, nearly straight on one side 
 and curved on the other. It does not have the symmetrical form of an 
 arrow-head, and the defective teeth on the curved side indicate conclus- 
 ively that it was fastened to a stick and used as a saw. Nos. 179 and 180 
 are fine specimens of arrow-heads. 
 
 FISH GIGS. 
 
 No. 181 is of quartzite and belongs to a class of slender implements that 
 are frequently met with. It is generally believed that they were attached 
 to sticks and used as fish gigs. Loskiel says : ' ' Little boys are frequently 
 seen wading in shallow brooks shooting small fishes with their bow and 
 arrow." It is evident that they could not have been used in shallow 
 water, because the points would ha^e been broken off by striking against 
 the stones in the brook. It is a common occurrence to see medium-sized 
 arrow-heads that were blunted by striking against hard bodies, and it is 
 probable that these were used to shoot fish in shallow water. 
 
 A few years ago Mr. Franklin B. Reed found an iron or steel fish gig in 
 the Tulpehocken Creek near his house, which had precisely the shape of 
 one figured in one of the Smithsonian Reports. The Indians had obtained 
 
156 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 this gig from the white people and lost it while fishing more than a cen- 
 tury and a half ago. 
 
 No. 182 is a form of arrow-head quite common in Berks County, and a& 
 far as I have observed they are all made of the finest quality of Jasper. 
 The form of No. 183 (Mr. J. H. Bubp's) is also very common, but the 
 mineral of which it is made is extremely rare. I never met a mineral of 
 the same color and properties in the study of mineralogy and the collec- 
 tion of specimens. It has a beautiful green color and its glassy nature 
 and appearance lead me to call it an obsidian. These two specimens be- 
 long to a small class of arrow-heads that have a beveled edge on each side. 
 The beveling of the edges was probably intended to give the arrow a 
 rotary motion, but it affected only a comparatively small part of the sur- 
 face of the arrow-head, so that it must have had very little tendency to- 
 give it the desired motion. 
 
 No. 184 is a beautiful basanite arrow-head. It is stemmed and barbed 
 and is the representative of a limited class. R. A. Gilmer, Esq., of 
 Caernarvon, has several of this class made of the finest kind of jasper and 
 of the most skillful workmanship. 
 
 Nos. 185, 186 and 187 are stemmed like arrow-heads, but their sides 
 are not symmetrical, and hence could not have been used as arrow-heads. 
 This class of implements is large and differs in the size of the specimens^ 
 but the one side is always perceptibly larger and sharper than the other, 
 and from these facts we can conclude beyond a doubt that they were tied 
 to a stick like, arrow-heads and used as knives. 
 
 IMPLEMENTS OF UNKNOWN USES. 
 
 No. 188 is a lozenge-shaped implement made of yellow jasper. It was 
 chipped with care and was designed for some special though unknown 
 purpose. This variety is rarely found. Only two specimens of No. 189,, 
 one of basanite and one of quartz, have come to my notice. Both are in 
 Mr. H. D. Dick's collection. The primary and secondary chipping shows 
 that the shape is not the result of random workmanship, but that of de- 
 sign. No. 190 (Mr. J. H. Bubp's) is an isolated specimen of jasper. 
 In some respects it resembles an arrow-head, but its beveled edges and 
 three peculiar indentations are sufficient reasons to believe that it was not 
 intended to be an arrow-head. 
 
 Nos. 191 and 192 are samples of the largest arrow-heads. No. 191 is a 
 beautiful specimen of quartzite chipped so evenly that it has very few ir- 
 regularities on its surface, and No. 192 is of jasper with well defined chip- 
 ping. The stems of both are tapering, and belong to a class of relics found 
 in all collections, though they are not very numerous, probably for the 
 reason that they could not be fastened so readily and firmly to a stick to 
 be used as an arrow, and yet the shape is made so by design, because the 
 Indians could chip a stem into any shape their fancy dictated. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 157 
 
 The form of No. 193 varies from all preceding specimens, has a larger 
 body than usual, with one straight side, and the other with two indenta- 
 tions, and was not intended to be used as an arrow-head. It is of quartz- 
 ite, broken off at the point and not ground or polished, but no outlines of 
 chips are perceptible. 
 
 TRIANGULAR ARROW-HEADS. 
 
 In studying the triangular arrow-heads we find that there is as much 
 variety in size and form, in proportion to the number, as there is in the 
 class just described. These relics are called arrow-heads, but on account 
 of their delicacy and slenderness many of them were very ineffective, be- 
 cause they break by falling on the floor. 
 
 Figures from No. 194 to No. 202 represent all the principal types of tri- 
 angular arrow-heads in the county from the largest to the smallest. There 
 are many in the county. Several of the collectors have upwards of a thou- 
 sand. No. 194 is the largest specimen that I have observed, and it belongs 
 to Mr. W. H. Krause's collection, in Kutztown. It is made of basanite, 
 and appears to be too large for an arrow-head. No. 195 (Mr. William R. 
 Bertolet' s) is as wide, but not as long, and, like the preceding, is a very fine 
 relic. 
 
 Nos. 196 and 202, with straight sides and bases, arefurms most frequently 
 met with. The base was put into a stick split for the purpose, and tied in 
 the same manner as stemmed arrow-heads were fastened. In a collection of 
 nearly seven thousand specimens I have four hundred triangular ones. No. 
 196 (Mr. Ezra High's) is of a size that is often found. Mr. High found 
 this and another one precisely like it upon the same spot. They are thin, 
 made of jasper and are chipped most beautifully. The Indians loved or- 
 naments and enjoyed their rude fineries with the same degree of fondness 
 that we do ours, and I am, therefore, of the opinion that some of those 
 relics, on account of their rare form or delicacy, were made for ornaments, 
 while others were gifts made to friends and cherished as keepsakes. It is 
 my impression that these two relics were not intended to be arrow points. 
 The others are rather unique in form. Their sides are not symmetrical, 
 though they are elegantly chipped on both sides. 
 
 SMALL ARROW-HEADS. 
 
 Nos. 203 to 206 repr(!sent the size and general forms of a large number of 
 small arrow-heads. No. 205 is not met with so frequently, especially in a 
 perfect form. The barbs are so slender and easily broken that it seems 
 doubtful whether these specimens were used as arrow-heads. I have about 
 a dozen in my collection, though few are entire specimens. No. 206 is one 
 of the smallest that has been found. The small ones are numerous, but 
 the serrated ones are scarce. 
 
158 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 Nos. 207 and 208 (Mr. H. M. Keim's) are two of the most beautiful and 
 delicate arrow-heads that I have ever seen. In addition to being barbed 
 and stemmed they are serrated, and thus combine two of the most beauti- 
 ful features in the whole range of arrow-making. 
 
 liEAF-SHAPED IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 There is a class of implements which, on account of their resemblance 
 to a leaf, are called leaf-shaped. They are found in all the collections of 
 the county, but in some sections they abound more than in others. Mr. 
 I. D. DeTurk's collection has a larger per cent, than any other collection, 
 and is especially remarkable for its variety. Their form is nearly the 
 same, but they differ in size. This collection recently passed into the 
 possession of Mr. H. K. Deisher, of Kutztown. No. 209 is classed among 
 the leaf-shaped implements because it has the form, though it is more 
 slender than usual and may have been used for ' ' sticking ' ' their game or 
 for stabbing and might have been classed with the daggers. Perfect speci- 
 mens are rather rare, but broken ones are found everywhere. No. 210 
 (Mr. Harry A. Weidensaul's) is made of basanite and is the largest in 
 the county. It is about a quarter of an inch thick and is chipped very 
 evenly on both sides, the primary chips all meeting in the middle. No. 
 211 (Mr. Ezra High's) is a beautiful specimen of jasper and is the smallest 
 in the county. The others all vary in size between the two just described, 
 and are made of the same minerals as arrow-heads. 
 
 Archaeologists do not appear to specify any particular use for the leaf- 
 shaped implements. Some of the larger ones have sharp edges and may 
 have been used as knives ; it is scarcely possible that they were used as 
 spear-heads, and the smaller ones could hardly have been used as arrow- 
 heads, because, on account of the thickness of some of them, and the want 
 of stems or other means for firm attachment to a stick. The readers are 
 permitted to make their own surmises with regard to the use of these 
 relics. 
 
 SPEAB-HEADS. 
 
 Spear-heads do not differ from the arrow-heads in form, but they are 
 larger. The stemmed implements increase gradually from No. 206, the 
 smallest, to No. 215, the largest in the county, and it is, therefore, impossi- 
 ble to draw a dividing line, and to assert with certainty that the class of 
 smaller ones are arrow-heads and that of the larger are spear-heads. It is 
 evident that a stick or handle was attached to the so-called spear-heads 
 but were they then used as spears to capture animals ? No. 216 (Mr. E. 
 J. Sharadin's) is of quartzite, and though it is the largest, yet in its 
 shape it represents a large class. The roundness of the stem is a pecu- 
 liarity that belongs to only a few. Some are more pointed and others are 
 blunter. Whether these spears were used by the Indians exclusively to 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 169 
 
 kill bears and other wild animals after they had cornered them in the 
 rocks or thickets, is problematical. There is no doubt about the spear 
 being a part of the hunter's equipment, but those who maintain that it 
 was the principal weapon with which the Indians killed their wild ani- 
 mals will be convinced, after experimenting with the spear and the skin of 
 a domestic animal, that it was difficult to pierce the shaggy coat and to 
 inflict a flesh wound upon a bear. That these implements were used for 
 other purposes is proved conclusively by No. 215. The sharp elevations 
 produced by chipping are all worn off as though it had been used for 
 digging in the ground. Probably it was a digging tool. There are about 
 500 spear-heads in the collections and the average are about two inches 
 wide and five and a -half inches long. 
 
 No. 224 is a very fine and excellent specimen of spear-head or dagger 
 found by Mr. Joseph Adams on his farm in Exeter Township. 
 
 No. 212 (Major S. L. Young's) is a quartzite relic and has the shape of 
 a dagger, but it is broken at the point and seems to have been too weak 
 and slender for such use. 
 
 No. 213 is chipped nearly alike at both ends, and one side is considera- 
 bly thicker than the other. The chipping on both sides indicate that the 
 relic was completed, but its use is doubtful. No. 214 is a specimen of 
 basanite elegantly chipped. This form of relic is not rare. All the speci- 
 mens in my collection are made of jasper or basanite and are perfect. 
 They, are all wide and straight at the base, and it is not probable that 
 they were used as arrow-heads. 
 
 No 216 is a relic of brown jasper in A. H. DeTurk's collection from Mr. 
 J. Phillips' farm. The body is leaf-shaped, but the base and barbs are 
 peculiarities that belong to this specimen alone. The body of the relic is 
 nearly the size and shape of No. 162, differs principally in its barbs and 
 was probably intended for the same use. No. 217 is a relic not found fre- 
 quently. It is chipped on both sides and a perfect specimen. No. 218 is 
 a fine relic made of jasper. Its form approaches that of the knives, but 
 the stem is so small and tapering that it would seem impossible to fasten 
 it securely to a handle. No specific use can, therefore, be assigned to the 
 
 relic. 
 
 TURTLE BACKS. 
 
 In some localities there is a kind of Indian relic found which on account 
 of its thickness and resemblance to the back of a turtle is called a ' ' turtle 
 back. ' ' Quite a number of these relics are found in the county and corn- 
 prise many sizes. Some archaeologists are of the opinion that since these 
 are generally ruder they were made by a race of people that inhabited this 
 country before the Delaware Indians obtained possession of the soil. The 
 Delawares were called Lenni Lenape, which in their language signified 
 
160 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 original people, and if they were correct about the early history of their 
 tribe, then all the relics that are found in this part of the country are the 
 work of the Delawares. I am convinced by a close examination of the 
 ' ' turtle backs ' ' of Berks County that they were made by the same people 
 as well as of the same minerals. Some of them are rudely chipped of a 
 poor quality of stone, which may have been selected by an apprentice 
 ignorant of the quality of stones necessary to chip well, and then rejected 
 before they were fully completed. 
 
 No. 219 is a turtle back of yellow jasper nearly three-quarters of an inch 
 thick. This is not the result of poor material and unskilled workman- 
 ship. It is made of the best quality of jasper, and the Indian that chipped 
 it could have made it into any desirable shape. 
 
 No. 220 represents half the size of a roughly-chipped spear-head of 
 quartzite nearly as thick as it is wide. It is of the same mineral as thou- 
 sands of other relics in the county, though coarser, and judging by its ap- 
 pearance it cannot be older. This and many others were undoubtedly re- 
 jected because the mineral was of inferior quality. There are relics found, 
 however, that convince me that the Delawares made ' ' turtle backs ' ' for 
 some special purpose, because they are made of the finest minerals and 
 chipped as well as their best arrow-heads. No. 247, on page 257, is a 
 similar relic of quartzite almost an inch thick with primary and secondary 
 chipping on both sides. 
 
 RELICS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND USES. 
 
 No. 221 (Mr. Ezra High's) is a specimen of a class of relics whose shape 
 is nearly that of the segment of a circle. All that I have seen are made of 
 quartzite, and I have found them in no collections but those of Messrs. 
 Ezra High and J. DeTurk. 
 
 Nos. 222 and 223 are jasper relics somewhat in the form of a knife with 
 chipping on both sides. 
 
 No. 224 is described under spear-heads. 
 
 No. 225 is one of the most beautiful and graceful relics, in the form of an 
 arrow-head, in all the collections in the county. It is thin and could never 
 have been used as an arrow-head, and I do not think that it was ever in- 
 tended as one, because if it had ever been used once it would have been 
 broken. It was found in Maxatawny, is made of yellow jasper and is in 
 Mr. W. H. Krause's collection. 
 
 No. 226 is the type of a small class of relics. They are chipped on 
 both sides, tapering gracefully toward the ends. This is made of brown 
 jasper and belongs to Mr. James S. DeTurk's collection. James W. Bren- 
 singer has one of similar beauty and workmanship. 
 
 No. 227 is an odd and unique relic chipped from a basanite flake and is 
 perfect with the exception of a small fracture at one of the barbs, and is the 
 property of Mr. F. B. Reed. One of the neatest relics of a peculiar form 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 161 
 
 found in some of the collections is in the possession of Mr. Theo. S. Mer- 
 kel, of Fleetwood, and is represented by figure 228. A chip of parallel 
 width runs along the whole length of the relic and the chipping along 
 the sides is well executed. This one is chipped out of a jasper flake, and 
 Mr. Merkel has a fragment of one of basanite of precisely the same size and 
 peculiar chipping. No. 229 is the figure of one in Mr. W. Schaefler's col- 
 lection. These relics were hardly made in this form by accident, and yet 
 it is doubtful whether an Indian could make such a long and regular chip 
 whenever he desired. 
 
 Page 253 contains figures of a variety of relics chipped in the most 
 elegant manner, which were undoubtedly prized highly by the Indians on 
 account of their beauty and neatness. No. 230 (Mr. H. K. Deisher's) 
 is a very evenly chipped relic of basanite in the form of a fish. Mr. Dei- 
 sher has others of the same form. No. 231 (Mr. J. B. Brobst's) is also 
 made of basanite. No. 232 (Mr. E. J. Sellers') is a quartzite relic chipped 
 so regularly that the form of the chips cannot be deciphered. No. 233 
 (Mr. J. W. Brensinger's) of yellow jasper, in the shape of an arrow-head, 
 but was never used as such. No. 234 (Mr. A. G. Mengel's) is a quartzite 
 with two indentations on the converging sides. No. 235 (Mr. J. DeTurk's) 
 is a rehc of chalcedony with a streak of another mineral running through it a 
 short distance below the point. No. 236 is a relic in Mr. F. B. Reed's collec- 
 tion. The primary and secondary chipping is beyond criticism. The 
 relic is of yellow jasper, nearly round and a little thicker in the middle 
 than relics in general. No. 237 (Mr. J. Dreibelbis') is also of yellow 
 jasper and, with the exception of some difference in its sides resembles 
 No. 233. And No. 238 (Mr. A. H. DeTurk's) is made of quartzite and 
 bears no resemblance to any other relic in the county. It has a form 
 which might have adapted it to the use of an axe, hammer or spade. 
 
 Page 255 also contains a variety of unique relics, the uses of which are 
 not known. No. 239 (Mr. H. K. Deisher's) is chipped of yellow jasper. 
 The implement has a sharp point at one end and is thick at the other, 
 and was evidently intended to puncture hides. No. 240 (Mr. A. G. 
 Mengel's) is remarkable for its hooked shape and large primary chips. 
 The secondary chips are small and more numerous. The relic is rare and 
 valued greatly by its owner. 
 
 Nos. 241, 242 and 243 are representatives of a species of pointed relics 
 that are found in the upper part of the county. The points do not show 
 any evidence of usage and they could not have been intended as drills for 
 shallow holes, because the bodies of these relics are chipped skillfully. No. 
 
 241 (Mr. Theodore S. Merkel's) is made of yellow jasper, the stem is 
 oblique and the sides are not uniform but chipped so intentionally. No. 
 
 242 (Mr. J. A. Boyer's) is a jasper specimen belonging to this class, and 
 the only triangular one that has come under my notice, No, 243 (Mr. A, 
 
162 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 G. Mengel's) is the largest specimen of the class and is made of quartz- 
 ite. The special use of these relics is a mystery. 
 
 No. 244 (Mr. R. A. Gilmer's) is similar to No. 226, but it is larger and 
 it has a lateral curvature of one-fourth of an inch. The surface part is a 
 fracture and is chipped along the edge, and the upper surface is marked by 
 a long flake and the usual secondary chipping. The mineral of which it is 
 made is a yellow jasper. 
 
 Nos. 245 and 246 are relics of a different class again. No. 245 (Mr. 
 Joel Dreibelbis' ) is made of white quartz, and No. 246 (Mr. J. A. Boyer's) 
 is made of a red jasper. There are other relics in the county resembling 
 these, but they are not as beautiful and as well chipped. Both were found 
 at Virginsville. Probably made by the same Indian for a special use. 
 
 No. 247 is described under Turtle Backs. 
 
 No. 248 is a unique specimen, made of quartzite and chipped so evenly 
 that were it not for a few irregularities on the surface, it would be as smooth 
 as some of the pecked implements described under a preceding heading. 
 It is heavy for the point of an arrow and may have been a spear-head, but 
 the peculiar and graceful form induces me to believe that it was neither. At 
 least it is not probable that it was in the hands of an ordinary Indian and 
 used for all ordinary purposes. 
 
 No. 249 is a very interesting and unique specimen from Major S. L. 
 Young's collection. It is stemmed like an arrow-head, and its body being 
 circular opposite to the stem, is full of notches so as to make it look like a 
 saw. The mineral is jasper. 
 
 SCBAFEBS. 
 
 There is a class of stemmed relics represented by figure No. 250, which 
 on account of their plain surface, sharp edge and beveled chipping on the 
 lower side were well adapted for scraping, and for this reason they are called 
 scrapers. The edges do not show any rough usage and may properly be- 
 long to the tanning tools. There are probably several dozens of the same 
 size and shape as No. 250 in the county. There are others considerably 
 larger but all were employed for the same purpose. 
 
 PIPES. 
 
 ' ' Tobacco is an Indian weed, ' ' and was considered by them ' ' as one of 
 the most essential necessaries of life. The species in common use with 
 the Delawares and Iroquois was so strong that they never smoked it alone, 
 but mixed it with the dry leaves of sumac, or with another herb, called by 
 them degokimak, or with the red bark of a species of willow. ' ' Smoking 
 was practiced by the Indians to a great extent, and by them the pipe was 
 the instrument by which they confirmed their treaties, sealed their friend- 
 ships and established peace. In times of war the pipe was their flag of 
 truce. The bearer of the pipe preceded the embassy and an insult offered 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 163 
 
 to him was one of the greatest indignities that could be presented to the 
 Indians. In making peace ' ' the meeting is opened by the head chief or 
 president, who smokes for a short time out of the pipe of peace, after it 
 has been devoutly turned toward the heaven and the earth. This cere- 
 mony is of such importance that no European governor or ambassador 
 can make peace with the Indians without it ; afterwards the pipe is handed 
 about among all the members of the council, when each of them takes it 
 up very cautiously and smokes for a short time. ' ' * 
 
 Many of th*e pipes must have been made of perishable material, other- 
 wise they would not be found so sparingly in comparison to other relics. 
 No. 251 is a gem of a pipe, a remnant of Gen. George M. Keim's collection, 
 and now in the possession of Henry M. Keim, Esq. The cut represents 
 the natural size of the pipe. It is made of a dark serpentine tinged with 
 red. The hole in the body of the pipe is regular and corresponds with 
 the outside in its form, and the hole in the stem is one-quarter of an inch 
 in diameter. The pipe, which was found in the vicinity of Pricetown, has 
 a very fine polish and is perfect except the stem, which appears to have 
 been longer. No. 252 represents half the natural size of a fine specimen of 
 pipe found west of Stouchsburg, in Lebanon County, immediately beyond 
 the line between Berks and Lebanon. Though the pipe was found in 
 Lebanon, it belonged to the Tulpehocken Indians, and since it is probable 
 that it was smoked as much in Berks as in Lebanon, a description of the 
 pipe properly belongs to this history. It is made of dark serpentine, well 
 proportioned and generally well preserved. The hole in the body was 
 first drilled and finally scraped, and hence a little irregular, but that of 
 the stem was completed with a drill. This pipe is in the collection of Mr. 
 H. L. Illig, Millbach, Lebanon County. 
 
 Mr. A. H. DeTurk, of Leesport, has a pipe of the same size and min- 
 eral. This he found at Gibraltar. 
 
 "Losklel, Part 1, page 158. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The matter in the appendix should properly precede the article on Con- 
 rad Weiser on page 17. 
 
 ANOTHER PURCHASE. 
 
 The laiad south of the South Mountains, parts of which were purchased 
 at various times, was fully released by them in 1718, on September 17th, 
 and north of the South Mountains in 1732. At this time the Delawares 
 had undoubtedly deserted all their villages and it is plausible that the 
 Ganawese were the only Indians remaining and by this time they were not 
 numerous and may already have commenced their journey to the west. 
 
 NICOLE GODIN. 
 
 As soon as the Indians were pacified by Penn's kindness and his liberal 
 presents to them whenever they visited Philadelphia, men would go out 
 among them with such articles as the Indians needed in their domestic af- 
 fairs and barter with them for the skins of animals that they hunted, and 
 knowing that they were afflicted with some of the weaknesses of civilized 
 life, the traders would take rum with them, and when they had intoxicated 
 the Indians they would defraud them. Such treatment was a violation of 
 Penn's treaty, and if it had been allowed to go on it might have excited 
 the revenge of the Indians, and there would scarcely have been an end to 
 the massacres of innocent people. The Council in Philadelphia passed 
 stringent laws to prevent all dealing with the Indians except such persons 
 as were authorized. 
 
 Nicole Godin, an active, bold and shrewd young Frenchman, had no li- 
 cense to trade with the Indians. He carried on an illicit traffic with them 
 in different sections of the country and always succeeded in elud- 
 ing the officers until at last he was captured at Paxton, in the northern part 
 of Dauphin County. In July, 1707, the governor, with a small party, 
 went to arrest him ; when they had captured him, the Governor reported ; 
 ' ' we parted for Tulpehocken ; having mounted Nicole upon a horse, and 
 tied his legs under his belly ; *e got within a mile of Tulpehocken about two 
 of the clock on Friday morning, and about seven the Governor went to the 
 town, from thence we went to Manatawny that night, and the next day to 
 Philadelphia. ' ' The old Philadelphia road through Stonersville and 
 Amityville, which was the great highway to Philadelphia before the pike 
 and railroad were made, was.laid out by the Indians. It is not known how 
 long this road had been used by the Indians, butit was a direct route from 
 Philadelphia to Shamokin, and all the delegations of Indians from Berks 
 and the counties north and northwest of it, traveled on this road to the 
 seat of government ; and in all probability it was an Indian thoroughfare 
 hundreds of years before it was trodden by the foot of a white man. 
 
THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 165 
 
 AMITY. 
 
 From the earliest settlement in Amity, which occurred in 1701, to the 
 beginning of the French and Indian war in 1754, peace and harmony 
 reigned between the whites and Indians. The process of settlement which 
 began in Amity extended over a space of 60 years, and during this time 
 there were constant intercourse and barter between the white people and 
 the Indians. They may not have lived in close proximity, but the roving 
 character of the Indians often led them through the settlements of the 
 whites and whenever they came they were not regarded with fear and 
 terror, but as though they were following the ordinary pursuits of Ufe. 
 The Indians had received what they considered a fair price for their land, 
 and did not look upon the settlers as persons encroaching upon their terri- 
 tory. Whenever a barter was made it was made to the satisfaction of both 
 parties, and by this course of equitable dealing, a strict unbroken friendship 
 was kept up for fifty years. 
 
 The Palatines, as well as the Swedes, who settled in the county, were 
 honest, fair-minded and Christian people, and treated the Indians with 
 generosity and kindness. There were some unprincipled men who would 
 occasionally deceive or take advantage of the Indians, but they always dis- 
 covered that these men were not settlers, but adventurers, and had no con- 
 nection with the settlements in which the wrong was committed, and, 
 therefore, cherished no hostile feelings against the settlers. 
 
 Amity township was one of the famous dwelling places of the Indians, 
 and was called by them Menhaltanink, changed into Manatawny, which 
 in their language signified where we drank liquor ; but when it was after- 
 wards settled by the English its name was changed to Amity, and Mana- 
 tawny was applied to the stream that flows through that section of the 
 township. Monocacy is the Indian name of another stream in the town- 
 ship, and signifies a stream with large bends. It was originally spelled 
 Menakesse. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Gookin reported to the Provincial Council on May 
 13th, 1712, that " he received a letter from Mounce Jones, of Manatawny, 
 dated May 4th, purporting that four Indian kings were there and desired 
 the governor to meet them on the 8th at the said Jones' house, which 
 letter came but to the Governor's hand on the 9th." These Indians were 
 about to make a journey to the Five Nations, living in New York. But 
 before their departure they deemed it proper to consult with the Governor 
 and show him the belts of wampum which they proposed to give to the 
 Five Nations, as tokens of renewed friendship, and in order not to make 
 their route too circuitous, they desired the Governor to meet them in 
 Amity. The Governor was to meet them on the 8th, but he did not 
 receive the letter until the 9th. At the advice of the Council he remained 
 at home on account of a press of business, and William "SMvall was sent 
 
166 THE INDIANS OF BERKS COUNTY, PA. 
 
 to the Indian kings to request them to appoint a place nearer to Philadel- 
 phia for the conference. He reported to the Council, May 16th, that the 
 Indians desired the Governor to meet them at Edward Farmer's, some 
 distance north of Philadelphia. The business for which they came was 
 not transacted in this county. They waited at least nine days for the 
 Governor to make his appearance, and it was only in consequence of a 
 delay in the messenger that carried the letter that he did not meet them in 
 time. Amity was one of their noted headquarters, and about midway 
 between Philadelphia and the different tribes represented by the kings ; 
 we, therefore, have a right to claim the transactions of this meeting as a 
 part of the history of Berks County. 
 
 On May 19th, 1712, the Provincial Council met at White Hall, at the 
 house of Edward Farmer. "Sassoonan, their chief, Scollitchy, Ealochelan 
 and eleven others waited on the Governor. ' ' Jones mentioned four kings, 
 the other seven were undoubtedly Manatawny Indians. Scollitchy, their 
 speaker, said ' ' they were about to visit the Five Nations, and they thought 
 fit first to wait on the Governor and Council, to lay before them the col- 
 lection they had made of their tribute to offer, and to have a conference 
 with the Governor upon it ; they thereupon laid upon the floor thirty- 
 two belts of wampum of various figures, and a long Indian pipe called the 
 Calumet, with a stone head, a wooden or cane shaft and feathers fixed to 
 it like wings, with other ornaments." They gave the Governor a bundle 
 of skins as a mark of their appreciation of his kindness, and closed their 
 interview by ' ' filling their calumet or long winged pipe with tobacco, and 
 lighted it, they presented it so lighted to the Governor and each of the 
 Council and others, to smoke a few blasts of it as the token of the great- 
 est friendship that could be shown. ' ' Smoking the calumet among the 
 Indians was the seal of their friendship, and it was more rigidly observed 
 and more binding upon them than mortgages and judgments among 
 civilized people. 
 
 The Indians that had gone to visit the Five Nations returned, and met 
 the Provincial Council on October 14th, 1712. They said that they were 
 kindly received, and presented in behalf of the Five Nations ' ' a parcel of 
 deer skins to the Governor for him to make breeches for himself and 
 friends. ' ' The Delaware Indians had one hundred and twenty skins. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Adams Joseph, 159 
 
 Albany, .... 35, 74, 83, 94 
 
 Alle Mangel, 47, 80 
 
 Albright P. S., ... 119, 124 
 
 Amity, 20, 165, 166 
 
 Angelica, Ill 
 
 Arrow Heads, 152 
 
 Arrow Heads — triangular, . . 157 
 
 Axes, 121 
 
 Banner Stones, 141 
 
 Barking Tools, 126 
 
 Baptism of Indians, .... 25 
 
 Beads, 144 
 
 Berks, erection of, .... 40 
 Berks and Lancaster Counties, . 28 
 Bertolet Wm. K., 128, 145, 150, 
 
 151, 154, 157 
 
 Bern, . . .36, 71, 86, 90, 112 
 Bern, Upper, . . 49, 52, 65, 94 
 Bethel, ... 49, 62, 65, 80, 84 
 
 Big Dam, 113, 137 
 
 Blacksmith, . .... 34 
 
 Blue Rocks, 104 
 
 Boyer J. A., 124, 189, 140, 145, 
 
 146, 147, 161, 162 
 
 Boyer Henry, 154 
 
 Brensinger J. W., 125, 140, 141, 
 
 145, 149, 160, 161 
 
 Brobst John B., . 140, 141, 161 
 Braddock's Defeat, ... 65, 97 
 Bubp J. H., 123, 131, 138, 153, 156 
 Burying Grounds, . . . .113 
 Busse Captain, . . . . 50, 91 
 Cacoosi^ng, .... . . 26 
 
 Candle Rudolph, 64 
 
 Cause of the Breach of Friend- 
 ship, . : 99 
 
 Page. 
 
 Celts, 130 
 
 Ceremonial Implements, . 141 
 Chipped Implements, . . . 150 
 Collection of Indian Relics, . 118 
 
 Cola, 63 
 
 Copper Implements, .... 147 
 Culmore Philip, Murder of, . 83 
 
 Daggers, 154 
 
 Deisher H. K., 112, 124, 126, 143, 
 
 146, 153, 158, 161 
 
 Degler Frederick, . . 45, 46 
 
 Dclawares, ... ... 10 
 
 DeTurk Abraham H., 125, 126, 128, 
 
 132, 135, 138, 139, 140, 143, 145, 
 
 148, 154, 159, 161, 163 
 
 DeTurk Jonas, 127, 128, 136, 141, 
 
 . . . 147, 150, 154, 160, 161 
 DeTurk Marks L., . . . .118 
 DeTurk I. D., 130, 137, 139, 158 
 DeTurk James S., .... 160 
 DickH. D., . . 125, 147, 156 
 
 Dick's Island, 110 
 
 Digging Tools, 145 
 
 Dietrich Six's, . . . 43 
 
 Ditzler Michael, Murder of, . 91 
 Disputes about Boundaries, . 63 
 
 DoUinger George, 63 
 
 Douglassville, 21 
 
 Dreibelbis Joel, 108, 124, 126, 134, 
 
 139, 141, 143, 146, 149, 161, 162 
 
 Dreibelbis W. F., 123 
 
 Drills, 155 
 
 Early History, 11 
 
 Education among the Indians, 105 
 
 Eventful Crisis, 64 
 
 Fear at Reading, 71 
 
 Fell Martin, Murder of, . . . 83 
 
168 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Final Purchase of Berks, 13, 164 
 
 Fincher John, Murder of, . . 83 
 
 Fish Gigs, . . . . . 155 
 
 First Conflict with the Indians, 19 
 
 Flour for the Indians, . . 32, 56 
 
 Fort Henry, . 48, 44, 79, 81, 89 
 
 " Dietrich Six, .... 43 
 
 " Northkill, 44, 73, 78, 82, 87 
 
 " Lebanon or William, . 47, 79 
 
 " Franklin, 47 
 
 " Dietrich Snyder, . . . -46 
 " Augusta, . . ... 48 
 
 Forts, other, 48 
 
 Forts, condition, &e., . . 47, 80 
 Frantz John, Murder of, . . 91 
 French and Indian War, . 41, 96 
 
 Friedens Kirche, 35 
 
 Ganawese, 14 
 
 Geiger Nicholas, Murder of, . 91 
 Gerhart, Murder of, ... 75 
 Gersinger Peter, Murder of, . 84 
 Gilmer R. A., . . 133, 156, 162 
 Godin Nicole, .... 42, 164 
 Good' s Escape from the Indians, 86 
 
 Gouges, 147 
 
 Great Distress, .... 88 
 
 Greenawalt A. S., ... 138 
 
 GreenawaltE. D., . . 137 
 
 Hammers, 131 
 
 Hartman Henry, Murder of, 61, 102 
 
 Hereford, 76, 77 
 
 High Ezra, 123, 126, 127, 130, 139, 
 . 146, 148, 157, 158, 160 
 
 Hoff Jacob B., 104 
 
 How the Indians Lived, . . 116 
 
 Hubler Frantz, 94 
 
 Huntzinger Jared, .... 137 
 lUig H. L., .... 119, lo3 
 Indian Burying Grounds, . .113 
 Indians Became Hostile, . . 41 
 
 Indian Chiefs, 10 
 
 Indian Theft, 93 
 
 Page. 
 Indians' Manner of Surprising 
 
 their Enemies, 96 
 
 Indian Villages, ... 11, 108 
 KeimH. M., . . 131, 158, 163 
 
 Kintzer L Y., 130 
 
 Kline A. M., . . . . 134, 153 
 Kluck Peter, Murder of, . . 77 
 
 Knives, 152 
 
 Kobel, 70 
 
 Kraucher John, Murder of, .157 
 KrauseW. H., ... 157, 160 
 
 Krick Adam B., 126 
 
 Last of the Indians, .... 103 
 Leaf-Shaped Implements, . . 158 
 Lebenguth, Murder of, . . . 91 
 
 Leesport, 112 
 
 Lei by Jacob, 103 
 
 Leinbach B. F. Y., 131 
 
 Leinberger John, 64 
 
 Lesher L. H., 122 
 
 Lewis Amos, .... . 142 
 
 Long's House Attacked, . . 82 
 Lord's Prayer in the Delaware 
 
 Language, 107 
 
 Loy Sylvester S. , 145 
 
 Ludwig E. V. R., .... 137 
 Macungie. ... ... 116 
 
 Manangy, 10 
 
 Manatawny, 11, 20, 21, 22, 112, 
 
 165, 166 
 
 Maxa'tawny, .... 85, 112 
 MengelA. G., . 146, 154, 161, 162 
 
 Merkel H. D., 137 
 
 Merkel Theodore S., . . . .161 
 
 Millstones, 133 
 
 Minerals used by the Indians, 120 
 
 Molattan, 21, 26, 28 
 
 Monocacy, .... . . 165 
 
 Mortars, 135 
 
 Morris Gov., .... .72 
 
 Moselem, 112 
 
 Moyer Frederick, Murder of, . 52 
 
INDEX. 
 
 169 
 
 Page. 
 Neighboring Tribes, ] 1 
 
 Neytong Balzer, Murder of, 76 
 
 Neversink Station, 109 
 
 Number of Persons Murdered, 
 
 &c., 95 
 
 Old Houses, 115 
 
 Oley, 23, 71 
 
 Ontelaunee, 11 '2 
 
 Palatines, 30 
 
 Pestles, 128 
 
 Pipes, • 162 
 
 Polishing Stones, 136 
 
 Poplar Neck, 110 
 
 Pottery, 149 
 
 Purchase of Land, 12, 18, 164 
 
 Purchase Beyond the Mountains, 40 
 Pyrleus, 33 
 
 Quoits, 131, 132 
 
 Rathman H. C, 126 
 
 Reed Franklin B., 125, 133, 149, 
 155, 160, 161 
 Reading, 71, 111 
 
 Regina, 99 
 
 Reichelderfer Fred. , Murder of, 74 
 Retrospect, 97 
 
 Sacony, 108 
 
 Scalping, 48 
 
 Scalping Knives, 153 
 
 Schaeffer M. S., 134, 140, 141 
 
 SchaefferW., 130,133,149,161 
 Schoenfeld Dr. J., 119, 125 
 
 Schuylkill, 112 
 
 Schuylkill Indians, 23, 109 
 
 Scrapers, 162 
 
 Sellers E. J., 133, 161 
 
 SharadinE. J., 137, 138, 142, 154, 
 
 158 
 Shearer B. F. Y., 119, 129 
 
 Shells, - 144 
 
 Shekallamy, 14, 19 
 
 Page. 
 Shoep's Escape from the IiidiansJ 77 
 Siki-hilli-hocken, 36 
 
 Sinkers and Pendants, 138 
 
 Sinking Spring, 86 
 
 Soldiers Protect the Farmers, 80 
 Spear Heads, 158 
 
 Spiker Peter, 68 
 
 Spring Casper, 63 
 
 Stouchsburg,. 33, 82 
 
 Stonebrook, Murder of, 84 
 
 Supplies for the Army, 93 
 
 Tablets and Plates, 139 
 
 Tanning Tools, 126 
 
 Teedyuscung, 81 
 
 Tocacolie, Murder of, 26 
 
 Treaty at Easton, 81 
 
 Trump Adam, Murder of, 85 
 
 Tulpehocken, 13, 28, 32, 62, 65, 72, 
 
 82, 111 
 Tulpehocken, Upper, 49, 55 
 
 Updegrove L. S. , 129 
 
 Turtle Backs, 159 
 
 Virginsville, 10, 108 
 
 Wampum, 22 
 
 Wanner Dr. C, 128, 144, 148 
 
 Want of Facts, 40 
 
 Want of Patriotism, 65 
 
 Weiandt John A., 131 
 
 WeidensaulH. A., 150,158 
 
 Weiser Conrad, 14, 17 
 
 Weiser's Letters, 57, 65, 67, 70, 81, 
 
 88, 93 
 Wide-spread Alarm, 89 
 
 WentzelA., 145 
 
 Windsor, 87 
 
 Young S. L., 124, 136, 139, 141, 
 - 143, 144, 146, 153, 159 
 ■Kieslofi George, Murder of, 76 
 
 Zinzenderf Count, 24, 32, 33, 35 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 78 HALF NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 171 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 7S HALF NATURAI. SIZE. 
 
 .y^lll .m^ 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 78 HALF NATURAL STZE. 
 
 175 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 7S HALF NATlllAL SIZE. 
 
 177 
 
 IK 
 
 19 
 
 30 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 78 HALF NATURAL RTZF. 
 
 179 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 3G 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 7S HAI.F NATURAL SIZE 
 
 181 
 
 31 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 78 HALF NvVTURAL SIZE. 
 
 183 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 84 
 
 86 
 
FROM NO. 1 T() 7S HALF NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 185 
 
 41 
 
 43 
 
 43 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 7S HALF NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 187 
 
 44 
 
 45 
 
 46 
 
 ■fffY^^, 
 
 48 
 
 47 
 
FEOM No. 1 TO 78 HALF NATUEAL SIZE. 
 
 189 
 
 54 
 
 55 
 
 5G 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 7S HALF NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 19t 
 
 60 
 
 61 
 
 02 
 
FEOM No. 1 TO 78 HAT.F NATURAL SIZE. 193 
 
 65 
 
 66 
 
FROiVr No. 1 TO 78 HAT>K NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 11)5 
 
 N^ 
 
 71 
 
 68 
 
 72 
 
 
FROM No. 1 TO 78 HALF NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 197 
 
 74 
 
 75 
 
 78 
 
 77 
 
NATURAL SIZK. 
 
 199 
 
 83 
 
 84 
 
NATURAT. SIZE, 
 
 201 
 
 85 
 
 86 
 
 89 
 
 87 
 
 »8 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 203 
 
 90 
 
NATURAL SIZE 
 
 205 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 207 
 
 102 
 
 103 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 209 
 
 105 
 
 10(5 
 
 104 
 
 107 
 
 108 
 
 Jdlk kl 
 
 109 
 
 110 
 
NATURAL SIZE 
 
 211 
 
 113 Half Natural Size 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 215 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 219 
 
 13G 
 
 137 
 
 139 
 
 140 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 221 
 
 143 
 
 r\ 
 
 141 
 
 143 
 
 144 
 
 145 
 
 146 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 223 
 
 ^^ i«Wllli 
 
 161 
 
NATURAL SIZE, 
 
 225 
 
 154 
 
 155 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 227 
 
 157 
 
 158 
 
NATliEAL SIZE. 
 
 229 
 
 161 
 
 163 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 231 
 
 168 
 
 163 
 
 im- 
 
 168 
 
 109 
 
 170 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 233 
 
 171 
 
 An 
 
 172 
 
 173 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 235 
 
 174 
 
 175 
 
 176 
 
 177 
 
 181 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 237 
 
 182 
 
 183 
 
 184 
 
 185 
 
 186 
 
 187 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 239 
 
 188 
 
 189 
 
 190 
 
 191 
 
 192 
 
 193 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 241 
 
 203 
 
 204 
 
 205 
 
 206 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 243 
 
 209 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 245 
 
 214 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 247 
 
 316 
 
 218 
 
 219 
 
NATURAL SIZP:. 
 
 249 
 
 220 
 
 233 
 
NATTTRAT. SIZE. 
 
 251 
 
 Fartly. 
 
NATITRAI> SIZE, 
 
 253 
 
NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 'A^i 
 
 J 
 
 247 
 
 248 
 
 249 
 
 251 
 
 
 350 
 
 853 
 

 
 C 
 
 
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