A portrait of Conrad Weiser (1696-1760).
Early Colonial history in the area known today as Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is told by Joseph H. Zerbey in Volume 4 of his History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County, beginning on page 1611. The book is available as a free download from the Internet Archive.
Today, some of the terminology used by Zerbey is considered racist, e.g., the words “savage” or “red men” to describe Indians. It is very rare in the time period that this was written to find any writings sympathetic to Indians.
Note that Millersburg refers to the present town of Bethel. “Old” Shamokin is now called Sunbury.
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CHAPTER IV
FRENCH & INDIAN WAR SOUTH OF BLUE MOUNTAIN
The failure of settlers on both sides of the Blue Mountain to fortify the first gap of the Swatara at Lorberry Junction as Colonel Weiser had planned, exposed all of Pine Grove Township and the settlements south of the mountain to attacks by savages.
The numerous murders of settlers in Pine Grove Township made the section north of the mountain an exceedingly dangerous place to live. During the two weeks following the murder of Henry Hartman and the massacre of the Everhart family, practically all plantations between the Schuylkill River and the Swatara were abandoned, while the settlers engaged in the historic “Skedaddle.”
With the kindly assistance of the Tulpehocken, they were brought to the south side of the mountain where they were harbored until they could again establish themselves.
Many of the settlers had relatives in the Tulpehocken region and made their home with them. Those who were not so fortunate lived temporarily in the Watch houses, returning to their former settlements when hostilities ceased.
Most of those without relatives in the region were poor immigrants, who had come to Pennsylvania with their families between 1749 and 1755, and had established themselves in Pine Grove Township.
Immediately after the murders in Pine Grove, the people south of the mountain erected Watch houses and converted farm houses to block houses to guard the Indian trails and prevent invasion. At Swatara Gap near Inwood the log houses of Peter Heydrick and Martin Hess were converted into block houses, while in Monroe Valley the Moravian house was used for similar purposes. The old Shamokin (MIllersburg) Road was fortified at the farm house of Dietrick Six, about five miles southeast of Pine Grove Borough, then the first farm going down the southerly side of the mountain. Here a watch house was erected and guards stationed to give the alarm on the approach of the savages.
Dietrick Six‘s house was well adapted for this purpose. It was located at the foot of the mountain near the road and not far distant from Round Top, and commanded both the road up the mountain, and the farming country to the south.
Immediately after the murders in Pine Grove, the marauding bands of Indians returned to Shamokin but came back to this region to continue their outrages about the middle of November. Finding the farms in Pine Grove abandoned, they set fire to the buildings, destroying stores and crops. They then crossed the Blue Mountain along the Shamokin (Millersburg) Road and on November 15th fell unsuspectingly upon the watch house at Dietrick Six‘s and killed the guard. Before the alarm could be given they made attacks on numerous plantations near the watch house.
John Anspack and Frederick Reed, progenitors of the Anspack and Reed families of Pine Grove Township, hurried to the public house of Peter Spycker and informed him of the tragedy. He promptly sent a letter on the 16th by messenger to Conrad Weiser in which he said:
“Yesterday the Indians attacked the watch, killed and wounded him, at Derrick Sixth (Dietrick Six), and in that neighborhood, a great many in that night. This morning the people went out to see, and about 10 o’clock came to Thomas Bower‘s house, finding a man dead killed with a gun shot. They soon heard a noise of firing guns; running to that place, saw four Indians setting on children scalping them, three of the children are dead, two are still living, though scalped. Afterwards our people went to the Watch-house of Derrick Sixth, where the Indians made the first attack. They found six dead bodies; four of them scalped; about a mile on this side of the Watch-house, as they came back, the Indians had set fire to a stable and barn; burnt the corn, cows and other creatures. Here they found five Indians in a house eating their dinner and drinking rum which had been in the house; two of them were on the outside the house. They fired upon them, but without doing execution. The Indians have burnt the improvements on four other plantations.”
Almost simultaneously, Captain Jacob Morgan who had heard the news, set out with Peter Weiser and Philip Weiser, sons of Col. Weiser to inform themselves of the damage done by the Indians. With the assistance of volunteers, they scoured the entire countryside in the hope of meeting the Indians and checking further their outrages.
After two days of activity in the stricken region, Captain Morgan went to Reading and made a statement before the magistrates of the horrible conditions he found. The deposition, with its tragic details, stated:
“That on Sunday, the 16th November, 1755, at about five o’clock p. m. he, the deponent Mr. Philip Weiser and Mr. Peter Weiser, set out from Heidelberg towards Dietrick Six‘s, to get intelligence of the mischief done at Tolheo, or thereabouts, 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 manned 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. Weiser’s for powder and lead. That at or about two o’clock yesterday morning they were alarmed at Mr. Weiser’s with an account 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 years 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 corn-field 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 deponent knows not of what sex either of these two children was. That while they were preparing the grave, there 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 who had indiscreetly 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 know no more of him.
“That the company increased fact, 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, 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 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 company were informed, and as he believes without any doubt) a child of Jacob Wolf; he cannot say whether a boy or a girl which was scalped! Its age the deponent does not know, but the father carried it in his arms to be buried, as they were informed. That the deponent was informed by Mr. Frederick Weiser, that a company, with whom he had been the day before, had buried John Leinberger and Rudolph Candel, whom they found scalped.
“That the deponent and company finding nor more scalped or wounded, they returned, being then by the continual arrival of fresh persons, about three hundred men, to George Dollinger‘s. That Casper Spring’s brains were beat out; had two cuts in his breast; was shot in his back, and otherwise cruelly used, which regard to decency forbids mentioning; and that Beslinger’s brains were beat out, his mouth mangled, one of his eyes 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 sent away all their household goods. The horses and cattle are in the cornfields, 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, he chooses not to have any particulars thereof inserted in this deposition.
“Besides the persons mentioned in the above deposition, one Sebastian Brosius was murdered and scalped, whose scalp was brought to Philadelphia, having been taken from an Indian.”
Col. Weiser was in Philadelphia when the outrages occurred. On his return, he was informed of the Bethel massacres while passing through Amity Township. He went to Reading where a conference was held on the evening of the 17th of November. The following day he hastened to Heidelberg where he met his sons, Philip Weiser and Frederick Weiser, who had just arrived from their pursuit of the Indians. They related the details of the murders, and the harrowing story was sent in a letter from Col. Weiser to Governor Morris on the 19th. In describing the attack, he wrote:
“On Saturday last, about four o’clock in the afternoon, as some men from Tulpehocken were going to Dietrich Six‘s place, at the foot of the hill, on the Shamokin Road, to be on the watch appointed there, they were fired upon by the Indians; but none were hurt or killed. Our people were but six in number – the rest being behind – upon which our people ran toward the Watchhouse which was about one half mile off; the Indians pursued them, killed and scalped several of them. A bold, 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 companions – he was found next day, and scalped by our people.
“The Indians divided themselves into two parties. Some came this way, to meet the rest going to the Watch, and killed some of them; so that six of our men were killed that day, and a few were wounded. The night following, the enemy attacked the house of Thomas Bower on Swatara Creek. They came, in the dark night, to the house, and one of them put his fire-arm through the window, and shot a shoemaker, who was at work, dead on the spot. The people being extremely surprised at this sudden attack, defended themselves by firing out the windows, at the Indians. The fire alarmed a neighbor, who came with two or three men – they fired by the way and made a great noise, and scared the Indians away from Bower’s house, after they had set fire to it. By Thomas Bower‘s diligent exercise the fire was timely extinguished. Thomas Bower, with his family, left the house that night, and went to his neighbors, David Sheider, who had come to assist him.
“By eight of the clock, parties came up from Tulpehocken and Heidelbeerg. The first party saw four Indians running off. They had some prisoners, whom they scalped immediately. Three children lay scalped, yet alive; one died since; the other two are likely to do well.
“Another party found a woman just expired, with a male child lying at her side – both killed and scalped. The woman lay upon her face; my son Frederick turned her about to see who she might have been – to his, and his companions surprise, they found a babe of about fourteen days old, under her, wrapped in a small cushion; his nose was quite flat, which was set right by Frederick, and life was yet in it, and recovered again!
“Our people came up with two parties of Indians that day, but they hardly got sight of them. The Indians ran off immediately. 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 coming, because no order was observed.
“Upon the whole there are about fifteen of our people, including men, women and children killed; and the enemy is not beaten, but scared off. Several houses and barns were burned. I have no true account how many.”
In the 24th of November following the massacres in Bethel Township on the South side of the mountain, Conrad Weiser, Emanuel Carpenter and Adam Simon Ruhm addressed a communication to Governor Morris in which they pointed out the miserable plight of the residents in the remote parts of the settlements along the Blue Mountain. They strongly urged defensive action and suggested means of combatting the Indian enemy. They stated:
“First – Since the last cruel murder committed by the enemy, most of the people of Tulpehocken have left their habitations; those in Heidelberg moved their effects; Bethel Township is entirely deserted.
“Second – There is no order among the people; one cries one thing, and another another thing. They was to force us to make a law, that they should have a reward for every Indian which they kill; they demand such a law from us, with their guns cocked, pointing it towards us.
“Third – The people are so incensed, not only against our cruel enemy the Indians, but also (we beg leave to inform your Honor) against the Governor and Assembly, that we are afraid they will go down in a body to Philadelphia and commit the vilest outrages. They say they will rather 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 twenty-seven men to the mountain to take possession of several houses, and to range the woods among the mountain in Berks County on the west side of Schuylkill. The same number are sent to the back part of Lancaster County (now Lebanon County). We promised them two shillings a day, and ammunition, and that for forty days, or till we shall receive your Honor’s orders. We persuade ourselves your Honor will not leave us in the lurch; we must have such a thing done or else leave our habitation, if no worse; and all this would not do; we and others of the freeholders have been obliged to promise them a reward of four pistoles for every enemy Indian man that they should kill.”
Conrad Weiser added the following postscript:
“I cannot forbear to acquaint your Honor of a certain circumstance of the late unhappy affair: One – Kobel and his wife and eight children, the eldest about fourteen years and the youngest fourteen days, was flying before the enemy, he carrying one and his wife a boy, another of the children, when they were fired upon by two Indians very nigh, but hit only the man upon the breast, though not dangerously. They, the Indians, then came with their tomahawks, knocked the woman down, but not dead. They intended to kill the man, but his gun, though out of order, so that he could not fire, kept them off. The woman recovered so 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 in the woman’s head and she fell upon her face with her babe under her, and the Indian trod on her neck and tore off the Scalp. The children then ran; four of them were scalped, among with 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, 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.”
The continued massacres by the Indians and the numerous requests from the inhabitants in the afflicted region induced Governor Morris to visit Reading in the latter part of December, for the purpose of acquainting himself with the situation of the people. He was fully aroused by the awfulness of the atrocities, and also convinced that the policy of defense was very unsatisfactory. He determined that a complete organization of the frontier defenses was very necessary to safeguard the province. The matter was placed before the council and a plan ultimately worked out whereby troops were organized and proper defenses provided.
The troops were regularly enlisted, officered and equipped. Stations for forts were selected and companies assigned to each.
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