Benjamin West‘s painting in 1771 of William Penn‘s 1682 treaty with the Lenape Indians.
The early history of Indians in the area known today as Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is told by Joseph H. Zerbey in Volume 4 of of his History of Pottsville and Schuylkill County, beginning on page 1591. 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 word “savage” to describe Indians. It is very rare in the time period that this was written to find any writings sympathetic to Indians.
Note also that the community referred to as Shamokin, is presently called Sunbury.
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CHAPTER I
INDIAN HISTORY
The Indians inhabiting Eastern Pennsylvania when the first settlements were made by the white people were the Lenni Lenapes, or original people, as they called themselves. The white settlers named Delawares, after the name given to the river which forms the eastern boundry to the state.
Tradition holds that the Lenni Lenapes were a mighty nation, which numbered nearly forty tribes according to Heckewelder, the noted historian. Their original habitation was in the distant west, but after years of migratory life, they reached the banks of the Mississippi River, where they met the Mengwe (Iroquois). Determined to continue eastward, they crossed the river, but soon discovered that the land to the east was occupied by a strong tribe who bore the name of Allegewi. The people, so tradition states, were of giant stature, lived in fortified villages, and pursued occupations, which indicated a primitive civilization.
The Lenapes requested permission of the Allegewi to pass through their country and establish settlements to the east. This was granted on condition that they cross the mountains, and travel well beyond the domain of the Allegewi. This the Lenapes proceeded to do, but the Allegewi alarmed by the large numbers they saw pass, treacherously turned upon them and massacred many of those who had crossed the Mississippi.
Embittered and fired by a desire for revenge, the Lenape and Mengwe joined forces, agreeing, if they conquered their foe, to divide the country of their adversaries. A bitter war, lasting over a period of years, resulted. It was eventually won by the Lenapes and Mengwe, who succeeded in driving out the Allegewi, who then crossed to the westerly side of the Mississippi never to return. True to their agreement, the two conquering nations apportioned the country to the east among their subordinate tribes. The Mengwe or Iroquois settled in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes, while the Lenape selected the land south of them, from the Mississippi eastward to the Atlantic Ocean.
The numerous distinct tribes of the Lenape spoke dialects of a common language, the Algonquin.
Following their settlement east of the Mississippi, they became divided into three separate bodies. One body settled along the Atlantic seaboard and the country adjacent for several hundred miles to the west of the coast. This body comprised more than half of the subordinate tribes of the nation. The two other bodies settled to the east and to the west of the Mississippi reiver and along the eastern tributaries of that river.
The body of the nation, occupying Eastern Pennsylvania centered its possessions around the Lenape-Wihittuck, the river of the Lenape. Subsequently when the river was named Delaware in honor of Lord de la Ware, this body of the Lenape were named by the white people, “Delawares.”
The Delawares divided themselves into three tribes: the Unamis, or Turtle; the Unalachtgo, or Turkey; and the Minsi, or Wolf. The first two were settled on the territory which lay nearest the ocean. The Minsi dwelt in the interior, forming a barrier between their nation and the Mengwe (Iroquois). They extended themselves from the Minisunk on the Delaware to the Hudson on the east, to the Susquehanna on the southwest, to the headwaters of the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers on the north, and to the Muskenecum range of hills in New Jersey, and those of Lehigh and Conewago in Pennsylvnaia.
Numerous clans of the Minsi tribe were the Schuylkills, Susquehannas, Neshamines, Conestogas, Assunpinks, Rankakos, Andastakas and Shackmaxons.
Each clan had a chief to control its actions, and these chiefs were under the command of a grand sachem. The sachems of the Lenni Lenape from the time of the first English settlements until the nation disappeared from the eastern part of the country were in succession Kekerappan, Opekasset, Tamminent, Allumapees, who was also called Sassonan. and Teedyuscung. They had their headquarters at Minisunk, on the Delaware River in Pike County and also at Shamokin, on Shamokin Creek.
The earliest records of the Jesuit missionaries speak of the powerful clan of Susquehannas as supreme in central and part of eastern Pennsylvania at the opening of the seventeenth century. Mention was likewise made of them by Captain John Smith, who encountered them in his exploration of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and who found them engaged in a 10-years war with the Massawomekes, or Mohawks.
Devries, in his Voyages, found them in 1633 at war with the Armewamen and Sankiekans – Algonquin clans on the Delaware – maintaining their supremacy by butchery.
The early journals of explorers and colonists speak of friendly intercourse with them. When the Swedes established settlements on the Delaware in 1638 they found them the ruling clan and purchased lands of them, thus securing their friendship.
The intertribal wars during the seventeenth century marked the decline of the Susquehanna’s supremacy, until their utter destruction. Weakened in numbers by bitter struggles and pestilence during a period of 75 years, the clan became so reduced that they could muster only three hundred warriors in 1675.
Pressed by the victorious Iroquois, they forsook the river bearing their name and moved to western Maryland whey they continued a bitter border warfare until they were extinguished as a clan.
The eastern domain of the Susquehannas was occupied subsequently by other clans of the Delawares and the Shawanese, one of the smaller tribes of the Lenape. These were the tribes occupying the eastern part of the state when William Penn arrived.
The Shawanese were originally located in the basin of the Cumberland River, but in 1682, almost simultaneous with the removal of the Susquehannas, we find them occupying the land formerly parts of the domain of the Susquehannas. They came in small numbers at first, gradually increasing until they wielded a large influence in the central part of the state. Their prominence is attested by the fact that they were a party to the famous treaty with William Penn in 1682.
In the year 1698 some Shawanese applied to the proprietary government of Pennsylvania for permission to settle on the Conestoga and Pequea creeks, under Opessah, their principal chief. Here they remained for a quarter of a century.
When the Germans of the Palatine first established settlements on Tulpehocken and Swatara Creeks, a protest was made to the proprietary government by the Shawanese chiefs but without avail.
During the early part of the 18th century and as late as 1725, a sizeable Shawanese village flourished at the mouth of the Swatara, where Middletown was later founded. From this village bands of Shawanese went forth to hunt and fish in the valleys and ridges north of the Kittatinny (Blue) range of mountains.
For many years the Mengwe maintained peaceful relations with the tribes of the Lenape. As the nation increased in numbers it gradually expanded until some of the tribes became near neighbors of the Lenape.
The peaceful relations, so long enjoyed by both nations, were gradually broken down by feuds between opposing clans until both nations became traditional enemies. They became embroiled in bitter warfare, which lasted over a period of years.
The Lenape tribes pressed the Mengwe hard until they were virtually forced into a defensive union. Thannawage, an aged Mohawk chief, celebrated for his wisdom and sagacity, conceived the idea of a confederation of the Iroquois tribes. Under his skillful direction, five tribes, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagoes, Cayugas and Senecas, were allied, founding a republic with the elder chiefs forming the directing council. To these a sixth tribe, the Tuscaroras, was added in 1712, forming the Six Nations, or, as they called themselves “Anunanuschioni,” or united people.
Under the alliance the Mohawks took the lead in matters pertaining to warfare, and the Onondagas in matters pertaining to the adjustment of their own personal rights and difficulties. The Senecas were regarded as the most powerful nation in respect to numbers and military energy.
The grand council-fire was held in the Onondaga valley in New York State, and was guarded by the Onondagas.
The Iroquois, called so by the French, effected an early alliance with the Dutch settlers on the Hudson river in the vicinity of Albany. The Dutch, fearing the encroachments of the French, relied on the Iroquois to partly protect their possessions in New Amsterdam, and suppled them abundantly with firearms and ammunition, in exchange for furs.
The Iroquois rapidly discarded the bow and arrow, and began to use firearms and the tomahawk in warfare as well as in the pursuit of game.
With the firearm as an auxiliary they were able for a time to repel the encroachments of the French, and to repress the invasions of the Lenape clans.
The temporary advantages gained by the Iroquois through their confederation and by superiority in arms was offset by considerable losses in battle, so that they found themselves hard pressed on the north by the French and equally hard pressed on the south by the tribes of Lenape. It was at this highly critical state of their affairs that they resolved on an extraordinary bold stroke of diplomacy.
Through their council, advances were made to the Lenape for peace. It was argued that no means remained to preserve the Indian race unless some magnanimous nation would assume the character of “woman.” This to the Indian was equivalent to that of mediator or peacemaker, and contemplated complete disarmament. It was urged that this role could not be given to a weak and contemptible tribe, such would not be listened to, but the Lenape, and their allies, would at once possess influence and command respect.
The facts upon which these arguments were founded were known to the Delawares, who, by nature were peaceloving. Moreover, it was consistent with the policies adopted by them in their dealings with William Penn and his Quaker followers in Pennsylvania. They had a belief in the sincerity of the Iroquois and acceded to the proposition. The ceremony of converting the Delaware clans to “women” was performed with great rejoicing at Albany in 1617, in the presence of the Dutch, whom the Lenape later charged with conniving with the Iroquois for their destruction.
The Iroquois, almost immediately after they had disarmed the Delawares, assumed over them the rights of protection and command. They still feared their strength and treacherously involved them in a war with the Cherokees, promising to fight their battled. Unsuspectingly they were led by the Iroquois into an ambush of their foes and suffered severe losses, after the Iroquois deserted them.
The Delawares comprehended the treachery of their arch enemies and resolved to resume arms, but it proved too late. The white settlers were making their way into their country and they were forced to dissipate their strength.
In addition to assuming a protectorate, the Iroquois claimed domination over all their lands and held them in a state of semi-vassalage. They were denied the right to declare war or even to sell land. Thus when the first settlements were made in Pennsylvania the settlers thought it wise to buy first of the Delawares and then of their feudal lords, the Iroquois.
As masters of the Delawares, the Iroquois impressed with boldness, the stamp of their authority upon the tribe. The expansion of the settlements along the Delaware, the Schuylkill, and subsequently the Tulpehocken, was made the subject of discussion at the great Onondago council, and Shikellamy, an Oneida chief, was sent to Shamokin in 1728 to guard the interests of the Iroquois in Pennsylvania, and “to preside over ye Shawanese and Delawares.
In 1745, just ten years before the French and Indian War, Rev. David Brainerd, the noted missionary visited Shamokin both in May and September. The entry in his journal under date of September 13 described the village as containing “upwards of fifty houses, and nearly three hundred persons.” He wrote: “They are of three different tribes of Indians, speaking three languages wholly intelligible to each other. About one-half of its inhabitants are Delawares; the others called Senekas and Tutelas. The Indians of this place are accounted the most drunken, mischievous, and ruffian-like fellows of any in these parts; and Satan seems to have his seat in this town in eminent manner.”
With the arrival of Shikellamy, the Delawares and Shawanese were given to understand that in their future dealings with the proprietary government of Pennsylvania, it would be necessary to consult him, and that all business must be done in the same manner as the affairs of the Six Nations were accomplished, which was through their appointed deputy. About 1745, Shikellamy was virtually made vice-regent of all the clans of the Delawares and Shawanese, with Shamokin the seat of government.
The power of the Iroquois manifested itself at the great council at Philadelphia in 1742, when the proprietary government called on the Iroquois to remove the Delawares from lands that had been purchased in 1732 just south of the Blue mountain. The chief in his celebrated speech said, in rebuking the Delawares, “We conquered you, we made women f you, you know you are women; and can no more sell land than women. Nor is it fit that you should have the power of selling land since you would abuse it.” Continuing he said, “We therefore assign you to two places to go, either to Wyoming or Shamokin. You may go to either of these places, and then we shall have you under our eye and shall see how you behave.” The Delawares withdrew in a sullen manner. The hatred they had for the Iroquois was intensified and rankled deeply. While some of the Delawares and Shawanese remained in Eastern Pennsylvania a large number drifted into western Pennsylvania, and eventually into Eastern Ohio, then disputed territory of Virginia. Here they allied themselves with other tribes hostile to the Iroquois.
After the Delawares and Shawanese had been turned out of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Iroquois with shrewd foresight anticipated trouble over lands in the expanded settlements of Maryland and Virginia. In 1742, they claimed that both these colonies were encroaching on land owned by the Six Nations, for which no payment had been made. They sought the Governor of Pennsylvania to intercede, and seek damages.
Negotiations were carried on for nearly two years and in 1744, a great council was held at Lancaster, where the claims of the Iroquois were recognized.
The Six Nations were placated and again the Delawares suffered loss.
It now became evident to the disheartened Delawares, that they could no longer place any reliance on the English, and their friendship for the Provincial government ceased.
During the next ten years, this hostility was smothered, but finally burst forth with the opening of the French and Indian War. The intrusion of the Ohio Company, despite the approval of the Iroquois, was a more direct blow against the Delawares and their allied tribes than against the French who claimed the territory. Their defeat meant further loss of territory, and their continued vassalage as wards of the Six Nations. The Delawares were determined to make a final stand, with freedom their goal. It was this intense desire, together with their burning hatred for the Iroquois and English which made them the allies of the French.
The vigor with which they worked their revenge enabled Teedyuscung, the famous Delaware chief, to compel the Iroquois to acknowledge the independence of the tribe in 1756.
Pine Grove Township was never the permanent habitation of any Indian tribes, although tradition says there was an Indian village in Swope’s Valley near the Keeney farm not far removed from the Fredericksburg Road. Arrow points and spear heads have been found in the vicinage of the supposed site, and the older residents related that previous to the Civil War there were a period of more than twenty-five traces of its former existence. For years the Shawanese had a village midway between the Fredericksburg road and Swatara Gap on the south side of the mountain. History records that in 1728 they removed from the south to the north side of the Blue Mountain, where they remained till 1742.
This region, however, did not afford the attractions for the savages that were found in the valleys bordering the Delaware and Susquehanna Rovers. These streams abounded with fish and furnished an easy means of travel for hunting parties, who found an abundance of game in the mountain forests.
With the settlement of the white people, the Indians gradually departed, leaving only their straggling bands to tarry in the region where they once ruled.
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Image of the Penn Treaty painting is from Wikipedia, and is in the public domain.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.