Early Western Travels, 1748-1846/Volume 1/Croghan's Transactions with the Indians

by Reuben Gold Thwaites

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Croghan's Transactions with the Indians Previous to Hostilities on the Ohio^[1]

In November 1748 M^r Hamilton arrived in Philadelphia, Governor of Pennsylvania. During the late war all the Indian tribes living on the Ohio and the branches thereof, on this side Lake Erie, were in strict friendship with the English in the several Provinces, and took the greatest care to preserve the friendship then subsisting between them and us. At that time we carried on a considerable branch of trade with those Indians for skins and furrs, no less advantagious to them than to us. We sold them goods on much better terms than the French, which drew many Indians over the Lakes to trade with us. The exports of skins and furs from this Province at that time will shew the increase of our trade in them articles.

In August 1749. Governor Hamilton sent me to the Ohio with a message to the Indians, to notifie to them the Cessation of Arms, and to enquire of the Indians the reason of the march of Monsieur Celaroon with two hundred French soldiers through their country (This detachment under Monsieur Celaroon had passed by the Logs Town before I reached it.)

After I had delivered my message to the Indians, I inquired what the French Commander said to them. They told me he said he was only come to visit them, and see how they were cloathed, for their Father the Governor of Canada was determined to take great care of all his children settled on the Ohio, and desired they wou'd turn away all the English traders from amongst them, for their Father would not suffer them to trade there any more, but would send traders of his own, who would trade with them on reasonabler terms than the English.

I then asked them if they really thought that was the intention of the French coming at that time: They answered, yes, they believed the French not only wanted to drive the English traders off, that they might have the trade to themselves; but that they had also a further intention by their burrying iron plates with inscriptions on them in the mouth of every remarkable Creek, which we know is to steal our country from us. But we will go to the Onondago Council and consult them how we may prevent them from defrauding us of our land.

At my return I acquainted the Governor what passed between the Indians and me.

This year the Governor purchased a tract of land on the East of Susquehannah for the Proprietaries, at which time the Indians complained that the White People was encroaching on their lands on the West side of Susquehannah, and desired that the Governor might turn them off, as those lands were the hunting-grounds of the Susquehannah Indians.

At that time the Six Nations delivered a string of Wampum from the Connays, desiring their Brother Onas to make the Connays some satisfaction for their settlement at the Connay Town in Donegal,^[2] which they had lately left and settled amongst the Susquehannah Indians which town had been reserved for their use at that time their Brother Onas had made a purchase of the land adjoining to that town.

In November [1750] I went to the country of the Twightwees by order of the Governor with a small present to renew the chain of friendship, in company with M^r Montour Interpreter; on our journey we met M^r Gist, a messenger from the Governor of Virginia, who was sent to invite the Ohio Indians to meet the Commissioners of Virginia at the Logs town in the Spring following to receive a present of goods which their father the King of Great Britain had sent them.^[3] Whilst I was at the Twightwee town delivering the present and message, there came several of the Chiefs of the Wawioughtanes and Pianguisha Nations, living on Wabash, and requested to be admitted into the chain of friendship between the English and the Six Nations and their allies; which request I granted & exchang'd deeds of friendship with them, with a view of extending His Majesty's Indian interest, and made them a small present. On my return I sent a coppy of my proceedings to the Governor. On his laying it before the House of Assembly, it was rejected and myself condemned for bad conduct in drawing an additionall expence on the Government, and the Indians were neglected.^[4]

At the time that the Secretary, the provincial Interpreter, with the Justice of Cumberland County and the Sheriff were ordered to dispossess the people settled on the unpurchased lands on the West side of Susquehannah, and on their return to my house, they met a deputation of the Ohio Indians, who told the Secretary that they had heard of a purchase that the Governor had made on the East side of Susquehannah, and said they were intitled to part of the goods paid for that purchase, but had received none, that they were come now to desire the Governor to purchase no more lands without first acquainting them, for that the lands belonged to them as well as to the Onondago Council; on which they delivered a Belt of Wampum, and desired that the Governor might send that Belt to Onondago to let them know that the Ohio Indians had made such a complaint.

In April 1751 the Governor sent me to Ohio with a present of goods; the speeches were all wrote by the Provincial Interpreter M^r Wiser. In one of the speeches was warmly expressed that the Gov^r of Pennsylvania would build a fort on the Ohio, to protect the Indians, as well as the English Traders, from the insults of the French. On the Governor perusing the speech he thought it too strongly expressed, on which he ordered me not to make it, but ordered me to sound the Chief of the Indians on that head, to know whether it would be agreeable to them or not. Which orders I obeyed, and did in the presence of M^r Montour sound the Half King Scarioa day and the Belt of Wampum, who all told me that the building of a Trading House had been agreed on between them and the Onondago Council, since the time of the detachment of French, under the command of Mons' Celaroon, had gone down the river Ohio, and said they would send a message by me to their Brother Onas, on that head.

After I had delivered the present and done the chief of the business, the Indians in publick Council, by a Belt of Wampum, requested that the Governor of Pennsy]- vania would immediately build a strong house (or Fort) at the Forks of Monongehela, where the Fort Du Quesne now stands, for the protection of themselves and the English Traders.

But on my return this Government rejected the pro- posal I had made, and condemned me for making such a report to the government, alledging it was not the intention of the Indians. The Provincial Interpreter, who being examined by the House of Assembly, denyed that he knew of any instructions I had to treat with the Indians for building a Trading House, though he wrote the speech himself, and further said he was sure the Six Nations would never agree to have a Trading House built there, and Governor Hamilton, though he by his letter of instructions ordered me to sound the Indians on that head, let the House know he had given me no such instructions: all which instructions will appear on the Records of Indian Affairs.^[5] The 12th June 1752, the Virginia Commissioners met the Indians at the Logs Town and delivered the King's present to them. The Indians then renewed their request of having a fort built as the government of Pennsylvania had taken no notice of their former request to them, and they insisted strongly on the government of Virginia's building one in the same place that they had requested the Pennsylvanians to build one; but to no effect.^[6]

In the year 1753 a French army came to the heads of Ohio and built fort Preskle on the Lake, and another fort at the head of Venango Creek, called by the French Le Buff Rivere.^[7] Early in the fall the same year about one hundred Indians from the Ohio came from Winchester in Virginia, expecting to meet the Governor there who did not come, but ordered Coll. Fairfax to meet them. Here again they renewed their request of having a Fort built, and said altho' the French had placed themselves on the head of Ohio, that if their Brethren the English would exert themselves and sent out a number of men, that they would join them, & drive the French army away or die in the attempt.

From Winchester those Indians came to Cumberland County where they were met by Commissioners from Governor Hamilton, and promised the same which they had done in Virginia;^[8] but notwithstanding the earnest solicitations of those Indians, the governments neglected building them a fort, or assisting them with men; believing or seeming to believe that there was no French there; till the Governor of Virginia sent Col. Washington to the heads of Venango Creek, where he met the French General at a fort he had lately built there.

In February 1754, Captain Trent was at the mouth of Red Stone Creek, building a Store house for the Ohio Company, in order to lodge stores to be carried from there to the mouth of Monongehela, by water, where he had received orders in conjunction with Cresap^[9] and Gist to build a fort for that Company. This Creek is about 37 miles from where fort Du Quesne now stands.

About the 10^th of this month he received a Commission from the Governor of Virginia with orders to raise a Company of Militia, and that he would soon be joined by Col. Washington. At this time the Indians appointed to meet him at the mouth of Monongehela in order to receive a present which he had brought them from Virginia. Between this time and that appointed to meet the Indians he raised upwards of twenty men & found them with arms ammunition & provisions at his own expence. At this meeting the Indians insisted that he should set his men at work, which he did, and finished a Store House, and a large quantity of timber hew'd, boards saw'd, and shingles made. After finishing his business with the Indians he stayed some time in expectation of Col. Washington joining him, as several accounts came of his being there in a few days. As there was no more men to be had here at this time, there being no inhabitants in this country but Indian traders who were scattered over the country for several hundred miles, & no provisions but a little Indian corn to be had, he applied to the Indians, who had given him reason to believe they would join him and cut off the French on the Ohio, but when he proposed it to the Half-King, he told him that had the Virginians been in earnest they wou'd have had their men there before that time, and desired him to get the rest of his men and hurry out the provisions. Agreeable to his instructions he went and recruited his company, but before he could get back, it being 110 miles from here to the nighest inhabitants, the French came and drove his people off.

In June following when the Indians heard that Coll. Washington with a Detachment of the Virginia troops had reached the great Meadows, the Half-King and Scaruady with about 50 men joined him—notwithstanding the French were in possession of this country with six or seven hundred men; so great was their regard for the English at that time.

After the defeat of Col. Washington, the Indians came to Virginia, where they stayed some time, & then came to my house in Pennsylvania and put themselves under the protection of this Government.

As soon as possible they sent messengers to call down the heads of the Delawares and Shawnese to a meeting at my house, and at the same time they desired the Governor of this Province, or some Deputy from him, to meet them there to consult what was best to be done.

The Governor sent M^r Wiser the Provincial Interpreter; the Chiefs of those Indians came down and met him and offered their service, but it was not accepted by M^r Wiser. He in answer told them to sit still, till Governor Morris arrived, and then he himself wou'd come and let them know what was to be done. They waited there till very late in the fall, but received no answer, so set off for their own country.^[10]

This Government continued to maintain the Indians that lived at my house, till the Spring, when General Bradock^[11] arrived; they then desired Governor Morris to let me know they would not maintain them any longer; at which time Governor Morris desired me to take them to Fort Cumberland to meet General Bradock; which I did;—On my arrival at Fort Cumberland General Braddock asked me where the rest of the Indians were. I told him I did not know, I had brought but fifty men which was all that was at that time under my care, and which I had brought there by the directions of Governor Morris. He replied that Governor Dinwiddie told me [him] at Alexandria that he had sent for 400 which would be here before me. I answered I knew nothing of that but that Captain Montour the Virginia Interpreter was in camp & could inform His Excellency. On which Montour was sent for who informed the General that M^r Gist's son was sent off some time agoe for some Cherokee Indians, but whether they would come he could not tell. On which the General asked me whether I could not send for some of the Delawares and Shawnese to Ohio. I told him I could; on which I sent a messenger to Ohio, who returned in eight days and brought with him the Chiefs of the Delawares. The General held a conference the Chiefs in company with those fifty I had brought with me, and made them a handsome present, & behav'd to them as kindly as he possibly could, during their stay, ordering me to let them want for nothing.

The Delawares promised, in Council, to meet the General on the road, as he marched out with a number of their warriors. But whether the former breaches of faith on the side of the English prevented them, or that they choose to see the event of the action between General Braddock and the French, I cannot tell; but they disappointed the General and did not meet him.

Two days after the Delaware Chiefs had left the camp at Fort Cumberland, M^r Gist's son returned from the Southward, where he had been sent by Gov^r Dinwiddie, but brought no Indians with him.

Soon after, the General was preparing for the march, with no more Indians than I had with me; when Coll. Innis^[12] told the General that the women and children of the Indians that were to remain at Fort Cumberland, would be very troublesome, and that the General need not take above eight or nine men out with him, for if he took more he would find them very troublesome on the march and of no service; on which the General ordered me to send back all the men, women and children, to my house in Pennsylvania, except eight or ten, which I should keep as scouts and to hunt; which I accordingly did.

(Indorsed: "Rec^d with S^r W^m Johnson's letter of the 25 June, 1757.")

1. This paper is reprinted from New York Colonial Documents, vii, pp. 267-271. It accompanied a letter from Croghan to Sir William Johnson, in which he says, "Inclosed you have a copy of some extracts from my old journals relating to Indian Affairs, from the time of Mr. Hamilton's arrival as Governour of this Province till the defeat of General Braddock; all which you may depend upon are facts, and will appear upon the records of Indian Affairs in ye several Governments."
   After Croghan had been commissioned captain by the Pennsylvania authorities, 'he continued in Command of one of the Companies he had raised, and of Fort Shirley on the Western frontier about three months, during which time he sent, by my direction, Indian Messengers to the Ohio for Intelligence, but never procured me any that was very material, and having a dispute with the Commiss^rs about some accounts between them, in which he thought himself ill-used; he resigned his commission, and about a month ago informed me that he had not received pay upon Gen! Braddock's warrant, and desired my recommendation to Gen^l Shirley, which I gave him, and he set off directly for Albany, & I hear is now at Onondago with S^r W^m Johnson."—(Letter of Governor Morris, July 5, 1756, in Pennsylvania Archives, ii, pp. 689, 690.) Sir William Johnson, having more penetration than the Pennsylvania authorities as to the value of Croghan's services, immediately appointed him his deputy, in which position he continued for several years. When he presented himself to the governor's council in Philadelphia, December 14, 1756, "the Council knowing Mr. Croghan's Circumstances was not a little surprised at the Appointment, and desired to see his Credentials"—(Pennsylvania Colonial Records, vii, p. 355). In regard to his services during this period, see New York Colonial Documents, vii, pp. 136, 174) 175, 196, 211, 246, 277, 280; Pennsylvania Colonial Records, vii, pp. 435, 465, 484, 506; viii, 175; Pennsylvania Archives, iii, pp. 319, 544.
   Sir William Johnson was born in Ireland in 1715, came to New York at an early age, and settled as a trader in the Mohawk Valley. He was adopted into the Iroquois nation, and acquired power in their national councils, retaining them in the English interest during the French and Indian War. After the battle of Lake George, Johnson was rewarded with a baronetcy, and secured the surrender of Niagara in 1759. rom that time until his death in 1774, he was occupied with Indian negotiations, chief of which was the treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768).—Ed.
2. Donegal was an old town on the east side of the Susquehanna, situated between the Conewago and Chiques creeks, in the northwestern angle of the county of Lancaster (Scull's Map of Pennsylvania), where these Indians have left their name to the Conoy, or as it is now called, Coney Creek. Memoirs of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, iv, part ii, p.210. "The Conoys were originally from Piscataway, in Maryland, whence they moved to an island in the Potomac, and, on the invitation of William Penn, removed to the Susquehanna—(Pennsylvania Colonial Records, iv, p. 657).—E. B. O'Callaghan.
3. Christopher Gist was of English descent, and a native of Maryland. In early life he removed to the frontiers of North Carolina, where he became so expert in surveying and woodcraft, that he was employed for two successive years by the Ohio Company in inspecting and surveying the Western country. It was on his first journey (1750-51) that he encountered Croghan, when they travelled together to Pickawillany (the Twigtwee town), and Gist continued via the Scioto River and the Kentucky country back to Virginia. On the second journey (1751-52), he explored the West Virginia region. His most noted adventure was accompanying Major George Washington in the autumn of 1753 to the French forts in Northwest Pennsylvania. Earlier in the same year, Gist had made a settlement near Mount Braddock, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and under the auspices of the Ohio Company was enlisting settlers for the region. Eleven came out in the spring of 1754, and a stockade fort was begun. This was utilized during Washington's campaign, but burned by the French after the defeat at Great Meadows. Gist later petitioned the Virginia House of Burgesses for indemnity, but his request was rejected. Both Gist and his son served with Braddock as scouts, and after his defeat, raised a company of militia to protect the frontiers. After serving for a time as deputy Indian agent for the Southern Indians, he died in 1759, either in South Carolina or Georgia. One of his sons was killed at the battle of King's Mountain (1780).—Ed.
4. For a copy of this treaty see Pennsylvania Colonial Records, v, pp. 522-525. In regard to the rejection thereof, note that the governor in the speech made to the Twigtwees says it is approved. See ante.—Ed.
5. The records appear to bear out Croghan's contention that he was given instructions to discuss the erection of afort. See Pennsylvania Colonial Records, v, pp. 522, 529. Historians admit that this neglect of the Indians' request was attended with evil consequences to the English colonies, and Pennsylvania in particular. Consult Pennsylvania Colonial Records, v, pp. 537, 547, for the Indian demand and the Assembly's refusal.—Ed.
6. On this conference at Logstown see Dinwiddie Papers, i, pp. 6, 7, 11, 22; Trent's Journals, pp. 69-81; Gist's Journals, pp. 231-234.—Ed.
7. For the French sources of this expedition see New York Colonial Documents, X, pp. 255-257; Pennsylvania Archives (2d series), vi, pp. 161-164.—Ed.
8. On the conferences at Winchester and Carlisle (1753), see Pennsylvania Colonial Records, v, pp. 657, 665-684.—Ed.
9. Colonel Thomas Cresap was a Yorkshireman who came to Maryland at an early age. Having settled within the territory in dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania, he became an aggressive leader of the forces of the former and was arrested by the Pennsylvania sheriff of Lancaster, where he spent several months in jail. Being released by an agreement between the proprietors of the two colonies (1739), he moved westward, and became the first permanent settler of Maryland beyond the mountains, taking up land at a deserted Shawnee village now called Oldtown. An active member of the Ohio Company, he was assisted by the Indian Nemacolin in blazing the first path west to the Ohio (1752). After the defeat on the Monongahela, Cresap moved back to the settlements on Conococheague Creek; but on the return of peace sought his former location, where he became a noted surveyor and frontiersman. His son Michael was likewise a well-known borderer and Indian fighter. For a complete biographical account, see Ohio Archæological and Historical Publications (Columbus, 1902), x, pp. 146-164.—Ed.
10. The official report of these affairs is in Pennsylvania Colonial Records, vi, pp. 150-161, 180, 181, 186-191.—Ed.
11. Croghan's relations to Braddock's expedition, see Pennsylvania Colonial Records, vi, pp. 372, 381, 398; New York Colonial Documents, vi, p. 973—Ed.
12. Colonel James Innes was an elderly Scotch officer, who had served under the king's commission in the West Indies, and had settled in North Carolina. He commanded the contingent from that colony that came to the assistance of Virginia in 1754. On the death of Colonel Joshua Fry, Dinwiddie appointed Innes, who was his personal friend, to the position of commander-in-chief of the colonial army, of which Washington was acting commandant. Innes got no further than Fort Cumberland, where he remained as commander of the fort, alternately appealing to his former royal commission, and to his colonial authorization, for authority to maintain his rank.—Ed.