plains of the defendant as disclosing, (Q. secreting? withholding?) some of the estate aforesaid, the court proceeds to a trial by the consent of the parties, and on the examination of the defendant on oath, who testifies, etc. With these chancery powers of obliging the defendant on oath to reveal the whole truth, every thing was explained. Among many other articles, he had a rifle belonging to Col. Dorrance, a bed, a copper tea-kettle, and several other articles of valuable household furniture.

"The Court are of opinion, that the defendant deliver up the said articles to the administrator, and satisfy the costs of the court.

Test. JOHN FRANKLIN, Justice of the Peace."

Military courts were also held. Serjeant Leader was convicted of falsifying a provision return, breaking open the magazine; of conspiring to release the tory prisoners, and blow up the garrison. He was whipped one hundred lashes, and sent out with the prisoners to Head Quarters, as incorrigible. We make two or three brief extracts from Franklin's Journal. "July 12, 1780. A Court Martial.-Martin Breakall tried, Capt. John Paul Schotts, president; Capt. Spaulding, Capt. Franklin, Lieut. Gore, Lieut. Jenkins, Lieut. Kingsley, members. Breakall is found guilty of intending to desert to the Indians, take with him the tory prisoners, and threatening to scalp one Adam Sybert. It is the opinion of the court, that Breakall run the gauntlet four times through the troops of this garrison. The commanding officer approves the sentence, and the next afternoon, the 13th, was punished accordingly." A singing meeting this evening, says Capt. Franklin in his journal, at Mr. Forseman's.

The boatmen children were

"I went to Huntingdon, Saturday 15th, returned," says Capt. F. "Saturday the 22d, killed two deer, and took up Sherwood's flax."* A boat arrived from down the river on the 20th of the month, with the welcome cargo of twenty-three barrels of flour. state, "that on Friday the 14th, one man and three murdered by the Indians near Buffalo Creek, and on Saturday the 15th, one Capt. McMahon, was taken prisoner by an Indian and tory, six miles from Northumberland, on the West Branch, but he made his escape, killing the tory when the Indian had gone to his company, that lay near at hand. This tory was Capt. Caldwell, a noted villain." Probably the same Capt. Caldwell, who the day before the massacre in 1778, took possession of the fort at Jenkins'

* The development of Capt. Franklin's character and conduct in the sequel, will show the purpose of these minute details.

ferry. His conduct in that instance was neither marked by treachery nor cruelty. In a boat that arrived at this time, came Lieut. Laurence Myers, his first visit to Wyoming, a very worthy gentleman, of whom it will be our pleasure to speak more at large in our chapter of personal narratives.

66

August 6. Last Thursday, Benjamin Clark with others, went down the river to mill. Same day, Lieut. Daniel Gore with others, set out to Col. Stroud's to mill." Col. Stroud's mill at Stroudsburgh, on the Delaware, was nearly fifty miles distant through the wilderness, from which may be inferred the privations and hardships the inhabitants had to encounter. No mill remained, but the small one near Nanticoke Falls, defended by a detachment of Captain Franklin's company.

On the death of Mason F. Alden's child on the 20th, Esquire Hurlbut preached two sermons. On the same day, Mr. Hollenback's boat loaded with goods arrived, having on board the three welcome "pounders," to enable the Wyoming people to make their own powder. Rumours were rife of murders by Indians below. The prowess and success of Bennett and Hammond, and of Pike, Rogers and Van Campen, had doubtless for a brief space, impressed on the enemy a lesson of extreme caution in regard to Wyoming.

Capt. Franklin and three men set out on a scout up the river early in September. At Tioga Point, they came to where large parties had encamped, and saw two Indians. At Tioga they found a canoe, and in two easy days sail arrived at the Wyoming Fort on the 10th. A week previous, Serjeants Baldwin and Searles exchanged shots with Indians at Tunkhannock, took a horse and some plunder from them, which it is supposed the Indians had taken in the neighborhood of Fort Allen, near the Lehi water gap.

After Wyoming was so reduced as to be unable to afford assistance in checking the excursions of the Savages, parties were in the habit of passing the settlement, and attacking the people both sides of the Blue Mountain, taking scalps, prisoners, and plunder. In May 1780, the settlement at Mahoning, not far from Mauch Chunk, was attacked, several were slain. Benjamin Gilbert, a quaker, and Abigail Dodson, a girl of twelve or thirteen, were among the prisoners taken to Niagara. In consequence of these repeated attacks, a chain of block-houses was built, at supporting distances, back of the Blue Mountain, from the Schuylkill in Berks county, to the Delaware in Northampton; and Nathan Beach was an orderly serjeant for two years under the command of Capt. Smeathers, on

that line of defence. In September, a large party of Indians passing Wyoming, without giving the least alarm, crossed the Susquehanna, near the mouth of the Nescopeck Creek, leaving Wilkesbarre Fort eighteen miles on the left. On advancing into the Scotch Valley, now known as Conyngham and Sugar Loaf, moving with cat-like wariness, they discovered a party of Americans entirely off their guard, some eating, others at play, for it was noon, and entertaining not the slightest apprehension of an enemy being near, they were reposing or sporting, after a forenoon march. On counting their numbers, the Indians found the Americans had thirty-three men, their own being thirty. Some were for making a bold attack, others who had come for plunder, preferred to retire. It was however agreed upon, that they would all draw near, and take a shot; if the Americans were not broken, but should rally with spirit, they would retreat to a designated place. The fire was as deadly as unexpected. Our people who survived, ran in the utmost confusion. Lieut. Myers,* who commanded, did every thing an intrepid officer could do to rally his men, seized his rifle, and vowed he would die before he would retreat. One or two ran to his aid, but it was too late. He was seized by the gallant Indian chief, wounded slightly, and made prisoner. Satisfied with their thirteen scalps, their prisoners, and all the booty brought out by the party, the Indians hastened their retreat, doing what mischief they could, by burning the Shickshinny mills, and all the grain stacks on their route. The second night Lieut. Myers contrived to make his escape, and came into the Wyoming Fort with the melancholy tidings. After the war, the Miss Dodson, before named, was redeemed from captivity, and related the Indian account of the affair, as learned at Niagara.

As the preceding winter had been extremely cold, so the summer was marked by an unusual degree of heat. August especially was, to use an expression of the day, panting hot, severe thunder showers being frequent, followed by a close and oppressive atmosphere. The consequence was an autumn of greater sickness than had ever before been experienced. Remittent and intermittent fevers, prevailed to a distressing degree. The settlers in Kingston particularly suffered. Calomel, tartar emetic, and Jesuits bark, dispensed by Dr. William H. Smith, with skill, were efficacious, and the number of deaths, though considerable, bore a very small proportion to the great number afflicted. Every incident in a small community so excited,

• Not Laurence Myers.

awakened attention, and William Nelson, being badly bitten by a rattlesnake, was probably known in the course of a day, to every person in Wyoming. After much suffering he recovered.

On the 11th of October, the good Deacon Hurlbut, who preached in the absence of the Rev. Mr. Johnson, being chosen member of Assembly, set out for Hartford, accompanied by Asa Chapman, who went to visit his friends in Preston. Chapman had been sworn in a freeman of Westmoreland, a few months before. He returned, and his fate will be recorded in the annals of a subsequent year.

We have spoken several times of Capt. John Paul Schotts, who was stationed with his rifle corps at Wyoming, where he became attached to Miss Naomi Sill, sister to Col. Denison's lady. The banns were published on Sunday, October the 15th, and on Wednesday, the 18th, they were married; the occasion being one of great joy and festivity in the garrison, and among the whole people. The 24th of the month, the settlement was thrown into commotion by the arrival of an express stating, that Col. Hunter, at Fort Augusta, (Sunbury,) had stopped the boats that were ascending the river with provisions for the garrison. Grain the people now had, but as we have seen, they were obliged to go to Stroudsburgh to mill. This was the first incident which had occurred for three years, exhibiting the smothered, but by no means extinguished jealousy, that existed on the part of Pennsylvania, towards the Connecticut garrison and settlement.

Nearly three months passed away, after the massacre at the Scotch Valley, in comparative peace. Alarms were frequent; scouts were on the alert; tidings of murder and robbery, weekly, came in from the West Branch, from near Sunbury, and more especially from the settlements along the Blue Mountains; but no direct attack was made on Wyoming. The harvest, though but little ground was cultivated, had come in satisfactorily. Hugh Forseman arrived from Philadelphia with a hundred head of cattle for the garrison, which fact, of itself, speaks of the general destitution of the country. Thus fear of absolute famine was removed. The comforts of life were not looked for, and all were satisfied with sufficient food to sustain existence.

In September, a town meeting voted-That a petition be prepared to the Assembly at Hartford, asking for an abatement of Taxes. It may be observed, that the ordinary assemblage, "legally warned," were called town meetings. Those more important, where all the town officers were chosen, holden the first Tuesday in December,

each year, were sometimes, by way of eminence, denominated "Freeman's Meeting." December 5th, 1780, the whole settlement was assembled in town meeting, legally warned, and held at the house of Abel Yarrington. John Hurlbut was chosen Moderator.

Voted-That John Hurlbut, Esq., Col. Nathan Denison, John Franklin, Esq., James Nesbitt, and Jabez Sill, be Selectmen for the year ensuing. A town clerk, treasurer, constable, surveyors of highways, fence-viewers, listers, collectors, leather-sealer, grand jurymen, etc. etc., were duly chosen. The fewness of inhabitants may be inferred from the fact, that James Nesbitt and Jabez Sill, were each chosen to three offices, and several others were voted in to the duties and honours of two. But the occasion was one of comparative cheerfulness. Winter had set in-snow had fallen-the enemy, kept at a respectful distance by the spirited conduct of Hammond, Bennett, Van Campen, Rogers and Pike, would not be likely, it was thought, soon to return. With frost, sickness had ceased; and Forseman's arrival with a supply of cattle, dissipated all fears of suffering from famine. These pleasing dreams of security were destined to be of brief duration. The very next day, December 6th, a party of the enemy, consisting of nineteen white men, and five Indians, under the command of Lieut. Turney, of John Butler's Rangers, broke into the settlement at Shawney, surprised and took off seven men prisoners, namely, Benjamin Harvey, Elisha Harvey, Nathan Bullock, James Frisbee, Jonathan Frisbee, Manassah Cady, and Samuel Palmer Ransom, highly respectable citizens. No lives were taken, and the party instantly retreated with their captives, and what plunder they could readily seize, marching with the greatest celerity. Capt. Franklin, with twenty-six men, pursued, the next morning, crossing the Susquehanna at Secord's, three miles above Tunkhannock; but the enemy were so far in advance, as to render further pursuit hopeless; and taking the canoes they had descended the river with and abandoned, Capt. Franklin returned to the fort. The facility of attacking Wyoming is here again illustrated. Scooping out a pine log into a canoe, the Indians could descend the river in twelve or fifteen hours, to within eighteen or twenty miles of the settlement. The easy mode of descent was in itself alluring, and tended greatly to the insecurity of the inhabitants.

One of Turney's men proved a traitor, if he did not come in as a spy, which is quite as probable. On the evening of the 11th, Col. Butler examined the deserter in the presence of Capt. Franklin.