The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1866-01-26


began system of horse-stealing along
the frontiers and also killed some peo-
pie in the isolated settlements. Still,
traders were in the habit of supplying
the Indians with gunp0wder and other
military stores, though forbidden to dOsO
/ by the royal proclamation. Capt. James
Smith, of whose captivityam the In
dians nsanaccOunthas already been given,
having to Bedford. after hisser-
vice IN Gen. BOuq ueU'S last expedition,
on hearing of these violations of the
kings order, determined TO take the law
into hisOwn hands, and by forceof arms,
prevent further traffic with thesavages.
His mode Of procedure is thus graphic
ally described in his Narrative"
shortly after this. Bouquets treaty.
the Indians stole horses and killed some
people on the frontiers. The kings
proclamation was then circulating and
set up in various public places, prohib-
iting any person from trading with the
Indians until furtherorders. Notwith-
standing all this, about the 1st of March,
1865, a number of wagons, loaded with
Indian goods and Warlike stores, We're
sent from Philadelphia to Henry Pol
lens. COnococheague; and from thence
seventy pack horses were loaded with
these goods in order to carry them to
! Fort Pitt. This alarmed the country,
and Mr.. William Duffieid raised about
fifty armed men and met the pack-hor-
ses at the place where Mercersburg now
stands Mr. Duffield desired the en-
| ployers to store up their goods and not
! proceed until further orders. They
made light of this, and went over the
North Mountain, where they lodged in
a small valley called the Great Cove
, Mr.. Duffield and his party followed af-
( ter, came to their lodging, and again
/ urged them to store up their goods. He
1 reasoned with them on the impropriety
| Of their proceedings and the great dan
! ger the frontier inhabitants would be
exposed to if the Indians should now
+ get supply; he said, as it was well
/ known that they had scarcely any am
munitiOn, and We're almost naked, to
supply them now would be kind of
/ murder, and would be illegally trading
at the eA pence or tlie blood and treasure
( of the frontiers. Notwithstanding his
I powerful reasoning, these traders made
/ game of what he said, and would only
! answer him by ludicr0us burlesque.-
/ When beheld this, and found that Mr..
! Duffield wouldnot compel them tOstore
up their goods, | collected ten of my
! old warriors that | had formerly disci-
| plined in the Indian way, went off pri-
| vately yafter night, and encamped in the
woods. The next day, as usual, we
( blacked and painted, and waylaid them
/ near Sidelong Hill. | scattered mymen
4 about forty rods along the side Of the
road, and ordered every two to take a
/ tree, and about eightor ten rods between
;
/ served fire-One not to fire until his
comrade had loaded his gun; by this
means we kept up constant slow fire
upon them, from front to rear. We
( then heard nothing Of these traders
merriment, or burlesque. When they
saw their pack-hOrses falling close by
| them, they called out, Pray, gentle
men, what would you have US to do?'
/ The replyWas, Collect all your loads to
/ the front, and unload them in one place
take your private property and imme-
| diately retire When they were gone,
we burnt what they left, which consist
ed Of blankets, shirts, vermillion, lead,
! beads, Wampum, tomahaWkS, scalping-
, knives, &c. The traders went back to
Fort Loudon, and applied to the COM
manding officer there, and got party
Of Highland soldiers, and went with
( them in quest of the robbers, as they
called us; and without applying to a
magistrate, or obtaining any civil au-
thority, but barely upon suspicion, they
took a number Of creditable persons
who were chiefly not any way concern
ed in this action and confined them in
I the guard-hOuse in Fort Loudon. |
then raised three hundred rifemen,
marched to Fort LOudon, and encamp-
| ed on hill in sight of the fort. We
were not long there, until we had more
than double as many Of the British
troops prisoners in our camp, as they
had of our people in the guard-house.
! Captain Grant, Highland officer, who
commanded Fort LOudOn, then sent a
( flag of truce to our camp, where we set
tied cartel, and gave them above two
for one, which enabled Us to redeem all
our men from the guard-hOuse, without
further difficulty. After this, Captain
Grant kept a number Of rifle guns,
which the Highlanders had taken from
the country people, and refused to give
them up. AS he was riding out one
day, we took him prisoner and detain-
ed him until he delivered up the arms
we also destroyed a large quantity OF
! gunpowder that the traders had stored
up, lest it might be conveyed privately
to the Indians. The kings troops, and
our party, had now got entirely out OF
the channel of the civil law, and many