The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-10-20
Historical Researches that Quilp Made
rs d Bohemian.
CHAPTER VI.

IIldG SlSllcu ScCll was Iue liluSIIl-
Gus John Smith, of Virginia. In the Sum-
mer of the year zoos he fitted out an expe-
dition at jamestown, and proceeded to the
head of Chesapeake Bay and explored the
entrances of the Susquehanna, North East
Elk and Sassafras rivers.
The Indian name of the Sassafras river
was Toghwogh. Smith and his compan-
ions assembled it for some distance and were
received by the native Indians with much
kindness, he and his companions being the
first white men they had ever seen. Smith
says, in his account of the expedition, that
the white people had much trouble to keep
the natives from worshipng them as gods.
Smith tried to ascend the Susquehanna
river, but could get no further than two
miles up it on account of the rocks He
states that the Indians could ascend it in
their frail canoes for the distance of about
two days journey. He gives wonderful
account of the size and prowess of the
chief of the Susquehannas, and says that
the "calves of his legs were three quarters
of yard about. and all the rest of his
limbs SO answerable to that proportion, that
he seemed the goodliest man he ever saw.
The SuSquehannas met them with SKINS
bows, arrows, targets, beads, swords and
tobacco pipes for presents. They seemed
like giants and were the strangest people
in all these countries, both in language and
attire; their language, like their proper
ton, sounding from them as voice in a
vault
Smith speaks of a creek east of the SuS-
quehanna, which no doubt was Principle
creek. He and his companions assembled both
the North East and the Elk rivers, and
named the highest mountain they saw at the
head of the third river flowing into the
head of Chesapeake Bay, east of the Sus-
quehanna river, Peregrines Mount Boz
man, in his history of Maryland, thinks
this was Greys Hill, east of Elkton. There
is no doubt it was either Grey's Hill or
Bacon Hill, near the head of North East
river. Smith found the trees much cut and
hacked by the Indians near the mouth of
the Susquehanna. The Indians had hatch
cts, and are thought to have procured them
from the French in Canada. Like all rude
and barbarous people, they took much pride
in using them, and were no doubt quite as
proud of them as George Washington was
of his many years afterwards, and cut and
hacked away with them just as unthink-
ingly as he did. These poor ignorant In
dams were no doubt much astonshed at
the advent of the white people, and won
dered whence they came. Some few of
them may afterwards have been enlight-
ened upon that subject, but their origin
remains hidden from us by veil of i'm :
penetrable obscurity. For centuries, for
ought we know for cycles, measured only
by the Imagination of the white man, they
had roamed the undisputed masters of the
country where they were found; and are
know much less of them to-day than our
forefathers did two hundred and fifty years
ago.
The CONFORMATION of the country then,
so far as the hills and streams are consid-
cred, was much the same as it is at present,
but the appearance of the surface of the
country has changed. The primeval for
ests that then covered it have disappeared,
and owing to this the surface of the coun-
try has changed very much-large swamps
and morasses have dried up, and the chan
nels of the streams have changed; indeed
some Of them have entirely disappeared.
Deer, bear, wolves, opossums, hares, SPUR
rels, wild turkeys, pheasants, wild pigeons
and many other kinds of animals abounded
in the forests, and the creeks and rivers
were well stocked with beavers offers,
muskrats, and all kinds of water fowls.
This county and the country contiguous to
it was, at that time, the paradise of hunt
erS.
The first settlement made within the
present limits of Cecil county was upon
Palmer's Island now Watson's Island,
near the mouth of the Susquehanna river
and Just above the railroad bridge at that
place. This settlement was established
there as trading post by VIM. Clayborne,
before the Pilgrims Of Maryland landed at
St. Mary's. Leonard Calvert had an inter-
view with Clayborne in Virginia, before
he landed at ST. Mary's in which he claimed
the settlement on Kent Island as being
within his grant. This man Clayborne
was, at one time, member of the Council
of Virginia, and established trading post
on Kent Island, under license from the
King of England, which authorized him to
trade with the Indians in Chesapeake Bay.
The license was granted in 1851, but the
posts on Kent Island and Watson's Island
were probably established before that time,
under commission which will be hereaf-
ter referred to.
Clayborne was an ambitious man, and
sometime after the arrival of the Pilgrims
in the Ark and Doce, who, soon after their
arrival, took pains to dispossess him of
Kent Island, presented petition to the
King of England, in which petition he re-
fers to the fact that she and his partners
while acting under commission from un-
der his majestic hand divers years past
(which divers years Bosnian thinks were
the years 1927, % and 90, discovered and
planted the isle of Kent in the Chesapeake,
which island they bought of the kings of
that country; that great hopes for trade of
beavers and other commodities were likely
to ensue by the petitioners discoveries
ETC."
1t is further stated in the petition that
the petitioners chad discovered and settled
a plantation and factory upon small ISL
and in the mouth of river, at the bottom
of the said bay (at the head or top of the
bay was what they meant, in the Susque-
hannocks' country, at the Indians DESIRE
and purchased the same of them; by means
whereof they were in great hopes to draw
thither the trade of beavers and furs
which the French then wholly enjoyed in
the Grand Lake of Canada The petition
ers then propose to pay to his majesty the
annual sum of el00, viz, $50 for the isle
of Kent and $50 for the said plantation in
the Susuuehannocks' country; and they