The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-05-23
THE MASSACRE AT WYOMING.
Preparations tn Celebrate its One Hundreti
Anniversary on July Q and A. The STORY
of the Battle and Massacre.

of the Battle and Massacre.
A correspondent of New York paper
writes as follows from Scranton, Pa:
The neutrality-suspicious. in progress
among the people of Pennsylvania for a
centennial commemoration of the battle
and massacre Of Wyoming, recall one of
the most thrilling incidents of the Revo-
| luton. The name of Wyoming and its
sad history have obtained a worldwide
fame, and naturally the thousands who
have been stirred by the recital of its
woes, will feel an interest IN the forth
coming celebration, which will occur on
the 3D. and 4th of July next, the first
being the date of the battle and massa-
ere. The preparationsf for the demonstra..
ton were begun on the ninety ninth
anniversary of the event, when q number
of the descendants of the gallant yeomen
who fought and fell met and organized
an influential association, with sub
committees scattered throughout the
valley to attend to the details. The
heartiness with which they entered upon
their work and the enthusiasm with
which the public have seconded their
efforts, warrant the hope that the affair
will be worthy of the occasion which it
is designed to honor.
The invasion of the valley was accom-
plished on the 3d of July, 177S, when
number of British soldiers, commanded
by Col. John Butler, and accompanied
by 700 Iniians, led by the cruel half
breed, Brant, or Gi-en -gwah-toh, de-
scended upon the defenceless settlement.
They were met by few companies of
old men and boys, whose extreme age
and youth had exempted them from
service in the distant ranks of the Re-
public, and for several hours fierce
battle ragged on the banks of the Sus-
quehanna. But the contest was unequal
The Indians from their ambush, kept up
a deadly flank fire, which soon thinned
the ranks of the yeomen. and, utterly
shattered, they were forced to fall back,
despite the appeals of their courage ous
leader, Col. Zebulon Butler, who cried,
Don't leave me-, my children, and the
day is ours" The Indians, seeing their
foes retreat, fell upon them and slaugh-
tered wltnout mercy, men, women and
children.
When the Six Nations espoused the
English cause against the G ,lonies it
,, was part of the compact that the latter
should lead them against Wyoming, to
afford them an opportunity of being
avenged upon the settlers, whom they
regarded as the usurpers of the red
mans paradise, a name sometimes given
to the valley; and so, the first skirmish
being over, the Indians gave full scope
to the spirit of destruction which possess
ed them, and, breaking away from their
leaders, they reaped terrible revenge
upon the gentle people of that Arcadian
abode. About three hundred were put
to death with torch, tomahawk and
spear, regardless of age or sex, and the
most cruel tortures that a fiendish spirit
could devise were employed to make the
last lingering moments of their victims
full of agony. An awful night followed
that day of carnage. The huts and
homes, the crops and orchards, were set
on fire, and the devastation of the en-
tire settlement was made complete.
Several were drowned in their efforts to
escape down the river under the cover
of night, but party of o hundred
women and children succeeded in max
ing their way to the mountains, under
the leadership of one old man, who was
their sole protector But though they
fed the terrors Of the massacre, il was
to encounter hardships equally severe.
Their path lay through the Great
Swamp, now known rs the "Shades of
Death, by reason Of the numbers who
had perjshed there, and the sufferings
they endured from fear and famine and
sickness are unmatched by any thing on
record. One poor woman, whose babe
died at her breast in vain effort to oh
tain nourishment, carrie her dead dar-
ling twenty miles rather than leave the
precious burden behind to fall prey to
the wolves, and many other incidents of
love and devotion are related. Only
few survived the fatigue of the march
and the plague which overlook them in
the swamp. The bodies of those who
were massacred in the Wyoming Valley
lay unburied on the plain for months,
until detachment Of soldiers gathered
them together one night and consigned
them to large hole in the ground, fear
full lest q more respectful interment
might excite the enmity of the Indians,
who were still prowling about the neigh
borhood. The result was that the exact
location of the remains was unknown to
the friends of the dead for many years,
ana their discovery at last was mere
memorative of the virtues of the fallen
heroes have been raised over their rest
ing place by the patriotic women of
Wyoming, and is visited every summer
by hundreds of persons attracted to the
scene by spirit of reverence or curios-
ity.
In order to make the coming Centen-
NAL as realistic as possible, a, number
OF huts are in process of erection along
the river, to look exactly like those
which stood there one hundred years
ago, and the old forts are being rebuilt.
A tribe of friendly Indians detailed
their chief few days ago to wait on
the committee of arrangements and
offer their services, in full costume, and
their appearance will doubtless aid the
picturesque features of the representa-
tion. President Hayes and a number
of men prominent in politics and litera-
ture have also signitied their intention
OF being present. The first day will be
devoted to odes and orations commemo-
rative of the event. The words of q
poem by Miss Susan E Dickinson have
been set to music and will be sung by
one hundred voices, and similar CON
tribution has been made by another
accomplished lady, who retires behind
the nom de plume of "Stella of Lacka-
wanna" The programme for the Fourth
OF July consists of a grand pageant,
participated in by the civic and military
societies of Pennsylvania, to be followed
in the evening by display of fireworks
along the river banks distance OF
twenty miles of charming scenery.
| a1x fah Of 1