Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-08-12

TIMBER PRESERVATION.
OUR EARLY LOCAL HIsTOkr.
In the Days when the Indian Wa Nigh.
Among the effects of the late Gen. Geo.
B. Cadwalader, of Philadelphia, who wss
in his time agent for the heirs of the es.
tate of those Hamiltons who laid out Ian.
caster and for many years had largo in
comes arising from ground rents here, has
been found large mass of valuable and
correspondence between Gov.
James Hamilton and his local agent, Edv.
Shippen. From some Of these letters in
possession OF MIR. Jacob NJ. Long, Of this
city, We have made some extracts, which
cannot but recall most forcibly the con.
trast between our city hundred
and twenty years ago and its coudi-
ton to-day. At tho time of these
letters the municipal government had
tho borough town had about five hundred
houses and s,OOO people; Lancaster was
famous for the stockings made at its
almshouse and place Of public employment:
the barracks on North Queen street, said to
have been erected in 1751, may have been
built, though one Of these letters plainly
relates to the erection of q moro important
structure for defense; where Mr.. FIR.
ShrOder's beautiful home now is, therc
stood in the shade of willow trees q COM
mission store which traded in furs, beads,
blankets and rum with the Indians, and the
forest trees stood in East King AZ far
down as MacGonigle's row. Adams.
town. as the southeastern part Of the
city was then known, was distinct SET
tlement and the most thickly populated
hcreabOuts !; the annual fair was then held
on the first Thursday and Friday
of juno, and gala days these were with
their booths and mOuntebanks and rope
dancers and courtships, and every tavern
had its dances of the gay lasses in their
linsey wOOlsey short gowns. 1t was in these
days that the good people Of Lancaster
became alarmed for their personal safety
at the news from over the mountain
1.-The furnace hills" We call it-Of Indian
atrocities on tho Tulpehocken and the
following letter from Edward Shippen
to Gov. Hamilton, evidently in rejoin-
der to q reply received from him to
a previous letter by Shippen ON behalf of
the citizens regarding the erection of q
fort, fully explains itself:
LANCASTER, 5th Deer 1855.
HONOURED SIR &: l received the
favour of your letter of tho 24th
ult. last Friday night and we thank
you for your readiness to cOEtri butte
towards building BlOckhOuse, or otherwise
for the safety of the Borough. We are by
this time convinced that the Savages who
murdered the poor people on our frontier,
are not very numerous, as was at first con-
fitlently asserted.
"When the news came Of several fami.
lies being cut of at TulpehOcken, near the
mountain, but thirty-five miles from hence,
we grew very uneasie, especially when We
wero informed the Farmers thereabOuts
were leaving their Plantations.
"And when We had the false alarm here
lately of the Indians being near the town
at II O'Clock at night, about 800 men mot
as soon as possible at the Place of Rem
devious, and all the small arms they
could muster up did not amount to two,
some saying they had no guns and others
cOnfessing they were not able to purchase
any, and was surprized to hear many of
the people calling out for ammunition at
that time of night.
should not have mentioned anything
to you concerning Fort had we not had
expectation of gettinga chief part of the
timber gratis from the country, for agree
with you that it would be quite unreason.
able to expect you should bear tie Burden
of it. should have writtcn tOyou sooner,
but had not an answer till yes
terday that the Farmers had agreed
not to let us have any Logs, and
understand they had several meetings
about it. The fort was to have been .
stOckade, the logs split in the middle and
set on end, and three feet in the ground,
and placed on tho north side of the town,
between Queen street and Duke street,
and containing 100 feet square !; the flanks
of the BastiOn 16 feet and the fronts or
faces of tho BastiOn 30 feet each. l am
very glad you are getting rid of your dis
order occasiOned by poison vine. My love
to your boys. Your acceptance Of his
compliments, l am, sir,
Your most Obedient and humble servant,
E. 8.
The value of timber seems to have
been highly appreciated even in those
early days when it was abundant COM
pared with now, and that Hamilton
complained Of and objected to the troops
stationed here infringing on his woodlands
for fuel may be Inferred from some CORES
1757-5S. Under date of Dec. 2, 1857, he
writes to his agent as follows:
nm, ,,ok nj rvbok ,,o,, hnvo