Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-31
NINETY YEARS AGO.
THE JOURNAL or MOkAviAF
MfssTONARf OF 1921.
How Near tho Frontier Was 10 Our 9ts"d
fathers - A Rey,ew Of Ancient MSS.
publlsh.d ny the rcnnsyisnnia
Historical society.

church, ana nhu esAbiisheu prosperous
village, surrounded by well.clearod farm
land, were wiped from the lace OF tho earth
by one of tho most strocious massacres that
have ever disgraced men of our race.
We do not propose to recito the horrible
details of that unprovoked and unavenged
crime, but to give some extracts from the
journal OF John Heck weldcr, the missionary,
who went with william Henry, Of Lancas-
ter, to Guadenhuten, with the object Of sur
veying lands granted to them by Congress,
In trust tor the Ind ians, and ON which tboy
proposed to found new colony Of Christian
Indians
This journal has just been published in the
PcnnsVtpdHid MdgdsiHc, of history aud bi-
ography from MSS. In German, in tho hand
writing OF Heckwelder, aud II entitled
4" Notes OF Travel OF william IIockwelder,
John Rothrock aud Christian ClewelI, to
Guadenhuten ON tho Muskingun, In the
early summer OF l7E. 1t has been ably edi-
ted by MIR. John w. Jordan. Mr.. Henry was
justice of the peace and iudge of the courts OF
common pleas and quarter sessions OF North
smpton county, and was ono OF the presiden-
tial electors ot the state. lie cast his vote for
Washington for president
The expedition started from Bethlehem In
April of 1877, and travelled by way OF Lititz
and Lancaster, to Emaus, Moravian set
tlement In Lehigh county. /" In Lititl,"
writes the venerable missionary, " the
brethren expressed their heartfelt interest
In our undertaking" ; from there they trav-
eed IN one day through Mannheim and Eliz-
abethtown to Middletown, 26 miles. Man
helm IL very pleasantly situated on inc
Chckies and contains about lJO small houses.
Glass works were formerly carried on here.
BY the way, Chickies was shortened from the
Indian Chickesalunga, which heckwelder
states was originally Chickiswalungo, /. O.,
where the ground In full of holes bored by
the crab or craw. fish. The glass works re-
ierred to were erected by the eccentric Henry
w. Stiegcl called Baron"
HEARTY RECEPTION.
"Our intention was TO proceed direct to
ElIzabethtown but having missed the road
we passed near Brother Beck's In Nit Joy
consequently we were obliged TO retraco our
steps and pay our respects to Brother Beck.
At Brother John FredeTicks We met with
hearty reception and found good accommo-
dation. From here we were obliged To pass
mountainous region in'order to reach ELIZA
BEETHOVEN, where We came upon Inc VIDE
Lancaster road. That part leading over the
Conewago Is bad beyond all description -.
Middletown IL an attractive village the
square and the cross streets are IN good
condition, and the streets running north and
south are mostly built up. The houses are
of limestone and brick, the majority, how
over, are farmers log houses
"On the morning of the 2tth we made an
early start and, notwithstanding the rain,
had good roads to Chambers Ferry, where
we took breakfast and then crossed the Sus-
quehanna. half hour is necessary to cross
this beautiful river, and whhe doing 80 we
had fine view of Harrisburg, situated on the
river about ~ miles north ot us. The coun-
try from Middletown to the ferry is very
pleasing, and exhibits some fine farms"
He was pleased with Carlisle and the
country around ii, and noted that "the locus
was looked upon as very useful tree, and
that 1t was planted along the fences where no
natural growth presented itself" Shippens-
burg 'contains 80 houses, but is wanting in a
mill stream" 1t Is hard to realize that only
ninety years ago steam was so far IN the
future that the prosperity OF town depended
upon mill stream. "a beautiful spring,
however, pursues its course through the
western part Of the town" Strasbnrg con-
sists OF but one street" io crossed tho Ale
ghenles by the old pennsylvania state road,
which was built in l7Si, and no expresses his
admiration for that piece OF engineering and
its many stone bridges, though he adds
furthermore that il had been made bad tor
travel by the passage OF heavy teams
Near Fort LigOnier the travellers met Gen.
st. Clair, then governor of the western ter
ritory, whom they interested in their mission
REFRESHED WITH BEER.
These fearless missionaries had no total
abstinence notions, Tor sat Reits, German,
we refreshed ourselves with a good glass OF
beer" OF the country near Pittsburg, he
writes 'The soil seems to be rich ana Is
overgrown with fine oak, hickory, walnut
and other kinds OF trees There are some
very tine farms along this whole stretch oil
country.
"Pittsburg has an uncommonly fine situa'
ton upon a promontary between two rivers,
which calmly flow past the town. Both
banks of the river have u secure height and
back OF the town the land abounds with
many little hills, where is found valuable
sand stone, which is used in the houses oi
the town. A good quality of grindstone is
also found here" Here they met Mora
yian "brother," who ''related TO us that sew
eral Indians had been here two weeks pre-
vious, who said they belong 10 the Brethren
church and had bears meat and yenison tc
sell. One of them was named John Moses
Another said that he had belonged To the
Moravian church in Canada, but had mis-
behaved himself and therefore taken his de
parture." Frank savage!
But think OF Pittsburg ninety years agC
with Indians trading bear and yenison on
her streets, and grindstone and sandstone
puarries her chief boast!
What would the travellers have said had
they been told that the country in that ycin
ity was rich in those natural products OF im
measurable value, coal, petroleum., anc
natural gas destined to make that little town
in the wilderness one OF the greatest manu-
1acturlnH centres III the WOriu, anu tndt De
fore term had passed tnat might be meas
ured by human life.
The famous vision OF Cobbler X eeser shoulC
have been located in the vicinity of Pittsburg
Tor no other city, not even Chicago, so wei
illustrates by contrast the progress OF ou
country, and the magical transformation OF
wilderness into a civilized empire of thu
people.
SO they travelled on tc Welsburg, Wes
Virginia, and thence by bride path to Guaden
huten.
The Indian Captain Bull led the party
carrying rifle, but was often relieved b.
Heckwelder with frying pan on his shoul
and rifles. They depended for supplies upoi
the game the Indians might kill, and the.
found plenty OF wild turkeys and somo deer
Captain Bull killed a bear. All this was in
country that is now in high state of cult
walton crossed by network of railroads.
AN INDIAN BELLIES DRESS.
He met the Indian Chief White Eyes an
his daughter, a savage belle OF whom he say
"Her Indian costume was quite stylish. Ht
head was bare hair arranged without orn
ment her dress was of black silk, and tt
cloak, which reached to her knees, OF blu
cloth and trimmed with white. The leggin
were also Of blue cloth, and she wore ii
usual moccasins. A dark ash-colOred blank
hung from her shoulders in a graceful MAJ
ner" White Eyes leads him to the site
Guadenhuten. ave took q look at u
ruined village, and were surprised at the fin
situation it had upon the banks OF the streal
But yet alas! with what sorrow were v