Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-12
ON SUNSET SHORES.
The Strange VerifcatiOn of a Pretty
Indian Burial Legend,
IN THE ALLEGHENY VALLEY
Five Skeletons of Indians Unearthed by
Laborers Yesterday
WERETHE CHIEF GUYASUTTGS BRAVES

Five Indian skeletons were unearthed up
the West Penn Railroad yesterday. They
were found by laborers who were digging q
foundation vault on a section Of the
Ross farm. At first they sup
posed they had run across an
old graveyard, but further investigation
satisfied them that at one time this was an
isolated spot where the five men were evi-
IDENTIFY all buried at once. The bones were
not in rows, but their position suggested the
thought of a hurried interment.
There was no doubt Of the race to which
the skeletons belonged. The skulls and
other bones were examined during the after
noon by surgeon, who had no difficulty in
determining the fact that the men had been
sborigines of very powerful build. Two
flint arrow-hesds were also found in the
hole.
WERE THEY GUYAsUTTA's MEN.
To the lover of local history somewhat
interesting question arose from yesterday s
discovery. The bones were found not more
than q mile away from Guyasutta station,
the spot where the famous Indian
chieftain, Guyasutta, was buried on
his retreat down the Allegheny
river from the Kiskiminetas, after
the burning of Hannahstown, in Westmore-
land county, some 112 years ago. Did the
i've men, whose bones have just now been
found, belong to Guyasutta's band? Of
course there is no way of settling the ques-
tion definitely, but conjecture may
be aided by the proximity of
the unmarked tombs to the spot
where the chieftain's remains were left. A
gentleman who has given much research to
Western Pennsylvania Indian affairs, when
told of the discovery, said they were more
probably a small band of late Indian
msrsuders killed by white settlers in de-
Tense of their property or lives, and then
hastily buried in the same hole.
AN OLD LEGEND VERIFIED.
That whole side of the Allegheny river
seems to have been an unfortunate shore for
the redmen. Very few Indian skeletons
have ever been taken out of the ground on the
south side of the Allegheny. On the other
side such discoveries have been frequent in
in the past 40 years. Several skeletons
were found in. the neighborhood
of Claremont once. At Kennedy station, II
miles farther up the West Penn, nearly 20
sets of bones were exhumed while the own
ers of a big orchard there were excavating
post holes and planting trees many years
since. At Freeport, still farther up, many
other aboriginal tombs were brought to light
by the earlier inhabitants. The remains of
an old Indian fort on the outskirts of Free
port were still standing ten wears ago.
From Freeport the Indians favorite canoe
route used to be bY the Kiskiminetas river
to and from the Allegheny. A petition is
here observed. The more frequent un-
earthing of Indian skeletons have
been on the west bank of that
stream, or just the opposite from the
Allegheny. 1t appears to carry out an old
Indian legend once prevalent in Canada
that Indians like to bury their dead on the
sunset shores of rivers-because it is nearer
''the happy hunting ground" The sun
does not set on the north side of the ALLIE
gheny and west of the Kiskiminetas.