The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-10
HOVNEVA ARK WAS SAVED
A Narrowing Tale of Rescue
From Massacre Which Has
Been Omitted From the
Books.

w 'AhAA ~ "RtS 6AAA oAA - ~ ~A0
bad renegade white man and a squint-eyed
scout and a friendly Indian and a pretty
squaw that loves a white man, but a real
Jersey Indian story from away back in the
days when a lot of our great-great-
granddaddies came down from up in
Connecticut aud bought all the land
around hereaways from the Indians for
some rum and powder, second hand sojer
coats and breeches, along with other nick
nacks they didn't care much for and
the Indians thought was worth more than
pearls from Madagascar or gold watches
from Elgin, III. 1t is a story of them days
when the Dodds and Bruens. Campfields.
Tonipkinses, Tichenors, Baldwins, Cranes,
DAYS and Penningtons first sot foot on Jer-
sey soil more than 200 years ago, and it has
been handed down from generation to gen
GRAFTON. | give it to you just as | got it
many q year ago from my grandfather, who
was most as good a story teller as [ be.
Now, be quiet, and I'll tell it to you. Stop
t%widdling your fingers, Silas.
'sOnct upon a time when Indians was thick
in Camptown, and Orange, and Bloomfield,
and all Whereabouts there was a tall young
fellow named ~Oakey-take your thumb out
of your mouth, Harry, or | won't tell you
auy more. His name wasn't exactly Oakley,
but it had a lot more to it. but they called
him Oakley for short, although, as ! said be-
fore, he was a tall fellow and his name meant
something like Man-who-don 't-have-to-climb
a-tree-toss ee-the- w1Io~le=eountry. Indians was
always given to exaggeration, you know
don't bite your nails, Lizzie.
'Oakey's folks had sold most of their land
to the white men from Connecticut, and it
riied him. He had sot store on building a
brick house down on the corner of Mulberry
and Park streets. 1t USED TO be called Smith
street in them days. Oakley had his mind sot
on marrying a pretty squaw and settling
down, and he was dead sore when he heard
that his uncle had sold out the place of his
choice. He was SO mad that he sulked up at
Greatdlotch for nine months OF more. He
just went without pie or cake, and lived on
speckled trout, venison and bear meat. On
the 18th of July, 1861, | think it was-I amt
sure about the year but | know it was the
same day that the Orangemen celebrate.
Oakley was setting on q rock near Montclair
Heights. not far from Pete Speer's house,
when along came an Indian he knew a
carrying something under his arm. whats
that you've got there youln SO careful off Is
it nitro-giycerines asks Oakley, ~a-laughing."
"'Nope,' y said t'other Indian. "Fs rum
One of thirteen cans that Winocksop and
Shenoctos swapped a lot of land for yester-
day with Sam Harrison and a couple old
geezers acting for Carteret. l just swiped
one of the ans and come up here to have
a good time. I'll ball you of if you'll join
me-
Now. Oakley had never tasted rum, or
p'raps he'd held off, but not knowin' effects
he lit into it hard, aud them two Indians got
thoroughly soaked. Oakey didn't wake up
till next day, and When he got and saw the
other indian laying there with his mout
wild open and snoring he hit him a kick and
said:-sGet up aud defend yourself for at
tempting my life with that poisonous water
The other fellow had a bigger still on than
Oakley had stop looking c~ross-eyed,
Harry, and he only just grunted
whilst Oakley kicked MIN. Bimeby Oak
ey stopped to save his moceasins, and
sat down and took his head in his hands,
wished that bromide had been invented
then. SOh, | ana getting the big head, he
says to himself, and he tried to squeeze it
back to its regular size with both hands.
Whilst he was doing this an old squaw, the
wife of Winocksop, came along. Her hus-
band had sent her out to look take your
finger out of your mouth, Lizzie) for the
man that had stole the, can of rum, and if
there was any left to fetch it back. She
spied the two men and the can, and picking
up the can she drank the last drop in it just
to make sure that it was the rum she was
sent after. Then she spoke to Oakley and
said:-"You're feeling bad, amt youl You
got a skate on last night and now you are
paying for it, First time you've ever hit
the can, | guess, and it's all gone to your
head. Headaches, eyes b~loodshot, nerves
all zone, and you're shaky all over. I could
s~traighten you up in half an hour if | had
you home. | know what It's. Winnie has
had it often, and now he's threatened with a
real case of the WilliA's-what some people
call iim-jams. Couldn't eat anything this
morning, and was almost scared into a fit by
q little red lizard. | just boiled some sour wat
er and bathed his head with it as hot as he
could stand it. You amt got any hot water
kettle, but you might use the rum can and
heat some up. You give me a match and
I'll start a fire whist you go over to Notch
brook and get a can of water Oakley was
in need Of help, and he did just what she
told him. In about ten minutes the water
was hot enough. and she sopped it on his
head with a big piece of moss, until he felt
better, and then he looked in disgust at his
companion of the night before and walked
down the road with Winocksop's wife.
swinging the empty can as ne vent. She
told him all about the sale of the mountain
land to the Newark settlers, and he got mad
der and madden as he thought about it. His
head may nave had something to do with
the rage he was in, but he didn't take that
into account. He was desperately vexed
about the sale of the prettiest land in Jersey
and was afraid he an his folks would be
driven into Pike county if this sort of thing
was kept up. He had been to Port Jeryis
and to Dingman's Ferry, and he had a hor-
ror of having to live ia any such country.
He knew that South Jersey was all scrub
pine, barrens and sand, Passaic county SO
stony that 1t wasn't worth considering for
agricultural purposes. and the white men
had got most of Hudson, Essex and Union
| counties. 1t made him bilin' mad to think
of it. (Silas, stop drumming with your
fingers. Harry, if you cape again I'll stop
this interesting story Oakley had heard
| all about the way the Indians had wiped out
| the whites i'll Old Virginny, and wanted to
| be a leader and sweep the Newarkers n
| Elizabethtowners into the bay. All he
needed was a few fellers to stand by him
and the thing could be done easily he felt
sure.
ellis dreams of revenge upon the hated
| white man made him forget the effects of
his jag, and he strobe to his shack on the old
Bloomfield road near the canal, where he put
away his fishing tackle and shotgun and got
out his two revolyers and a sixteen-shooter.
Then he filled both of his pockets with eat
ridges and sot out IN the Warpath. He
knowed that there was a party OF young
bucks holding q meeting at the boiling
| spring, and that it wouldn't take much urg-
ing to make them see the matter the way he
did. With a dozen men at bis back 1T would
be an easy matter for him to stop poklng,
Silas. Harry get recruits from the surround
| ing country, he thought. aud he gloated in
| advance over the defeat of the intruding
| strangers who brought rum into the Ian
LAS he was swinging along down the road
he suddenly came upon a man sitting on a
rock with a little cloth-covered board on his
knees. He was a little white man with ratty
eyes, a hook nose, sloping shoulders and
hands almost like the claws of a bird. Oakley
was just thinking OF wiping him out when 1t
| occurred to him that it wasn't worth WHILE,
ha was s1ch a little one. He stODpad to watch