The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-07-10
WHOLE NO. 2293.

tApuft'H tiNh tNi-tii- bFtN'Nh NiiN
French and Ohio company, and the
route traversed by him is supposed to
have been nearly the same as that OF
the Pittsburg * Connellsvillc railroad.
Washington passed through the
county again two years later under the
English General Braddock, who was
marching toward Fort Duquesne, but
who fell into the ambush laid by the
Indians AT the site of the present city
of Braddock, on the 9th of July i775,
and when Braddock met q crushing de
feat. The road cut by Braddock' s
troops was the first ever made in the
county and was not great distance
from the National Pike in addison
township, bat it only traversed a small
portion of the county.
In 1908, three years after Braddock' +
defcat-which was the worst defeat the
English government had sustained in
America up to that date-under the
lead of William Pitt, three expeditions
We're determined upon to resist the
power of the French on American soil,
one of which was placed under the
command of General John Forbes DIR.
Eagle in his history of PENNSYLVANIA
s1y-: ''His army consisted of nearly
nine thousand men, embracing British
regulars and proviucials from PennSyI-
vania and the Lower Counties, Vir-
ginia, Maryland and North Carolina
The troops from the latter governments
rendeZvoused at Winchester, while the
Pennsylvanians under Col. Bouquet as-
sembled AT RaystOwn. The Command
er-in-t thief, with the regulars, marched
from Philadelphia 10 effect a junction
with the force at Raystown, but in
consequence of severe indisposition
General Forbes did not get farther
than Carlisle, where he was compelled
To stop. lie marched 10 Bedford about
the middle of September, HOS, where
he met the provincial troops under
Colonel Washington. At the su.ges-
tion Of Bouquet and the Pesnsylvania
officers a new road was cut direct from
Raystown to Loyalhanna, distance
of forjy-liye miles, where Col. Bouquet
erected fort
\ considerable portion of this road.
perhaps nearly one-half OF it, traver-ed
the northern part Of Somerset county.
The Braddock road, made in l75j5, and
the Forbes road, made in lbs. are the
first two roads made through Somerset
county, and they were destined for a
time to become the highways for the
To this section of the pro-
vince and further west.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
Ii i difficult matter To determine
exactly when, where and by whom the
first settlements were made. The Al
legheny mountain was the western
boundary of the territory acquired from
the Indians by treaties Of l754 and l5=s,
but the country west of the mountain
was rapidly being encroachcd upon by
French and English traders, the French
moving from the Allegheny river and
up the Monongahela and Youghio-
gheny rivers, while the English came
in by way OF the Juniata river and
the pack horse trail leading westward
through the present towns of Carlisle,
Shippenshurg, Chambersburg. Neon
nellsburg and Bedford, while Others
were from the provinces of Maryland
and Virginia, who passed over the In
dian trail leading from Old Town,
to the Youghiogheny.
These traders were in no sense settlers,
and possibly some of them may have
passed through what j. now the terri
tory of Somerset county, bus Of this
there is no certainty.
Ii was not long, however, until the
actual white settlers began To invade
the territory west of the Allegheny
and to trespass upon the
lands of the Indians by making set
Elements thereon. y letter dated Win
Virginia, April 30, 1853, said:
''The frontier inhabitants of this colo
ny and Maryland are removing fast
over the Allegheny mountains, in or
der 10 settle and live there" In the
history Of Bedford. Somerset and Ful-
ton counties, by Waterman, Watkins
II Co., it Is said, that the people here
To and others, for several sue
cceding YEAR, settled chiefly in the yai
ley OF the Redstone, ~ T0rbcHfOJt and
some other points below, on the Iough-
in the valley OF Cheat river
and in Gist's neighborhOod Just west
of Laurel Hill or the locality now
termed Mt. BraddOck. These settle
ments were all made durin. the years
from 1868 to 176S inclusive, and with
that AT Ft. Pitt embraced, until about
the year 1910, nearly all Of the white
inhabitants of the province of Penn
sylvania west OF the Allcghenies."
The Indians demonstrated against
this invasion of their territory, and the
King of England, in October, 1863,
wrote to Gov. Penn, in which he gave
Instructions, after reciting the grievan-
ces complained OF, as follows:
''It is therefore our will and pleas
ure, and you are hereby strictly enjoin-
ed and required, to use your best en-
deavors to suppress such unwarranta-
ble proceedings and To put a stop To
these and all other the like encroach-
ments for the future" etc.
Pursuant TO these instructions, Gov.
Penn issued Il proclamation prohibit
ing all his Majesty's subjects from
making any settlements, or taking any
possession of lands beyond the limits
of the last Indian purchase; but the
white trespassers still maintaining
their ground, Captain Alex. Mackay,
with Il detachment of the 42d Regi-
iitiit, Ndo piucitu " Ascu>lOucf NHtIt
on June y, 1856, he issued proclama-
ton ordering them 10 come together
and return to their several provinces
without delay on penalty of all their
goods and merchandise being seized as
lawful prize and to become the prop
erty of the captOrs.
These efforts having failed, an Act OF
Assembly was passed on the Sd of Feb
ruary, l76S, entitled "An Act to re-
move the persons now settled, etc, and