Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-07-16
TALE OF SMOKY ISLAND
Entertainments of Great City Has
Absorbed II.

Entertainments of Great City Has
Absorbed II.
SCENE OF INDIAN DEVILTRV.
Captives of Red Men Burned at the
stake-Their Agonized Cries Make
Music for the Savages-BaIl Ground
Located on Site.
Pittsburg bears the name of the
Smoky City, and is proud of her dusky
covering, for it means millions Of
wealth. Just at the mouth of the AL
legheny river, on the north side, there
used to be an island which bore the
very appropriate name of Smoky Is.
land. The changes brought about by
the shifting river sands and the en-
croachments made by growing city.
long ago wiped out this famous island,
90 that what part of it may now be
left is a part of one of the lower
wards of Allegheny City. When along
about 1850 the English first came to
the forks of the Ohio, Smoky Island
was, because of the prominence of its
location, noted feature in the upper
Ohio Typography. In 1854 Fort Du-
Quesne was built across the river from
II by the French. Here they kept
garrison of varying strength, and the
strange sight was seen by the chance
passer-by of the lilies of France
floating where now is the heart Of
Americas greatest industrial region.
In 1775 came General Edward Brad.
dock, with his army, to capture Fort
Duquesne. He had given himself at
the outside calculation three or four
days to accomplish the reduction of
the works; but, alas, he was never
even to rest eyes on it's walls, for he
met his sad defeat, and received his
mortal wound, 10 miles from the fort,
on Wednesday, July 9, 1755 His army
was utterly destroyed, only a few
score of wounded or panic-stricken
fugitives succeeding in escaping from
the bloody field of death. About a
score of his Highland soldiers, of Dun
bars or Holkit's regiments, ignorant
OF savage war customs, surrendered
amid the awful rain of death that
July day. When all the wounded hal
been slain, and all the dead scalped,
the victors set off on their return to
the fort. About o'clock in the even
ing they arrived before it's walls. At
once preparations were made for hor-
rible orgy. Twelve of the captives re-
mained, the rest having been toma-
h ukad tho HoH
uefield. This dozen of poor fellows
had been stripped naked and their
faces painted black. On their arrival
at Fort Duquesne, when they saw the
French officers, they took heart, but
were informed that they were prison
ers to the Indians, and that the Eu-
ropeans, while deeply sorry, dared not
interfere with their savage allies.
Just as evening was bringing to an
end that fatal day the redskins, in
savage glee over their great victory.
took their wretched captives in canoes
across the Allegheny river from the
fort to Smoky Island. Here fires were
lighted and stout post was set in
the ground The little group of doom.
ed men had come by this time to un-
derstand what terrible fate was really
In store for them. The savages took
one OF their number and tied him to
the post, building the hot piles of fag-
OTIS up all around him. A prisoner
who was in the fort, a PENNSYLVANIA
lad of Is years OF age, was a witness
TO this tragedy, and has left a journal
in which he records the events
The doleful cries of the first victim
reused all the deviltry in his cap
tors. who began a fearful process of
torture, under which the victim after
time gave way. When death arrived
to ease him the poor charred body was
rolled aside and second prisoner was
bound to the stake. Thus, one by one.
these poor fellows were sacrificed.
Little had they thought when they SET
out from Cork that previous winter
how they would with their dying az.
onies furnish flendish carnival for
such a crowd of savages. Through
the long night the orgy continued till
the last victim was dead. And all this
took place no longer ago than 1885
right on the site of the old exposition
in Allegheny, just about where the
ball games are now played. In the
closing years of the Revolution Chief
Killbuck and his followers, that por-
tion of the Delaware tribe which was
loyal to the American cause. came and
took up their residence on Smoky Is
land, where they long lived in safety
under the protecting walls of Fort
Pitt. Long ago the island disappear
ed, till now Smoky Island is but a
name of what once was.
G. L. SMITH.