Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-16

Penn's Creek was startled by the cry of a
boy who was bringing home some cows from
the fields:
=, "Flyl ayl hyl The redskins are upon us
the redskins are upon usl'
these were his words, as, with bare head
and bare feet, he struck for the woods
But It was too late to fly Fifteen Indians,
painted black, and armed with tomahawks
ana knives and guns, fell with fury upon
their unready victims
lhe work of death began at once. Jacob
lie Roy was tomahawked and his body burned
His son, attempting to defend himself and
sisters was overpowered, and all were taken
prisoners.
| The hends then pounced upon the family
OF Mr. Leininger, half mile distant MIR.
lelnlnger was shot dead, and his son of
twenty years tomahawked, and two daugh-
teTs were made prisoners
Ihence they went to the remaining houses,
burning and scalping without mercy. Fif-
teen men, women and children were killed,
ten were made prisoners, and one escaped.
"A company of forty-nine persons, who came
up from Harris Ferry to bury the bodies,
were 1red upon, and many we're killed Others
were drowned in the Susquehanna, in at
tempting to escape
The Captives were Marie lie Roy, Jacob lie
Roy, Barbara Leininger, Rachel Leininger,
Hannah Breylinger and two children, Marian
Wheeler, Peter Lick and two sons.
lhey were at once put upon the march
toward the Alleghenies, by way of the kittan-
ning War Path. They passed through buffalo
and White Deer Valleys via Bald Eagles
Nest, through the ,Clearfeld region, and on
to Kittanning.
With scarcely anything to eat, and march
ing rapidly early and late, the party be-
came much fatigued, and one died.
They arrived near Fort Pitt in December.
They were put to work at once, tanning
leather, making moccasins, cutting down trees,
building huts, and washing and cooking. In
the spring they worked in the fields, and
did the meanest drudgery
For three years they were thus kept in
slavery One day the Indians went to Fort
Pitt to get some skins for moccasins The
women, captives were sent TO gather roots.
They determined to try and make their es-
cape. An old German woman gave them
some dried meat and corn.
The party started through the woods in
the direction of the rising sun. When they
reached the Muskngum, they secured raft
and crossed the river. Thence they came to
Pittsburg, and thence in wagons to Harris
Ferry, and arrived in Philadelphia the 9Th
of May, 175S.
| II was difficult to tell to what tribe these
murderous sayages belonged who spared nei-
ther women nor children in their bloody raids
Some believed them to be bands of rowing
| Iroquois from the North. Governor Morris
and others believed them to be Deawares,
and there seemed to be much ground for the
later opinion.
The Delawares were held by the Five Ma
tions as slaves. They were compelled to do
all the drudgery of the field and cabin. Each
one had to wear caIabash of oil and medi-
cine around the neck. Nor were they per-
mitted to enter in and become part of the
Nine Nations, as were the Tuscaroras, Eres
Adastes and Hurons
The outbreak at John Penn's Creek was
the signal for the general uprising, and the
beginning of series of bloody deeds which
beggar description. Almost all the thrifty
settlements in the central part of the State
were at once abandoned, and the hardy pio-
towns and cities along the seaboard The
government was too weak to defend the
whole frontier, and so the Indians for time
at least reigned supreme.