The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-07-14
THE lost SISTER
Of WYOMING
An Interesting Indian Story in Which
One Of the Founders of Plymouth
Was PrOminent-W. W. Hill Knew
Muk- Kons- Kwa.

When you look into a direc-
tory of the city OF Plymouth,
yOr find Williams street AM Of
ten you notice in daily paper
that somebody is visiting on
Williams street, but there is no
such street in plymouth The
name OF the street running east
from Michigan street to the
Abrasive factory is William
not Williams and thereby hangs
a tale Z
Many years ago George Wash
ington Ewing. an old Indian
trader, entered a tract of land
which is NOW part of Plymouth.
After the original plat OF Ply
mouth was made he laid out
Ewings addition and named the
streets running east and west for
his children. BEGINNING at the
north, the first street is Sophia,
the next Louisa. then come Will
liam. George, Charles Alexander
and Ewing.
The first street east of Michi-
gan street IS Miner named after
a prominent relative OF Ewings
Bayless street was to perpetllate
the name OF Solomon BavleSs
and Angel street was named for
another prominent old timer.
lDo not forget this when thinking
OF the streets in southeast Ply
mouth.
But as we S. id in commencing
this article. Col. Geo. w. Ewing
was an Indiana trader. seventy
five yearse ago: he visited all
the Indian towns. spoke their
language readily, had the conf
dence of the leaders OF every
ltribe. obtained a thorough know
ledge of all the country in lndi-
ana, Illinois and Michigan,
which gave him an opportunity
to secure lands in scores Oh flu
ture cities.
Seventy-fve years ago. the
home and trading house OF
Francois Godfrey, near where the
city of Peru is now. was then
known and vi.sited by every In
dian trader. Godfrey was the
last war chief OF the Miamis and
near where he lived, but little
further up the MisSiSainewa river
was the. honre OF Miami chief.
named She-pah-cannah, who in
later life lost his hearing and was
then named Ka-kip-shah or the
deaf man.
After the deaf chief died. his
wiCiJe Mukonskwa Little Bear
Wcman) occupied the principle
cabin of this little village. One
evening in January. 1885, Col.
Ewing reached this cabin, cold,
tired and hungry but he was an
old acquaintance and friend Cd
She-paf-cannah and his widow.
and was welcome.
After supper, that evening he
sat by the fire and chatted in the
Miami language until the young
err members OF the faily went to
bed and then .Muk-kons-kwa sard
Il have something on nv mind,
and I must tell 1T, | aim getting
old and weak and | cannot die
in peace until ] have told it. |
am a white woman. |
was carried away by three Della
ware Indians, at the time when
| was little child; | have for
gotten my own Christian name
and the name of my mother but
my fathers name was Slo-
cum. He was a Quaker and we
lived on the banks OF the Sus-
quehanna river. Then she told
all that she knew OF the capture,
OF her adoption by a Delaware
chief. and that once when trav-
cling with her adopted parents
they found wounded Indian ly-
ing helpless on the ground. They
took him horne and nursed
him to. health. He was the Mi
ami war chief, She-pah-canah sic
married him and he was a good
husband. When SHE finished
her story she said: "The great
load | have carried over fifty
years is off my shoulders now |
can die"
Col. Ewing determined to find
her relatives ii possible. He had
no clew to their location beyond
the fact that they had lived near
the Susquellanna. He wrote to
the Lancaster Intelligence, but
it was not unil two years later
that his letter was published in
that paper. Luckily a copy OF
the paper fell into the hands OF
a member OF the SlOcum
family, came to the relatives OF
THE lost sister like a voice from
the dead.
In the year IN Jonathan Slo-
cum had moved with his
family from Rhode Island and
settled in the beautiful Wyoming
valley at the site of Wilkes Barre
Bv kindly treatment the Quaker
family won the friendship OF the
Indians, who resided near them
and they felt no fear.
But on November 2 177o, three
Delaware Indians approached
the house; the men were NOT
there, and two neighbor boys
were grinding a knife near the
door. The largest OF these was
at once shot by one OF the In
nj