Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-01-01
Ehr,1tt1g Ul1at

In Harrisburg, but the average man
does not know that the day has an
unusual significance for the city
which is the capital of Pennsylvania
and the queen city of the Susque-
hanna. 1t was on January /, 1926
that John Harris got his first war
rant for the land on which he later
established his trading post and
which was subsequently the first for
titled place on the Susquehanna. 1t
is fascinating story about the way
the land on which this city stands
became the property of the sturdy
Yorkshire man who planned to make
1t a city before the French and In
dian war broke over the province
and brought the warcry of the saw
ages close to the stockade around
his house. Penn's people dickered
with the Indians for the banks of
the Susquehanna as early as 1895
and while the land below the First
Mountain was formally sold to the
Penns some ten years later, there
was always a question whether the
Indians who sold it had a right to it
as they happened to be the ones on
top in a series of tribal wars that
had made this section a battle-ground
for century before Penn came. The
land above the mountain was not
decided to the Penns until Harris
time. 1t is said that Penn advised
his friend Harris to locate on the
Susquehanna because he had heard
that the French had post on the
west bank, about where New Cum
berland is situated, and that there
was a ford in the river which had
been used by Indians from time i'm
memorial, and which was a veritable
| cross roads of trails. 1t did not take
Harris very long after he arrived
here, either in 1717 or 171S, the for
mer date being generally accepted as
the date of his arrival, to appreciate
| the junction of the Cumberland and
! Lebanon valleys, as they are today,
and the natural situation of the pres
| ent site of Harrisburg. 1t is sup
posed that John Evans, who came to
| the Indian village hereabouts to ar
rest a bad Indian in 1907, told Penn
SOM ething about the place Harris
came and built his stockade and 1872
| years ago today received his first
warrant or deed for the land on
which his son laid out the city which
was to bear the family name.
The location of Indian villages
| about here has always been a sub
ject of delightful study for the boys
of Harrisburg and indeed of a num-
ber of it's men. The late Governor
Pennypacker, who knew all about
this section, insisted that there were
Indians living alongside the knoll
which is now Capitol Hill a couple
of centuries before Penn came and
that if there had not been fights
between the factions of the Susque-
hannas and troubles of the irruption
: of the Shawanese from the South
that the white men would have had
trouble getting the ford. AS an evil
dence he pointed to the fact that the
Penns did not get the lands above
the mountain at Rockville until long
y IlTNrr Il n
gap. There was a ell-establlShed
Indian village at the mouth of the
Paxton which is now Lochiel and one
7 that spread from the ford, which eX-
i lists Just above Paxton street to the
run that rambles under the houses
of the Fourth ward and 1t is not too
much of a stretch of the imagina-
!, ton to have the Indians using the
knoll that is now the Capitol for sig
nal fires. Maybe they had war
dances there. There have been
many there since the Red Man faded
away from the banks of the Sus-
quehanna. The district above Rely
street was an Indian burying ground.
Discovery of bones, stone hatchets
|, and other things in digging cellars
proves that. There have been
number of instances where men dig
ging for foundations for Front street
, homes, opened graves of Indians who
had been so long buried that the
bones crumbled soon after being un-
covered, but beside which were
found Indian implements.
Observation-Disclosures Indian villages
existed at MiddletoWn and Millers-
burg as we'll as here, and Duncan'S
) island was a regular Indian capital.
} 1t was fought over many times, II
the presence of arrow heads and
| l. tall nxyfb
empted it in 1898, but the Indians
made such fuss that he gave it up.
1t is one of the traditions of the river
that Duncan's island had some mys-
terious meaning to the Indians, and
that If they could not dominate it
because of their tribal ructions they
would not let the white man farm
it. 1t was not until 1745 that it was
even surveyed, and then the Indians
objected Later on a great mound
was found on the island which when
used to build a dam was found to
contain many bones of Indians. 1t
is supposed that it was burial
place after one of the big battles.
Even now there are many finds OF
arrow heads made on the island and
it was fighting place as late as the
French and Indian war. People who
lived on the island did so at peril
of their lives for years. West Bank
| Indian villages were ABOUT inc
mouths of the Yellow Breeches and
Conodoguinet creeks and where Le-
moyne now stands. The latter viii
lage is we'll established by things
found in the fields of the Hummel
farm fifty years ago. The mouth
of Shermans creek was the site of
big camp of Indians.
|
In trading days New Years Day
was a big occasion at Harris ferry
and the custom of observing the day
was given renewed impetus when the
town began to grow after the Revo-
luton. After the erection of the
county in 1885 Harrisburg was
noted for hospitality and thirty
five taverns are reported by French
traveller. These were places of much
celebration on the first day of the
year, according to stories that have
come down, and the observance of
the day must have been rather bibu-
lous. And it may be added that old
account books show that some of
the first families had a lot of wine
of Madeira on hand about that time
| of the wear.