Andrew Montour Andrew Montour ( c . 1720 – 1772 ) , also known as Henry ( possibly due to the similarity of the French " Andre " ) , Sattelihu , and Eghnisara , was an important métis interpreter and negotiator in the Virginia and Pennsylvania backcountry in the latter half of the 18th century . Montour ' s date of birth is unknown ; historian James Merrell estimated it to be 1720 . Biography . Montour was of European and Native American ancestry . His mother was Madame Montour , a well - known , influential interpreter , who , though her identity is obscured in speculation and myth , is believed to have been born in 1667 at Three Rivers , Canada . Her father , a Frenchman named Pierre Couc . Her mother was an Algonkin woman by the name Marie Miteoamegoukoué . Madame Montour spoke several languages and often served as an interpreter between Europeans and Native Americans . Andrew Montour ' s father was Carondawanna , an Oneida war chief who was killed in a raid on the southern Indians in 1729 . Montour shared his mother ' s gift for languages . He spoke French , English , Delaware , Shawnee , and at least one of the Iroquois languages . In 1742 , Andrew was tasked with acting as guide and interpreter for Count Zinzendorf , a Moravian missionary . The Count gave this description of Andrew , " This man had a countenance like another European but around his whole face an Indianish broad ring of bear fat and paint , and had on a sky - colored coat of fine cloth , black cordovan neckband with silver bugles , a red damask lapelled waistcoat , breeches over which his shirt hung , shoes and stockings , a hat , and both ears braided with brass and other wire like a handle on a basket . He welcomed us cordially and when I spoke to him in French he replied in English . His name is Andre . " In May , 1745 Montour accompanied Conrad Weiser and Shikellamy to Onondaga , the central meeting place of the Iroquois confederation . In 1748 Weiser recommended Montour as a person especially qualified to act as an interpreter or messenger and Montour was presented to the Pennsylvania Council of the Proprietary Government . Though Weiser spoke Highly of Andrew , and showed him great respect . Montour did allow his drinking to cause some problems between them , In a letter from Weiser to Provincial Secretary of Pennsylvania , Richard Peters . When Wieser arrived at his destination , Montour was there ( having rode hard the day before in order to catch him ) " He wellcomed me with Shaking hands Called me a one Side [ and ] Asked pardon for offences given . " Richard Peter ' s opinion of Andrew is not as flattering , calling him , " a dull stupid creature " " untractable " and a " fellow who kept low company of which he was more than likely to be the dupe . " In a letter to a friend , Peters stated : " He has been arrested for fifty Pounds and indeed I would have suffered him to have gone to Jayl for he is an expensive man having a Wife who takes up Goods at any rate and to any value , but as he is going to Onondago in a publick Character , and is lately chosen a Member of the Onondago Council for the Ohio Indians it may be dangerous to the Publick to suffer him to be imprisoned . " Montour seems to be plaqued with personal demons most of his life the most often mentioned being Drunkenness and Debt . However , when sober , Montour was someone who could be depended on . And There were those who were willing to pay a high Price to secure his services . Colonel George Washington wrote a letter to Virginia ' s Governor Robert Dinwiddie , just before the former ' s capitulation at Fort Necessity . Washington requested the assistance of Montour , saying that he " would be of singular use to me here at this moment , in conversing with the Indians , for I have no Person ' s that I can put any dependence in . " Washington continued by admitting that he was unsure as to how he should treat the Indians : " I make use of all the influence I can to engage them warmly on our side , and flatter myself that I am not unsuccessful , but for want of a better acquaintance with their customs , I am often at a loss how to behave , and should be relieved from many anxious fears of offend ' g them if Montour was here to assist me ; and he is in the governm ' nts employ ' t , I hope your Hon ' r will think with me , his services Cannot be apply ' d to so g ' t advantage as here upon this occasion . " Montour also served under Major General Edward Braddock , though the experience was a sour one for him and the Indians involved . At a council held in Philadelphia during August , 1755 , one month after Braddock ' s defeat , Montour told the assembly for Scaroyady : " We Six Nations must let you know that it was the pride and ignorance of that great General that came from England . He is now dead ; but he was bad when he was alive : he looked upon us as dogs , and would never hear anything what was said to him . We often endeavoured to advise him and to tell him of the danger he was in with his soldiers ; but he never appeared pleased with us , & that was the reason that a great many of our warriors left him & would not be under his command . " In September of 1755 , Washington again requested Montour ' s services , saying that he was , " desirous of seeing you here ; and the more so , because I have it in my power to do something for you in a Settled way which I hope will be agreeable to you . You have , much contrary to my inclinations been tossed about from place to place , and disappointed in your just Expectations which Inconveniences I will Remedy , as much as lies in my power . " Washington also asked for more Indian aid promising that " they shall be better used than they have been , and have all the kindness from us they can desire . " Washington felt that even the use of flattery was " justifiable on such occasions " Andrew received a Captain ' s commission in 1754 , and under Sir William Johnson ' s Indian Department in 1764 he captained one of the Raiding Parties in Ohio . For his numerous efforts Montour received ( but did not keep ) land in present Mifflin County , PA . and at present Montoursville , as well as Montour ' s Island near Pittsburgh . So strong was his influence with tribes in the Ohio River Valley that the French put a bounty on his head . During Pontiac ' s Rebellion , Montour captained several raiding parties . On May 22 , he and a group of Indians arrived at Niagara . While there , The Indians got drunk and threatened to kill him . Suffering from aching heads the next morning , they all but forgot their mutinous actions of the night before . To which he forgave without hesitation . Montour is last mentioned in a letter writer by Major Isaac Hamilton from Fort Pitt on January 22 , 1772 reporting that " Captain Montour the Indian interpreter was killed at his own House the Day before Yesterday by a Seneca Indian who had been intertained by him at his House for some Days he was buried this Day near the Fort . " It would seem this time Montour ' s drinking companions really did kill him ! As a final tribute to their lost friend , " the Indians who came to the funeral beg ' d a few gallons of Rum to drown their Sorrows for the Life of their friend . " The cost of the spirits for the Indian ' s lamentations was pegged at a little better than £7 . Family . Andrew had a number of children , who he hoped would also live in both white and Native American worlds . He married an Oneida woman , Sally Ainse ( c . 1728 – 1823 , also known as Sally Montour ) , when she was a teenager . Montour left her in 1757 or 1758 . Their children were sent to live with people in Pennsylvania , with one child , Nicholas , staying with Ainse in an Oneida settlement near the Mohawk River . The best known child was a son , John Montour born in 1744 , who followed in his footsteps . He became a well - known negotiator , translator and go - between , and served with American Troops at Pittsburgh during the American Revolution . Legacy . Montour County , Pennsylvania , is named for Andrew Montour . The Montour School District , a comprehensive public school system located 16 miles west of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , also bears his name .