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18 - Mohawk Valley by W. Max Reid · Mohawk Valley

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  Speaker 1: Chapter seventeen of the Mohawk Valley. This LibriVox recording is
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  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Recording by Roger Moline. The Mohawk Valley,
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  Speaker 1: Its Legends and its History by W. Max Read Chapter seventeen, Canajera,
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  Speaker 1: one of the Mohawks castles. I have before me a
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  Speaker 1: letter from the director of the Bureau of American Ethnology
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  Speaker 1: at Washington, in which he suggests that a paper on
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  Speaker 1: some recent discovery of an Indian castle site near the
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  Speaker 1: city of Amsterdam be prepared and sent to the American
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  Speaker 1: Anthropologist for publication. And then he says, you will see
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  Speaker 1: by the enclosed list of publications that this Bureau has
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  Speaker 1: published very little in regard to the tribes of your state.
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  Speaker 1: It does seem strange that there has not been more
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  Speaker 1: written about the Mohawk Indians located as they were when
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  Speaker 1: Champlain invaded the Mohawks country in sixteen o nine, between
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  Speaker 1: Oneida Lake and Fort Orange, They, with the assistance of
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  Speaker 1: other tribes of the Iroquois, stood as a bulwark between
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  Speaker 1: the savage Indians and Frenchmen of Canada and the struggling
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  Speaker 1: settlements to the east and south. Up to the period
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  Speaker 1: of the ending of the French War in seventeen sixty three. Undoubtedly,
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  Speaker 1: the assistance the Mohawks gave the earlier settlers of the
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  Speaker 1: Mohawk Valley and their inveterate hatred of the Algonquins in
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  Speaker 1: retaliation for the defeat they suffered by Champlain's help in
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  Speaker 1: sixteen oh nine, saved the Mohawk River from being the
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  Speaker 1: southern boundary line of Canada. Nearly all the history of
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  Speaker 1: this valley dates from the time Van Curler and his
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  Speaker 1: little band of hardy pioneers settled at Schenectady in sixteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty two. One of the most noteworthy of those sturdy Dutchmen,
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  Speaker 1: next to Van Curler or Van Corleer, was Jan Baranci Wemp,
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  Speaker 1: who arrived in this country and located in Beverwick in
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  Speaker 1: sixteen forty three or sixteen forty five. The record says
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  Speaker 1: that he married twice and had six children. The suffix
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  Speaker 1: set to the name of Barrant indicates that he was
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  Speaker 1: the son of a Barrant Wemp Wemple. Three of his
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  Speaker 1: children were sons who names were Meindert the eldest, and Barrant,
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  Speaker 1: who was born in sixteen fifty six and married Folkie,
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  Speaker 1: daughter of Simon Volkertzevider, and had ten children. He was
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  Speaker 1: appointed captain of a company of foot by Lieutenant Governor
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  Speaker 1: Leisler in sixteen ninety. He had a son, Jan Baranza Wemp.
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  Speaker 1: The name of the third son I have not been
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  Speaker 1: able to ascertain. Jan Barenza Wemp the elder, was one
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  Speaker 1: of the original fourteen pioneers who settled in Schenectady in
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  Speaker 1: sixteen sixty two. It is said that Governor Stuyvesant granted
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  Speaker 1: the first patent of land an Island at Schenectady in
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  Speaker 1: sixteen sixty two to Jan Barnza Wemp and Jacques Cornelis
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  Speaker 1: van Slyke, a half breed. This island was sometimes called
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  Speaker 1: Wemp's Island and is now known as Van Slike's Island.
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  Speaker 1: Yan's name is connected very closely with the early history
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  Speaker 1: of Schenectady, and his descendants may be found among many
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  Speaker 1: of the prominent families of the whole Mohawk Valley. Mindert,
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  Speaker 1: the eldest son of Jan Borenza Wemp, had a son,
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  Speaker 1: Johann also called Jan or John, who in seventeen eleven
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  Speaker 1: lived in the Mohawk Country on the Mohawk River. On
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  Speaker 1: the eleventh day of October of that year, Governor Hunter
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  Speaker 1: made a contract with John Wemp, Garrett Simons, Barrente Vroeman,
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  Speaker 1: Hendrik Vroeman and Arent van Patten of Schenectady to build
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  Speaker 1: the fortification called Fort Hunter at the mouth of the
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  Speaker 1: Scohari River and Queen Anne's Chapel, which was situated inside
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  Speaker 1: the Palisade or Fort. This fort and chapel were completed
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  Speaker 1: in seventeen twelve. Jan Wemp, as he was called by
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  Speaker 1: his Dutch neighbors, owned part of the fourth flat of
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  Speaker 1: the Schenectady Patent, which was located at Pattersonville. On December sixteenth,
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  Speaker 1: seventeen thirty seven, he obtained a patent of four hundred
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  Speaker 1: and fifty acres of land in the town of Florida,
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  Speaker 1: located east of Queen Anne's Chapel Glebe and adjoining the
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  Speaker 1: same on the west and the Babbington Patent of seventeen
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  Speaker 1: seventeen on the east. He died October fourteenth, seventeen forty nine.
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  Speaker 1: He married first Maddelina, daughter of Rya Schmerhorn June fifteenth,
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  Speaker 1: seventeen hundred and second Ariantia, daughter of Isaac Switz October sixth,
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  Speaker 1: seventeen o nine, and had twelve children, six sons and
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  Speaker 1: six daughters. A few extracts from his will may be
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  Speaker 1: found interesting. He divided his estate as follows, to my
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  Speaker 1: sons Isaac and Ephraim the westerly part of the flats
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  Speaker 1: on the south side of the Mohawk River, where I
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  Speaker 1: now live in the Mohawks Country, to John Junior the
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  Speaker 1: easterly part of my flats, to my daughter Maria Butler,
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  Speaker 1: wife of Lieutenant Walter Butler Junior, two morgans of land,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera. And to my daughter Rebecca, wife of Pietr connine,
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  Speaker 1: two morgans of land, et cetera. This Walter Butler was
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  Speaker 1: an uncle of Walter N. Butler of Cherry Valley Massacre notoriety,
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  Speaker 1: and was killed at the Battle of Lake George September eighth,
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  Speaker 1: seventeen fifty five. Who has not experienced a desire for
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  Speaker 1: a stroll in the country during the bright and beautiful
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  Speaker 1: October weather so common in this latitude. It seems to
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  Speaker 1: come with added force on some bright Sunday morning, and
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  Speaker 1: one longs to breathe the fresh air of the fields
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  Speaker 1: and the orders of the forest and perhaps looked through
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  Speaker 1: nature up to Nature's God. One Sunday morning, I yielded
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  Speaker 1: to such a desire, and with a comrade, boarded the
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  Speaker 1: trolley for Fort Johnson, and being rowed across the river
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  Speaker 1: by a lone fishermen, we were soon on our tramp
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  Speaker 1: into the Mohawks country. Our road lay along the canal,
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  Speaker 1: with its steam propellers belching forth dense black smoke, and
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  Speaker 1: pushing and pulling two four or five heavily laden canal bow.
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  Speaker 1: On our left was the West Shore Railroad with its
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  Speaker 1: long trains of rattling, rumbling cars and screeching, hissing locomotives,
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  Speaker 1: while to the right, across the Mohawk could be seen
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  Speaker 1: and heard endless trains of freight and passengers passing east
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  Speaker 1: and west. The road we were traveling was probably the
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  Speaker 1: Indian Trail, followed by Jan wemp Wample and his companions
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  Speaker 1: en route for the Tianonderoga to construct Queen Anne's Chapel
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  Speaker 1: and Fort Hunter, leaving the massive masonry of the two locks,
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  Speaker 1: which are long enough to admit two canal boats at
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  Speaker 1: one time, we passed the pleasant home of the mcgregors,
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  Speaker 1: and in due time arrive at the home of Missus
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  Speaker 1: Cornelius Wemple and Emery and Gilbert Wample, sons of Cornelius
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  Speaker 1: and grandsons of Ephraim, spoken of above as having inherited
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  Speaker 1: the westerly half of the flats of Yan or John Wemp,
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  Speaker 1: which name is now changed to Wemple. We can imagine
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  Speaker 1: Yan and his companions resting at the Indian Spring by
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  Speaker 1: the wayside and drinking of its cooling water, and perhaps
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  Speaker 1: at that early date, casting his eye over the flats
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  Speaker 1: with a desire for possession. The Wemple Homestead of the
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  Speaker 1: present day is a commodious edifice of modern construction, situated
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  Speaker 1: near the highway, a little to the west of the
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  Speaker 1: Indian Cold Spring. About one hundred feet from the house.
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  Speaker 1: Formerly stood the old wem Place, as it was called,
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  Speaker 1: the home of Yanwmp, the great grandfather of the present
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  Speaker 1: owners of the farm. When the Erie Canal was constructed
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  Speaker 1: in eighteen twenty, it passed through the front yard of
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  Speaker 1: the old house, even taking away the front steps, leaving
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  Speaker 1: the house so near the canal that you could step
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  Speaker 1: from the front door into the water. As I remember
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  Speaker 1: the old house, it was quite a pretentious two story
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  Speaker 1: edifice flanked with two stone houses, one story high and
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  Speaker 1: about twelve feet square, one of which was used as
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  Speaker 1: a kitchen, as was the custom with well to do
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  Speaker 1: families in the early part of the eighteenth century. The
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  Speaker 1: walls of the old kitchen are yet standing, but the
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  Speaker 1: roof has of course fallen with decay and been replaced
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  Speaker 1: with a temporary superstructure that looked sadly out of place
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  Speaker 1: in its time worn stone walls. Our mission to the
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  Speaker 1: Wempel place was to find, if possible, the site of
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  Speaker 1: an old Indian castle called by Van Kurler in the
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  Speaker 1: Diary of his Journey to the Mohawks Country, Canagera situated
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  Speaker 1: about one Dutch mile east of a large stream, Skohari River.
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  Speaker 1: At this place, which is about two English miles from Skahe,
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  Speaker 1: we found abundant evidence of Indian occupation. The cold spring
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  Speaker 1: by the roadside and another on the hill were walled
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  Speaker 1: up years before the advent of Jan Wemp by previous
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  Speaker 1: occupants of the land. The Mohawks back of the house
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  Speaker 1: is an old Indian ford, the only one for miles
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  Speaker 1: east or west over the Mohawk River. Mister Gilbert Wemple
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  Speaker 1: pointed out an old Indian trail through the primitive forest,
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  Speaker 1: leading to Oryesville and probably to the vicinity of Minaville.
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  Speaker 1: Being asked if he had ever seen any embankment or
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  Speaker 1: evidence of the remains of an Indian fortification, he pointed
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  Speaker 1: to a path which he said led to a singular
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  Speaker 1: embankment or ridge, which traditions said had been there before
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  Speaker 1: the advent of his ancestors. Following the path indicated through
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  Speaker 1: the woods, I came to a field that had formed
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  Speaker 1: only been a forest of immense trees, but which had
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  Speaker 1: been almost entirely destroyed by a tornado that swept through
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  Speaker 1: the valley a few years ago. This field has been
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  Speaker 1: cleared except of numerous huge upturned trunks, and is now
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  Speaker 1: almost completely covered with berry bushes. To the south of
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  Speaker 1: this field stands the primitive forest, on whose northern edge,
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  Speaker 1: on a bit of high ground, is a clearing. Extending
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  Speaker 1: across the north side of the clearing is a grass
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  Speaker 1: covered embankment about one hundred feet long, four feet wide
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  Speaker 1: at its base and perhaps two or three feet high.
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  Speaker 1: At the east end of this embankment, and near the
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  Speaker 1: angle formed by a similar ridge leading to the south,
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  Speaker 1: is an opening about four feet wide, or about the
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  Speaker 1: width of a gate or entrance. The easterly ridge is
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  Speaker 1: of the same size and structure, and extends about one
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  Speaker 1: hundred fifty feet to another angle, where it meets a
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  Speaker 1: well defined but irregular ridge around the edge of a swamp.
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  Speaker 1: To the place of beginning. On the west side of
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  Speaker 1: the clearing, we found a rudely walled up spring or
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  Speaker 1: well filled with the rubbish of the forest. At various places.
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  Speaker 1: On the top of the eastern and southern edge or embankment,
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  Speaker 1: large trees are growing, two of which are immense pines,
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  Speaker 1: estimated to be over one hundred and fifty years old,
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  Speaker 1: showing the great antiquity of the singular work of the Indians.
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  Speaker 1: The size of the enclosure is about one hundred feet
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  Speaker 1: by one hundred and fifty and there is plainly visible
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  Speaker 1: an embankment of about three hundred fifty feet in length.
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  Speaker 1: To the west of this clearing is a swamp which
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  Speaker 1: could be drained to a nearby ravine by a cut
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  Speaker 1: about twenty feet long and two feet deep. On the
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  Speaker 1: north and east is a well defined broad ditch outside
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  Speaker 1: the embankment leading to the swamp. On the south, it
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  Speaker 1: is surely a very curious structure and is of great interest,
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  Speaker 1: and there is evidence of Indian occupation on the hill
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  Speaker 1: and on the flats below. After a thorough examination of
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  Speaker 1: the clearing and adjoining grounds, we returned to the Wemple residence,
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  Speaker 1: and there met mister Emery Wemple and our friend Harrison
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  Speaker 1: Chase of Amsterdam, whose present wife is a sister of
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  Speaker 1: the owners of the Wample farm, and were cordially received,
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  Speaker 1: told many an interesting tale and shown many objects of interest.
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  Speaker 1: A curious stone slab on a slight elevation at a
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  Speaker 1: turn in the road near the large barn was pointed out.
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  Speaker 1: A wide, deep indentation, evidently worn by the action of waters,
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  Speaker 1: ran across the width of the slab, and in the
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  Speaker 1: center was a smooth, circular depression, having the appearance of
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  Speaker 1: a primitive mortar, such as was used by the early
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  Speaker 1: Indians in grinding their corn with a stone pestle. A
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  Speaker 1: spot near the house was said to have been a
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  Speaker 1: burial place of the Indians, and a well authenticated account
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  Speaker 1: of the finding of the bones of an Aborigine who
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  Speaker 1: had been buried in erect position was given. The following day,
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  Speaker 1: we again visited the clearing on the Hill in company
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  Speaker 1: with Messrs T. B. Vendervere and DeWitt A. Devendorf, and
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  Speaker 1: were confirmed in our opinion that the clearing contains the
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  Speaker 1: remains of an Indian fortification, but whether prehistoric or not,
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  Speaker 1: it is hard to tell. One of the party, who
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  Speaker 1: was eager to explore an excavation in the clearing, descended
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  Speaker 1: into it and pulled down a pile of stone in
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  Speaker 1: his investigation. His hurried exit soon after was explained by
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  Speaker 1: the f fact that he had put his hand upon
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  Speaker 1: a large snake with a stick. We removed a flat
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  Speaker 1: stone and exposed his snake ship coiled for a strike.
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  Speaker 1: If it had been anything but a snake, we might
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  Speaker 1: have thought it a thing of beauty. But it would
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  Speaker 1: take a wonderful expansion of imagination to find beauty in
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  Speaker 1: a reptile. The coils of its parti colored body were
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  Speaker 1: gracefully placed, and its flat head and about a foot
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  Speaker 1: of slimy length was drawn back in graceful curves, with
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  Speaker 1: its small beadlike eyes watching for its enemy. However, no
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  Speaker 1: thought of compassion or admiration could prevent poisoning a stone
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  Speaker 1: for its destruction, nor was it an impulse of cruelty
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  Speaker 1: that dashed the stone to its lair, but we did
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  Speaker 1: not crush his snake ship as we had hoped to.
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  Speaker 1: He swiftly glided with an indescribable undulatory motion, without apparent effort,
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  Speaker 1: to a place of safety in the opposite bank. We
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  Speaker 1: were sorry we did not bruise its head, as it
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  Speaker 1: was the proper thing to do according to the scriptures.
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  Speaker 1: This little incident of the snake seemed to add gloom
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  Speaker 1: to the solitude of the forest, and we picked our
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  Speaker 1: way through a treacherous swamp and were glad to get
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  Speaker 1: on firmer ground again. Crossing a deep ravine which afforded
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  Speaker 1: an outlet to the waters of the swamp above, we
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  Speaker 1: turned aside from our path to see the ancient burial
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  Speaker 1: ground of the Wample family, and were surprised at its
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  Speaker 1: populous appearance. It could hardly be called a graveyard, as
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  Speaker 1: it was situated in a vast field that gently slopes
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  Speaker 1: toward the setting sun. We counted over one hundred mounds
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  Speaker 1: in this ancient gods acre under the shade of a
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  Speaker 1: single giant oak. The single marble slab in commemoration of
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  Speaker 1: the death of Ephraim Wample in eighteen thirty eight seemed
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  Speaker 1: out of place among the rude slabs of limestone without
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  Speaker 1: data inscription that marked the last resting place of the
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  Speaker 1: hardy pioneers, the descendants of yan Barensa Wample. Each mound
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  Speaker 1: was well defined and free from weeds or briars. Small
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  Speaker 1: slabs of gray limestone indicated the head and foot of
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  Speaker 1: each grave, making it apparent that a large number of
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  Speaker 1: children of various ages had been buried there. Mounds of
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  Speaker 1: greater length also marked the last resting place of numerous
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  Speaker 1: adults about one hundred and sixty years ago. Perhaps the
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  Speaker 1: ground was open to receive the remains of the first
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  Speaker 1: occupant of this primitive graveyard. In the forest imagination pictures
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  Speaker 1: the scene up this gentle slope and under the shadow
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  Speaker 1: of towering pines, oaks, and maples, winds the funeral procession
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  Speaker 1: from the homestead on the bank of the Mohawk, the rude,
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  Speaker 1: unvarnished coffin borne by kindly neighbors who have followed the
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  Speaker 1: trail from a distance to show by their presence their
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  Speaker 1: sympathy for the bereaved family. We can imagine an absence
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  Speaker 1: of bright colors in the funeral train, but no sable robes.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps the Reverend Henry Barclay, their nearest neighbor from Queen
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  Speaker 1: Anne's Chapel, stands at the head of the open grave,
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  Speaker 1: while at a respectful distance a group of half naked
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  Speaker 1: Indians gaze stoically at the strange scene. How unmeaning to
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  Speaker 1: the savages, but how full of hope to the sorrowing friends,
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  Speaker 1: are the words of the Minister. As the clods fall
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  Speaker 1: on the coffin, I hear a voice from heaven, saying,
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  Speaker 1: right from henceforth, blessed or the dead who die in
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. Even so saith the Spirit, for they rest
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  Speaker 1: from their labors. A few days later we again visited
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  Speaker 1: the clearing spoken of above, in company with the Late A. G.
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  Speaker 1: Richmond of Canaja, Harry and W. J. Klein, T. Bay
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  Speaker 1: Vanderveer and Professor Maney of Amsterdam, and were again puzzled
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  Speaker 1: over the strange embankment. A superficial investigation of the earth
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  Speaker 1: and the clearing did not reveal the hoped for evidence
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  Speaker 1: of prehistoric relics, except some gray earth that had the
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  Speaker 1: appearance of ashes, which under the glass revealed the presence
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  Speaker 1: of tiny bits of charcoal. This was found about eighteen
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  Speaker 1: inches below the bottom of an old rotten stump, and
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  Speaker 1: was evidently of great age. A more extended investigation may
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  Speaker 1: reveal the evidence required. The embankment on the hill does
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  Speaker 1: not prove or disprove the location of the site of Canagera,
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  Speaker 1: for it is said by Van Kurler that this castle
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  Speaker 1: was without palisades. It may be of later construction, or
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  Speaker 1: it may anti date the Iroquois nation and belong to
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  Speaker 1: the mound builders, as it bears resemblance to their curious
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  Speaker 1: earthworks found in Ohio and other Western states. I would
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  Speaker 1: like to add that the older residents of Fort Hunter
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  Speaker 1: speak of the clearing on the hill as Yanni's garden,
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  Speaker 1: from the fact that a man by the name of
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  Speaker 1: Yanni cultivated this spot about forty or fifty years ago.
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  Speaker 1: This may account for the absence of the hoped for
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  Speaker 1: Indian relics, as the cultivation of the soil would naturally
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  Speaker 1: obliterate evidence of Indian occupation in the shape of ashes, charcoal,
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  Speaker 1: burned stone, and so forth. In eighteen ninety seven, while
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  Speaker 1: gathering material for the history of Queen Anne Chapel at
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  Speaker 1: Fort Hunter, I had occasion to visit that place to
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  Speaker 1: locate the chapel, which was destroyed in eighteen twenty by
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  Speaker 1: the building of the Erie Canal. I succeeded in doing
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  Speaker 1: so to my entire satisfaction, but was confronted with substantial
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  Speaker 1: evidence of the existence of the remains of a palisade
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  Speaker 1: at a greater distance from the chapel than a number
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  Speaker 1: of authentic documents had placed it, and looked upon it
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  Speaker 1: as a mystery that was hard to solve. Reference has
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  Speaker 1: been made at different times and by different authors to
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  Speaker 1: the fact that Sir William Johnson, previous to the Revolution,
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  Speaker 1: had repaired the fort and mounted it with cannon. We
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  Speaker 1: know that it was garrisoned by a detachment of British
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: soldiers a short time ago. While looking over some old
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: letters of Sir William Johnson's I came across the following,
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: taken from a letter written to Governor de Land and
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  Speaker 1: dated Mount Johnson, June sixth, seventeen fifty five. I returned
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  Speaker 1: last night from the Canhanjahari Indian Castle, having first been
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  Speaker 1: at the Mohawk Castle. At both settlements I have fixed
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  Speaker 1: on places to build them forts. At the hither Mohawk Castle,
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  Speaker 1: I propose it to be nearly on a line with
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  Speaker 1: Fort Hunter, to take in the church chapel as a bastion,
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  Speaker 1: and to have a communication palisades between the two forts,
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  Speaker 1: which will be of small expense, and in case of
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  Speaker 1: an attack, may be of great service by mutually assisting
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  Speaker 1: each other. And if drove to the necessity of quitting
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  Speaker 1: the one, they may still maintain the other. Another letter
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: is dated Mount Johnson, June sixteenth, seventeen fifty five. I
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: have last night, with much difficulty, agreed with three men
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: to build the two forts at the Mohawk Castle. That
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: the two forts were built is shown from a speech
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: by the Indian Abraham before Sir William in seventeen fifty eight.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: I find it in the appendix of the second volume
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: of W. L. Stone's Life of Sir William Johnson. Fort Johnson,
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: January thirteenth, seventeen fifty eight. At a meeting of some
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: of the Mohawk chiefs of the lower town, present Sir
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: William Johnson, Baronet, Lieutenant Claws, Deputy Secretary George Grougan, Esquire,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: Captain Thomas Butler, Mister Ern Stephens, Captain Montour, interpreters, Abraham Speaker,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Brother Wara. We come here to lay our case before you, which,
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: as it seems at present, is very precarious, brother, and
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: we will relate to our unlucky accident which happened in
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: our town yesterday evening. One of our young men, who
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: has been these many weeks, passed from home. Returning yesterday,
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: found that since leaving his home, another party of men
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: were posted in the garrison. In order therefore to pay
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: a visit to the commanding officer and bid him welcome
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: to his garrison, not knowing that the sentries were ordered
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: to stop any Indians from entering the fort, he came
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: up to the gate, and, to his great surprise, as
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: quite uncustomary, heretofore was repulsed by the sentry, and, after
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: offering a second time to go in, was pushed to
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: the ground with the butt of the gun, upon which,
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: seeing himself thus unfriendly, used He returned to his house,
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: and going along one of the blockhouses, they emptied upon
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: him and shew him a snowballs. Standing a little after
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: under the door of his house, he saw two soldiers
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: coming toward the Indian town, and, considering his ill treatment
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: a little before, went to the gate of the Indian
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: fort and attempted to stop the soldiers, giving them to
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: understand that as they would not let them enter their fort,
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: he was unwilling they should come among the Indians. But
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: he was soon pushed back, and one of the soldiers
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: took up a piece of wood and knocked him to
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: the ground with it, leaving four wounds in his head,
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: upon which a French prisoner tried to take up the
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: wounded man, but was prevented by the soldiers and obliged
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: to run for his life to a white man's house
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: just by there, And they followed him and would have
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: given him some cuts had he not pushed the door
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: after him and kept the door shut. Some of our
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: young men, seeing all this, immediately ran to meet us,
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: as we were not yet come home from the meeting
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: at your house, and finding us at John Wemp's where
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: we stopped a little, told us that there was fighting
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: and quarreling among the soldiers and Indians. We hastened home,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: and driving up towards my stable in order to take
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: my horses out of the sleigh and put them up
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: in the first place, found our soldiers in the stable,
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: and upon asking them what they were doing there, and
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: desiring them to leave the stable, that I might put
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: up my horses. They immediately struck me with their fists,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: on which I got hold of him that struck me first,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: and brought him to the ground, holding him some time
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: to prevent his striking me again. When the rest got
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: hold of me, tossed me about and had liked to
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: choke me, tore my wampum and silver metal from my neck,
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: which they have either kept or thrown away, as I
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: cannot find it in the place where we struggled. During
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: the time of this, two other Indians, hearing the noise,
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: came to see what was the matter when the soldiers
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: were calling for help to the fort. As I found
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: afterwards by a number of soldiers coming with drawn cutlasses
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: and pursued the two young Indians who were unarmed, and
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: one of them ran to his house and by a
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: strong door which he pushed after him, saved himself, although
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: many cuts were made into the door to split it.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: The other Indian ran likewise to his house, but he
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: had not time to shut the door when the soldiers
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: rushed into the house, fell to cutting him and gave
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: him three wounds in his body, two in his head,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: and a stab in his breast, which proves very dangerous.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: His sister, being in the house at the same time,
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: cried out murder when one of the soldiers struck at
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: her and cut her in two places under her arm,
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: and having a blanket about her, saved her from being killed.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: At last an officer, a sergeant came from the fort
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: to prevent their doing more mischief, but the soldiers were
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: in such a rage that he was obliged to draw
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: his sword among them and actually cut one of them
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: in the arm, which brother, we mentioned to you for
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: the reason that, upon inquiring into the affair, we may
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: not be charged with having wounded him, for we assure
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: you we had no weapons in our hands during the
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: whole fray, nor intended at all to quarrel. Yesterday morning,
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: also when two of our women wanted to cross the
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: river in a canoe that belongs to us, and being
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: ready to push from shore, they were pulled out of
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: the canoe by the hair of their heads by two
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: of the soldiers, and the canoe taken from them. And
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: not long ago, an old woman, wife of one of
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: the sachems, coming along the road with a load of
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: wood on her back, was attacked by the soldiers and
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: wanted to ravish her, but defending herself with her axe,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: she prevented their design. This brother is now the true
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: state of our complaint, give string of wampum. This affair
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: occurred just at the time Sir William was expecting a
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: large meeting of delegates of the Confederacy, and occasioned him
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: a great deal of annoyance. However, he espoused the cause
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: of the Mohawks and caused the obnoxious garrison to be
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: replaced by soldiers that were acquainted with the Indians. In
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: the History of Saint Anne's Church and Queen Anne's Chapel,
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: published by the writer in eighteen ninety seven, is a
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: photo engraving of the site of the chapel, which was
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: situate waited inside the original Fort Hunter. The photograph was
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: taken from the bridge over the guard Lock, looking east.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: On the west side of the bridge are the gates
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: that admit the waters of the Skohari into the feeders,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: which in turn empty into the main canal about one
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: half mile away. The figure on the left in the
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: photo is looking across the canal towards the side of
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: the chapel. From the above account, there seems to be
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: conclusive evidence of the existence of two forts at Fort
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: Hunter at that time. From careful measurement, we feel positive
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: that the center of the old stone building was about
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: twenty feet from the east end of the right hand
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: stone wall and between the two apple trees whose tops
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: appear in the foreground. In eighteen sixty nine, during a flood,
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: the roadway on the west bank of the creek was
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: washed Toway, and a large portion of its waters found
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: exit across the flat lands into the canal some distance
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: from the roadway. When the water subsided, it was found
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: that much soil had been washed away, exposing two lines
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: of palisades. One line extended along the line of the
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: road on which the old rugmill stands and a few
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: feet north of the fence on its northern border. The
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: other line was at an angle of about forty five
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: degrees to the first line, with a well marked opening
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: with stakes on each side, presumably leading to the other
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: line of palisades about one hundred feet south. The theory
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: that suggests itself is that the angular palisade belonged to
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: the British fort, while the straight line was the stockade
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: of the Indian fort or village. The opening spoken of
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: being the palisaded connection between them, two forts spoken of
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: in Sir William Johnson's letters. The stakes of both palisades
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: were about ten inches in diameter, an inner row covering
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: the spaces between the outer row of stakes, the fortification
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: being what was called double stockaded. Although thirty years have
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: elapsed since the flood that exposed the palisade spoken of,
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: a trench dug from the fence on the south side
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: of the lot might again bring to light evidence of
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: this old Indian palisade. If the owner of the lot,
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: the Reverend J. H Enders, would undertake this work and
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: lay bare some portion of the old stockade, he would
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: be able to add an interesting chapter to the early
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: history of the Mohawk Valley. Among the persons now living
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: who saw the remains of old Tayananderoga Fort Hunter in
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: eighteen sixty nine are James Vorhees Amsterdam, John Graff Fort Hunter,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: and doctor Henry Devendorf mill Point. It is usual, when
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: one drives out in the country for pleasure, to select
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: a day that promises to be fair and pleasant, and
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: for that reason we are apt to see hills and
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: valleys under the same aspects, barring the changes of seasons.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: I took a drive a few days ago, however, when
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: the sky was overcast and the rumble of distant thunder
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: was heard in the west. Our journey led us down
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: the River road to the Swartz Hill Road, and as
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: we climbed that hill in the usual laborious manor, the
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: rain drops were falling thick and fast from the black
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: thunderclouds overhead. We were well protected from the shower, however,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: and rather enjoyed being out in the downpour, although our
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: faithful horse soon put on the appearance that is attributed
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: to a drowned rat. As we reached the top of
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: that dreadful hill, the view of the valley was strange
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: and grand, safe and snug, and our buggy as a
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: bug and a rug. We saw the river and hills
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: under such a new aspect that we hardly recognized our surroundings.
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: From the height from which we gazed, we looked down
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: on the Mohawk made gray by the dashing drops of rain,
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: while the higher Florida hills that had been concealed from
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: view below by the lower range along the bank of
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: the river, spread out before us on an inclined plain,
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: stretching upward until they disappeared in the storm clouds that
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: formed a gray fringe along their summit as they scurried along,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: dropping their moisture in gray sheets on field and forest.
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: Looking down the river, we could see that Tawerun and
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: Yantapucheburgh gray and misty in the distance, and the river
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: narrowed by the bend at Hoffmann's Ferry, winding its way
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: along the base of those high hills that reminded one
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: of Old Dondenburg and crow Nest at the entrance to
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: the highlands of the Hudson. The falling rain and the
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: blackness of the clouds almost obliterated colors from the landscape
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: that a moment before had been brilliant with shades of
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: green and yellow and brown. Our destination was Glenville, a
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: pretty little village charmingly situated on a level plateau surrounded
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: by high hills, and reminds one of a huge bowl
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: on a mountain top. The view of this elevated valley
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: as you approach it from West Charlton is a surprise
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: and is very pleasing. Indeed, as we turned our course
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: towards the river at Hoffmann's, the thunder clouds were still
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: muttering in the east, but the sun shone brightly overhead.
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: Our course lay through Wolf Hollow, one of the wildest
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: and most charming drives in the Valley of the Mohawk.
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: As we entered the hollow, the sun brightened the roadway somewhat,
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: but the gloom of the forests on each side was
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: at times almost impenetrable. This hollow, or ravine or canyon
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: is a narrow gorge between two of the highest hills
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: between Glenville and Hoffman, and is barely wide enough for
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: a single roadway and the narrow creek that ripples or
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: roars along its side in calm or in storm. The
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: hills on each side rise to the height of three
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: or four hundred feet, with a fringe of towering pines
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: along their summits, and in some places just escape being
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: termed precipitous. At one place on the western bank, the
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: earth has fallen away, leaving a precipice perhaps one hundred
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: feet high, of thin ledges of slate from top to bottom.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: As we look up the side of the hill, the
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: forest would be most impenetrable were it not for a
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: thin line of gray sky that appears through the trees
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: at the summit. At one point a rivulet is trickling
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: down at our feet, and as we look up we
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: see in the slaty bed of its almost perpendicular course
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: a large volume of water that has been carried to
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: it along the watercourses above by the recent storm. And
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: as we gaze we see it leap over the slaty
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: ledges in myriads of tiny cascades, until it dashes at
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: our feet and goes murmuring along to the river below.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: About a mile from the entrance of the gorge, the
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: ravine widened out a few feet, and at the base
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: of a cliff is seen through the gloom a large
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: hole in its side, whose impenetrable blackness makes one shiver.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: This is said to be the entrance to a coal
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: mine that was opened many years ago by some visionary
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: person who expected to make a fortune from the venture.
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: It extended some little distance into the eastern bank, and
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: coal was found, but in quantities that would not pay
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: the expense of mining. The mine is said to be
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: filled with water. Of late years, the road through the
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: ravine has been improved and is in fair condition, in
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: fact much better throughout than Market Street hill in the
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: two mile drive through it. We did not hear the
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: howl of wolf, or see man, woman or child until
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: near the exit. Two grizzled fishermen startled us, rising abruptly
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: in the underbrush. They were collecting scrabblers for bait. At
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: the southern edge of the gorge, a singular rock formation
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: has been uncovered in digging away the slate to repair
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: the road. Above a mass of thin scales of slate
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: is a course of gray sandstone about three feet thick
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: in a segment of a circle, inclining at an angle
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: of forty five degrees, and above another thick course of
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: slady scales, making an interesting sight to the geologist. As
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: we emerge from the ravine, we find that we are
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: still high above the river, a glimpse of which we
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: catch through the trees that are scattered here and there
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: in pleasing irregularity. In a large field to the right
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: stands an immense chestnut tree, whose trunk is so large
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: that two men could not span its girth. The long,
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: narrow pointed, drooping leaves of its very dark green foliage,
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: and the clusters of lighter green prickly burrs that hide
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: the Toothsome nuts are a very pleasing sight and give
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: promise to a bountiful harvest. Wolf Hollow has as many
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: moods as our hills and vales, and a traveler should
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: see it in the brightness of noon day and also
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: at twilight, in order to appreciate its beauties and its terrors.
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: End of Chapter seventeen. Recording by Roger Moline