maintained it by their arms and by treaties, especially by those of Riswick, Utrecht, and Aix-la-Chapelle.

A similar plate was found a few years ago, at Point Pleasant, at the confluence of the Great Kanawha and Ohio, by a young lad, son of J. W. Beale, Esq., with a similar inscription, except the words, "at the mouth of the river CHINODAHIHETHA, this 18th day of January."

January 17, 1749-50.-The Governor informed the council that three several letters of an extraordinary nature in French, signed "CELERON," were delivered to him by the Indian traders who came from Allegheny, informing him that this captain Celeron was a French officer, and had the command of three hundred French, and some Indians sent this summer to Ohio and Wabash and from Canada, to reprove the Indians there for their friendship to the English, and for suffering the English to trade with them. The Governor sent one of the letters to the Proprietaries in London, and another to the Governor of New York, that the same might be laid before the ministry. The following is a translation of one of these:

From our camp on Belle River, at an ancient village of the Chonanons, 6th August, 1749.

SIR:-Having been sent with a detachment into these quarters by Monsieur the Marquis de la Galissoniere, commandant general of New France, to reconcile among themselves certain savage nations, who are ever at variance on account of the war just terminated, I have been much surprised to find some traders of your government in a country to which England never had any pretensions. It even appears that the same opinion is entertained in New England, since in many of the villages I have passed through, the English who were trading there have mostly taken flight. Those whom I first fell in with, and by whom I write you, I have treated with all mildness possible, although I would have been justified in treating them as interlopers and men without design, their enterprise being contrary to the preliminaries of peace signed five months ago. I hope, sir, you will carefully prohibit for the future this trade, which is contrary to treaties; and give notice to your traders that they will expose themselves to great risks in returning to these countries, and that they must impute only to themselves the misfortunes they may meet with. I know that our commandant general would be very sorry to have recourse to violence, but he has orders not to permit foreign traders in his government.

I have the honor to be with great respect,

In 1752 and 1753, the French erected forts at Crown Point, Niagara, Riviere au Beuf, (within the limits of Erie county) and at Venango, at the mouth of French creek, (within the limits of Venango county.)— These movements greatly alarmed the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie, Governor of Virginia, who despatched George Washington, late in the year 1753, to the French forts, to demand an explanation of their designs. (1)

The French, notwithstanding, made advances, attended with hostile appearances; but they were not viewed with indifference. Complaints were made to the French court, which extorted reiterated promises of redress, without the least intention of performing them; and, to gain as much time as possible, the English were answered with the most specicious reasons for the delay of retribution. This evasive conduct was considered as tantamount to a direct denial of justice; particularly when it was known, that the French were fortifying themselves along the lakes, and on the Ohio and Mississippi. The English cabinet resolved to be no longer amused by the artifices of the French. Orders were despatched in 1754, to the Governors of the provinces, directing them to resort to force in defence of their rights, and to drive the French from their station on the Ohio. The New England provinces formed a political confederacy for mutual defence. Measures had been taken as early as 1748, by the Governors of Pennsylvania and Virginia, to conciliate the Indians on the Ohio. For that purpose, as already stated, Anthony Palmer, president of the council, charged Conrad Weiser* in his instruction, "to use the utmost diligence to acquire a perfect knowledge of the number, situation, disposition and strength of all the Indians in or near those parts, whether they be friends, neutrals or enemies, and to be very particular in knowing the temper and influence of the tribes of Indians who sent deputies to receive him, for by the knowledge of these matters, he was to regulate the distribution of the goods which were to be divided amongst them." Mr. Weiser arrived at Logstown August 26, 1748; held a conference with the Indians; left September 19. "The region on and about the Ohio and its numerous tributaries, was then only used as a hunting ground by the Mingoes and Shawanese Indians, and as a highway for parties at war of different nations, in their martial expeditions against each other. By reason of the unceasing hostilities between the more northren and southern Indians, these expeditions were frequent, and tended to retard the whites from attempt(1) See bis Journal in the Appendix, pages 34-50.

ing to settle sooner. Near the junction of the Allegheny and the Monongahela, no attempts were made to commence settlements till the Ohio company made the attempt; and till after 1758; and not to any extent till the Indians had nearly all deserted this region of country; and excepting a few straggling hunters and warriors, who occasionally traversed in quest of game, or of human beings on whom to wreak their vengeance, almost the only tenants were beasts of the forest."

The Ohio company, or Virginians, in the spring of 1754, commenced the erection of a fort at or near the juncture of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers; but before this redoubt or fort had been completed, Monsieur de Contracœur, a French officer, with sixty batteaux and three hundred canoes, containing one thousand French and Indians, besides eighteen pieces of cannon and fire-arms, from fort Venango, arrived here; and in April, 1754, Contracœur sent Chevalier Le Mercier, captain of the Artillery of Canada, a summons to the commander of those engaged in erecting the fort, informing him that he, Contracœur, was come out into this place, charged with orders from his General, to request him (the English commander) to retreat peaceably with his troops from off the lands of the French King, and not to return, or else he would find himself obliged to fulfill his duty, and compel him to it." "I hope," continues Contracœur, in his summons, "you will not defer one instant, and that you will not force me to the last extremity. In that case, sir, you may be persuaded that I will give orders that there shall be no damage done by my detachment."

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Ensign Ward, (in the absence of Capt. Trent and Lieut. Frazier,) who commanded a party of forty one men, surrendered, and evacuated the fort. Ward was allowed to withdraw his men and take his tools with them. (1)

This was considered the first overt act of hostility of the memorable French war of 1754-58. The French retained possession here, after erecting a fort, till Nov. 1758.

The Ohio company had erected several store houses, to carry on trade with the Indians. The block-house and truck-house, erected by the company at Logstown, were surprised by the French, (1754), the French found here skins and other commodities to the amount of £20,000, destroyed all the English traders, except two, who found means of escape. (2)

Gov. Dinwiddie, of Virginia, now resorted to more active measures to (1) Spark's Life of Washington, vol. 1, p. 11, 12.

repel the French. A campaign was commenced against fort Duquesne, as named after the surrender. Three hundred men were raised and placed under the command of Col. Fry, with George Washington as Lieutenant Colonel. This regiment marched to a place called the Great Meadows, near the Youghiogheny river. Near this they surprised a party of French and Indians, and the commanding officer, named Jumonville, was killed. The command of an entire regiment, on the death of Fry, devolved upon Washington. The remainder of this regiment having joined him at the Meadows, he pushed forward to preoccupy the fort at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers; but on his march to that point, a superior force of French and Indians met him, who shortly afterwards attacked him in a hastily built stockade, and compelled him after considerable resistance, to capitulate at fort Necessity, which he called his stockade.

Measures had been taken by different missionaries in 1748, and Croghan in 1751, to detach the Indians from French influence, but they had been unavailing. The French were too wily and able as diplomatists, with these simple people. Complaints were also made to the French King on the repeated aggressions of his subjects; but, as it was evident, that he considered Ohio, and all the recent establishments made in that quarter, as within his territories, a rupture was deemed inevitable, and both nations prepared for it. French troops were sent out to Canada, and all the posts in that province, as well as in Louisiana, put in the best possible state of defence. A temporary dissention among the English colonies, rendered it difficult to collect a sufficient force to oppose them for a season. In the meantime the English government had made preparation to repel force by force.

Early in the spring of 1755, General Braddock, arrived with a force from England. He commenced his preparations to repel and subdue the French, but he was defeated.*

* See chapter V.

CHAPTER II.

FIRST OR EARLY SETTLEMENTS WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES-ON THE HEAD WATERS OF OHIO-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES-THE TRIALS AND DIFFICULTIES TO WHICH THEY WERE INCIDENT-DISPUTES, ETC.-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Western Pennsylvania was untrodden by the foot of the white man before the year 1700. As early as 1715 and 1720, occasionally a trader would venture west of the Allegheny mountain; and of these the first was James Le Tort, who resided in 1700, east of the Susquehanna, but took up his residence west of it, Le Tort spring, Carlisle, in 1720; Peter Cheaver, John Evans, Henry Devoy, Owen Nicholson, Alex. Magenty, Patrick Burns, George Hutchison, all of Cumberland county; Barnaby Currin, John McQuire, a Mr. Frazier; the latter of whom had at an early day a trading house at Venango; but afterwards, at the Monongahela, at the mouth of Turtle creek-were all traders among the Indians. But no attempt had been made by the whites at settlements, in the region now occupied by the several counties west of the Alleghenies, before 1748, when the Ohio company was formed. (1) This company sent out the undaunted Christopher Gist, in 1750, to explore the country and make report. He, it is said, explored the country "from the South Branch of the Potomac, northward to the heads of Juniata river, crossed the mountains, and reached the Allegheny, by the valley of Kiskiminitas. He crossed the Allegheny about four miles above the forks, where Pittsburg now stands, thence went down the Ohio to some point below Beaver river, and thence over to the Muskingum valley." The first actual settlement made was within the present limits of Fayette county, in 1752, by Mr. Gist himself, on a tract of land, now well known there as Mount Braddock, west of the Youghiogheny river, Mr. Gist induced eleven families to settle around him on lands presumed to be within the Ohio company's grant.

The more southern part of Western Pennsylvania, (Greene, Washington, Fayette, and part of Somerset,) which was supposed to be within the boundaries of Virginia, was visited by adventurers from Maryland, prior to 1754. Among these were Wendel Brown, and his two sons, and Frederick Waltzer, who lived four miles west of Uniontown. David Tygart had settled in the valley which still bears his name in northwestern Virginia, several other families came here a few years afterwards. These were the only settlements attempted prior to Braddock's defeat,