HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.CHAPTER IIITHE NEW REGIME

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In the latter part of June, or the early part of the succeeding month of 1681 William Markham arrived "in this river" from New York, bearing a document addressed "to the justices of the peace, magistrates and other officers" by the deputy governor, Anthony Brockholls, in which he announced the accession of a new regimes as follows:
    Whereas his. majesty hath been graciously pleased, by his letters-patent bearing date 4th March last, to give and grant to William Penn, esquire, all the tract of land in America now called by the name of Pennsylvania formerly under the protection and government of his royal highness, as the same, is bounded (as described in the. charter), with all powers, pre-eminences and jurisdictions necessary for the government of a province, as by, letters-patent dolh at large appear, which, with his majesty's gracious letter directed to the inhabitants and planters, within the said limits, and a commission from the said William Penn to the bearer hereof, William Markham, esquire, to be his deputy governor of the said province have been produced and shown to us, and are entered upon record in the office of records for this province, and by us highly approved of, as his majesty's royal will and pleasure, therefore thought fit to intimate the same to you, to prevent any doubt or trouble that might arise, and to give you our thanks for your good service done. in your several offices and stations, during the time you remained under his royal highness's government, expecting no further account than that you readily submit and yield all due obedience to the said letters patent according to the true intent and meaning thereof, in the performance and enjoyments of which we wish you all happiness.
    The origin o£ Penn's interest in the new world is not far to seek. Since 1674 he had been one of the trustees of Fenwick and Byllinge for the disposition or their lands in West New Jersey, and had been so active in promoting the colonization of this province that some fourteen hundred persons are said to have gone thither through his particular efforts. Members of the Society of Friends constituted a large proportion of the emigrants thus sent forth, and Penn’s activity was doubtless stimulated by his sympathy with his oppressed brethren not less than by his fidelity to the trust imposed apron him. It is probable, therefore, that this success suggested the feasibility of his effecting the liquidation of his father's deferred claim and at the same time affording an enlarged asylum for the persecuted Friends. On the 14th of June, 1680, he accordingly presented a petition to the king, in which he sought the grant of certain lands in consideration of the debt due the estate of his father. From this time until the grant was finally made "a long and searching course ofPage 125
proceedings took place" which happily terminated in a charter for the province of "Pensilvania," under dale of March 4, 1681. On the following day Penn wrote to his friend Robert Turner, explaining the origin of the name applied to the province, and adds: "Thou mayest communicate my grant to friends, and expect shortly my proposals."
    These soon followed, in a document which was introduced by a long argument on the nature and advantages of colonies in general, followed by a brief presentation of the attractions of this particular province. In regard to the latter, with uncommon reservation he writes, "I shall say little in its praise to excite desires in any whatever. I could truly write as to soil, air and water; this shall satisfy me, that by the blessing of God, and the honesty and industry of man, it may he a good and fruitful land." He briefly notices the facilities for navigation, the present products of the region and others to the cultivation of which the country appears to be adapted, the "constitutions" and conditions, " the persons that Providence seems to have most fitted for plantations," " what is fit for the journey and place;" and "next, being by the mercy of God safely arrived in September or October, two men may clear as much ground by spring (when they set the corn of that country) as will bring in that time twelvemonth, forty barrels, which amounts to two hundred bushels, which makes twenty-five quarters of corn; so that the first year they must buy corn, which is usually very plentiful. They may, so soon as they come, buy cows, more or less, as they want or are able, which are to be had at easy rates. For swine, they are plentiful and cheap; these will quickly increase to a stock; so that after the first year, what with the poorer sort sometimes laboring to others, and the more able fishing, fowling and sometimes buying, they may do very well till their own stocks are sufficient to supply them and their families, which will quickly be and to spare, if they follow the English husbandry as they do in New England and New York, and get winter fodder for their stock."
    Penn's intelligent and successful discharge of his trust in New Jersey, as well as his long and ardent championship of the cause of the Friends, made him eminently qualified to succeed in the larger undertaking in which he now engaged, and to Claypoole he appeared "as fit a man as any one in Europe to plant a country." Even before the general promulgation of his "proposals" he found many ready to embark with him in this new adventure, and each day added to the number.* In September, Claypoole wrote to a friend, "Mr. Penn does not intend starting for Pennsylvania till next spring, and then it is like there will be many people ready to go from England, Scotland and Ireland. He is offered great things; ₤6000 for a monopoly in trade, which he refused,* There are in the records of Bucks count y copies of two deed" dated March 22, 1681, one to John Alsop for one thousand acres (Deed Book 1, p. 17), and the other no Thomas Woolrich for a similar amount ( Decd (took 1, p. 200).Page 126
and for islands and particular places, great sums of money, but be designs to do things equally between all parties, and I believe truly does aim more at justice and righteousness, and spreading of truth, than at his own particular gain." In a letter dated on the 4th of the same month Penn writes that he is " like to have many from France, some from Holland, and hear some Scotch will go for my country." His expectations in regard to foreign emigration were fully realized at a later date, but at this time his chief support was derived from the Friends in the British isles, and especially in England. In May, 1682, he ordered a list of the purchasers, with amount of land granted to each, to be seat to Surveyor-General Holme, then in Pennsylvania. From this it is ascertained that the proprietor had sold an aggregate of five hundred and sixty-five thousand acres to some five hundred individuals, in parcels of from two hundred and fifty to ten thousand acres each. Of these purchasers the following located the whole or a part of their lands in Bucks county : Samuel Allen, 2000 acres; Nathaniel Allen, 2000; John Alsop, 1000; William Beakes, 1000; John Brock, 1000; Edmund Bennett, 1000; James Boyden, 1000; John Clows, 1000; Thomas Croasdale, 1000; Henry Comly, 500: James Claypoole, 5000; Henry Child, 500; James Dilworth, 1000; Francis Dove, 900; Benjamin East, 1250; Enoch Flowers, 2000 ; Leonard Fell, 250; Joseph and Lawrence Growden 10,000; James Hill, 500; James Harrison, 5000; Thomas Holme, 5000; Cuthert Hayburst, 500; Christopher (or Charch ) Harford, 1000; Griffith Jones, 5000; John Jones, 500; Charles Jones and Charles Jones, Jr., 2000; John and Edward Luff, 500; Thomas Langhorne, 250; Joseph and Daniel Milner, 250; Richard (or Robert) Marsh, 10,000; Henry Palling, 1000; Henry Paxson, 500; Joseph Potter, 250; George Pownel, 1000; John Pennington, 1250 ; Francis Plumstead, 2500 ; Thomas Rowland, 3500; Thomas Rudyard, 2000; Edward Samway, 500; John Swift, 500; Herbert Springer, 4000; Richard Sneed, 1500; Christopher Taylor, 5000; Richard Thatcher, 1000; Robert Turner, 6000; Robert and Richard Vickris (Vickers), 2000; Thomas Wolf, 250; William Wiggin, 500; Sarah Woolman, 250; Nicholas Walne, 1000 ; John Winn, 5000; Thomas Woolridge, 1000; William Yardley, 500.
    In his "proposals," Penn published the terms upon which he proposed to sell his lands, varying them to suit the demands of the three classes of probable purchasers. "1st. To those that will buy. 2d. Those that take up land upon rent. 3d. Servants. As to the first, the shares to be certain as to the number of acres, each to contain 5,000 acres, free from any Indian incumbrance, price ₤100, and 1s. English quit-rent for 100 acres; quit-rent not to begin till after 1684. Second, renters to pay 1d. per acre, not to exceed 200 acres. Third, servants, those that are carried; the master shall be allowed 50 acres per head, and 50 acres to every servant when his time is expired." In the same document the proprietor announced that " so soon as any are engaged with me, wePage 127 PicturePage 129
shall begin a scheme or draft together, such as shall give ample testimony of my sincere inclinations at encourage planters, etc., and accordingly in July, 1681, he published "certain conditions or concessions" agreed upon between him and "those who are the adventurers and purchasers in the same province the 11th of July, 1681," in which, among other things, the question of lands is treated at length, as follows:-
    First That so soon as it pleaseth God that the above persons arrive there, a certain quantity of land or ground plat shall be paid out for a large town or city, in the most convenient place upon the river for health and navigation; and every purchaser and adventurer shall, by lot, have so much land therein as will answer to the proportion which he hath bought or taken up upon rent. But it is to be noted, that the surveyors shall consider what roads or highways will be necessary to the cities, towns, or through the land. Great rods from city to city, not to contain lees than forty feet in breadth, shall be first laid out and declared to be for highways, before the dividend of acres he paid out for the purchaser, and the like observations to be had for the streets in the towns and cities, that there mar he convenient roads and streets preserved, not to he preserved upon by any planter or builder, that none may build irregularly, to the damage of another. In this custom governs.
    Secondly. That the land in the town he laid out together, after the proportion of ten thousand acres, of the whole country; that is, two hundred acres, if the place will bear it; however, that the proportion be by lot. and entire, so as those that desire to be together, especially those that are by the catalogue laid together, may be so laid together both in the feat, stet country.
    Thirdly. That when the country lots are laid out, every purchaser, from one thousand to ten thousand acres or more, not to have above one thousand acres together, unless in three years they plant a family upon every thousand acres, but that all such as purchase together, lie together, and if as many as comply with this condition, that the whole be laid out together.
    Fourthly. That where any number of purchasers, more or less, whose number of acres amounts to five or ten thousand acres, desire to sit together in a lot or township, they shall have their lot or township cast together, in such places as have convenient harbours, or navigable rivers attending it, if such can be found; and in case any one or more purchasers plant not according to agreement in this concession, to the prejudice of others of the same township, upon complaint thereof made to the governor or his deputy, with assistance, they may award (if they see cause) that the complaining purchaser may, paying the survey- money, and purchase-money, and interest thereof, be entitled, enrolled, and lawfully invested in the lands not seated.
    Fifthly. That the proportion of lands that shell be laid out in the first great town or city, for every purchaser, shall be after the proportion of ten acres for every five hundred purchased, if the place allow it.
    Seventhly. That for every fifty acres that shall be allotted to a servant at the end of his service, his quit-rent shall he two shillings per annum. and the master or owner of the servant, when he shall take up the other fifty acres, his quit-rent shall be four shillings by the year, or if the master of the servant (by reason in the indentures he is so obliged to do) allot out to the servant fifty acres in his own division, the said master shall have, on demand allotted him from the governor, the one hundred acres at the chief rent of six shillings per annam.
Tenthly. That every man shall be bound to plant or man so much of his share of land asPage 130
shall be set not and surveyed, within three man after it is so set out and surveyed. or else it shall be lawful for new-comers to be settled there upon paying to them their survey-money and their go up higher for their shares.
    In September, in a letter to James Harrison, then in England, Penn made still further concessions. "Now, dear James," he writes, "for the 50 acres a servant to the master, and 50 to the servants; this is done for their sakes that cannot buy, for I must either be paid by purchase or rent, that those that cannot buy may take up, if a master of a family, 200 acres, at 1d. acre; afterwards, 50 acres per head for every man and maid-servant, but still at the same rent, else none would buy or rent, and so I should make nothing of my country; however, to encourage poor servants to go, and be laborious, I have abated the 1d. ½d. per acre when they are out of their time. Now if any about thee will engage and buy, there may be ten, yes twenty, to one share, which mill be but £5 apiece, for which they each will have 250 acres. For those that cannot pay passage, let me know their names, and number, and ages; they must pay double rent to them that help them over; but this know that the rent is never to be raised, and they are to enjoy it forever."
    These concessions were obviously intended to induce as large a number as possible to join the initial movement for the colonization of the province, and were abundantly successful. In October, Penn's plans were so far matured that he commissioned William Crispin, William Haige, John Bezar, and Nathaniel Allen to proceed to the province, fix upon a site for the town, and lay out the lands in it as well as in the country. Crispin was appointed surveyor-general, but he died soon after his arrival, and Thomas Holme was appointed in his stead. The new surveyor-general did not arrive in Pennsylvania until the following June, but even then the commissioners were not ready for his services. The construction of the "concessions" had given rise to certain difficulties, and no place could be found that would satisfy the conditions of the proposed plan for the town. It is a common tradition that the site of Morrisville, that of Pennsbury manor and an elevated piece of ground on the Delaware, near the lower side of the Poquessing, among others, were explored by the commission, but nothing further was accomplished until the arrival of Penn in the latter part of 1682.
    With the knowledge thus gained, and probably with the assent of such or the adventurers as were present in the country, the proprietor altered his plans with reference to the proposed town, and laid out a plat of about two square miles. A large tract adjoining was surveyed and called "the liberties," and out of these was granted the percentage agreed upon in the "concessions." This outlying tract was divided by the Schuylkill into two parts. of which the one lying on the town side was considered the more valuable property. In allowing the two per centum provided for in the " concessions," therefore, the allotment in the " Northern Liberties" was at the rate of eight acres in thePage 131five hundred, the warrants uniformly calling for four hundred and ninety-two acres of country land and eight of the "Northern Liberties," and in the same proportion for other amounts. On the other side of the Schuylkill the liberties were allotted in the proportion of ten acres to the five hundred.* In the division of the city property the first adventurers were classified in accordance with the amount of their purchases, those holding warrants for twenty, ten, five, one thousand, and five hundred acres and less, being respectively associated together, and when the plat was laid off, lots were surveyed for each class, the lots varying in size and location for the respective classes, and disposed of to the individual member by some form of lottery. These lots, however, were not contemplated in the "concessions," nor were they a part of the purchase, but appurtenant to it, and were granted under the later arrangement with Penn only to the " first purchasers."In surveying the country lands no immediate difficulties were encountered, but hero the plan of the " concessions" was eventually found impracticable. Where it was desired by the " first purchasers" and their quantity of lands amounted to five or ten thousand acres, it was provided that their lot or township should be cast together, and there are indications that the first adventurers locating lands in Bucks county, availed themselves of this provision, which gave rise to a certain nomenclature and boundaries that were subsequently confirmed by the court. It appears to have been a part of Penn's plan to lay off tile whole province in such townships, add his early warrants all contained the clause "wording to the method of townships appointed by me," but the "method of townships" was very soon lost sight of in the, rapid growth of the country, and surveys were promiscuously made according to the wishes of the purchaser. The claims of original purchasers were subsequently known as "old right," many of which were long outstanding, and some were, not, surveyed until after the revolution, while a few were probably abandoned. These lands were bought at the uniform rate of one hundred pounds, and an annual quit-rent of fifty shillings for five thousand sores, and in proportion for lesser quantities, though purchasers had the option of avoiding quit-rents by the payments of twenty pounds additional. To subsequent purchasers lands were, sold on "now terms" that were not marked by any uniformity. At one time the price of one hundred acres was five, pounds and an annual quit-rent of a bushel of wheat. The quit-rent was sometimes fixed at one shilling sterling, which was known as the "common rent," but more often as the "new rent" or one penny sterling per acre. This subject occasioned some controversy between the pro-* In Smith's laws of Pennsylvania, 1810, vol. ii. p.,107, referring to this fact, the learned compiler observes: It is therefore presumed by 'those, whose age and information give weight to the fact, that the one-fifth part taken from the holders in the 'Northern Liberties made up the city plot, and the superiority In value made up for tile deficiency in quantity, and time has amply realized their foresight.Page 132prietor and the assembly in 1701, and a much more serious disturbance in the administration of Governor Evans, in which Bucks county bore a determined part, but quit-rents were not abolished until the passage of the divesting ,act; after the declaration of independence.The ninth clause of the "concessions" provides that "In every hundred thousand acres, the governor and proprietary by lot reserveth ten to himself, which shall lie but in one place." The conditions of this reservation had relation only to the grants to the first purchasers, and the proprietors subsequently exercised this right to withdraw at pleasure from the mass of unappropriated lands certain other tracts of varying extent, and in such localities as suited their convenience. These proprietary tracts have generally been called manors, though technically not so in fact. No manor courts were ever established in the province, but there is no doubt that it was the intention of Penn to do so. In his charter to the Free Society of Traders in 1682, he constituted their grant of twenty thousand acres a manor, by the name of the Manor of Frank, and authorized the society to establish and hold a court-baron, court-leet and view of frank-pledge, with all the powers and privileges belonging thereto. In all the grants of land under the proprietary government the same fiction was maintained, the patent nominally declaring the lands to be held as of some certain manor, and many of them requiring the payment of quit-rent to be made at the manor of Pennsbury.It is probable that the troubles which afterward absorbed the attention of the proprietor alone prevented such a transfer of the feudal institutions of England to the new province, and there are indications that Penn, believing the opportunity for such a transfer only temporarily, deferred, cherished the plan to the last. As late as 1701, in a grant of "fifty sores in my manor of Pennsbury," the proprietor with his own hand added the clause, "holding of the said manor, and under the regulations of the court thereof, when erected." And in the same year, when aboard ship for his final return to England, he authorized the commissioners of property to erect manors with jurisdiction thereto annexed, as fully as he could do by his charter. Neither the society of traders nor the commissioners* availed themselves of the authority granted them in this respect, and it is probable that the people would have early overthrown such a state of vassalage if it had been imposed upon them.Of the nearly ninety tracts of this character laid off for the proprietors or others in Pennsylvania, five are found in Bucks county. The manor of Pennsbury was laid off in 1688 on the river, in the southeastern part of Falls township, and consisted of eight thousand four hundred and thirty-one acres. Penn designed this for his `country seat, and spared neither pains per expense in* Joseph Growden petitioned the commissioners to erect his tract into a manor, but his application was refused.Page 133fitting it up; but he was destined to be disappointed in his plans, and after a short occupancy ho left it in the care of his agent, not to return to' it. Three hundred acres were reserved for the grounds of the "palace," but the rest was sold from time to time in parcels varying from fifty to more than six thousand acres. In 1708 the manor house with its grounds was settled upon the elder branch of the family, and remained in the possession of Penn's heirs until 1792, when it was sold to Robert Crosier.The tracts located in Bucks county by the Free Society of Traders were surveyed about 1700, but were not denominated manors. Eight thousand six hundred and twelve acres of its grant was laid off in a rectangular block to the left of the line which now separates Doylestown from Buckingham and Plumstead. Along this line it extended 'three and nearly three-quarter miles, and in a direction at right angles to this line it extended four miles, including the upper part of the original township of Warwick, a large part of New Britain township, and perhaps a strip of Hilltown. About two-thirds of the present township of Doylestown was included in this survey.' Another tract of five thousand acres called "Durham" was laid off for the society, in the township which now bears that name, and was subsequently sold to the furnace company. The larger tract was reduced by the sale of two large parcels to little more than one-half of its original area prior to 1726; when the remainder passed out of the society's possession. The society was organized as a great trading and manufacturing corporation, and was "endowed with divers immunities and privileges, by grant and charter," of the most liberal character. James Claypoole, the treasurer of the society, wrote to a friend in July; 1682, of its purposes and prospects as follows: "We are to send out one hundred servants to build houses, to plant and improve land; and for cattle, and to set up a glass house for, bottles, drinking glass, avid window glass, to supply the islands and continent of America, and we hope to have wine and oil for merchandise, and some corn; however, hemp for cordage, and for iron and lead, and other minerals, we have no doubt of, so that, through the blessing of God, we may hope for a great increase, and it may come to be a famous company. We have bought twenty thousand acres of land, and shall have four hundred acres of it in the capital city, where our house must be built, with divers warehouses and offices. As for the governor, William Penn, he has been and will be very kind to us, besides his subscription, which is considerable. He has given us the quit-rent of all our land, and most ample patent or charter, to be confirmed by the first general assembly in Pennsylvania, with as many privileges as we could desire, whereby we are a corporation, a lordship, and manor, having a magistraoy and government within ourselves, the three principal officers aforesaid being justices of the peace." The. society never realized these bright anticipations, however. .The manor of Richland was laid off in 1708 "in the great swamp," forPage 134 .William Penn, and contained sixteen thousand seven hundred and forty-nine' acres. This was located in the northwestern part of the county, and included a part of the township to which it gave its name, and others above it. When the proprietary rights were assumed by the state, nearly six thousand acres had been sold to some fifty-six purchasers. The manor of Perkasie was a tract of land laid off in the territory now included in Rockhill and Hilltown townships. In 1788 it appears that twenty-five hundred sores in "Rockland township," and a "part of Perkesea mannour," were sold to Thomas Freame, and called the manor of Freame, but nothing further has been learned of it. On re-survey in 1785 the manor of Perkasie still contained eleven thousand four hundred and sixty-two acres. When it was originally laid off has not been ascertained, but in 1701 it was conveyed in trust by William Penn to Samuel Carpenter and others, who subsequently transferred it to John Penn. The property was eventually divided among the heirs of William Penn, and in 1759 John Penn donated his share to the "trustees of the college, academy, and charitable school of Philadelphia." The manor lands appear to have been open to purchasers as early as there was any demand for them, but shares of the other heirs were not entirely disposed of to settlers until near the beginning of the present century.The manor of Highlands is indicated on Holme's map and was probably reserved as early as the manor of Pennsbury, though not so early surveyed. It was laid off along the river from the upper boundary of Lower Makefield; and contained seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty acres. It was situated on the verge of the plantations and on the natural line of expansion, and the proprietor was soon vexed by the encroachment of settlers who did not respect his reservation. It is said that it was Penn's purpose to reserve this tract for his children, but finding this impracticable he ordered it sold. The London company purchased five thousand acres of it in 1709, and the remainder was soon after disposed of to settlers. The company's tract was not sold so early, though several purchases had been made prior to 1756. At this time it was in the hands of trustees to be disposed of, and five years later, together with a tract in Tinicum, was closed out at public sale.An important consideration in all original land purchases, which appears to have been well understood between the proprietor and purchasers, though not expressed in the "concessions" nor in any of the fundamental documents por-taining to the provincial government; was 'the quieting of the Indian claims to this region. In a letter to James Harrison, previously quoted in part, Penn wrote: "If any deal, let me know; I clear the king's and Indian title; the purchaser pays the scrivener and surveyor." In the following month Penn instructed his commissioners. "Be tender of offending the Indians, and hearken; by honest spies, if you can hear that anybody inveigles the Indians not to sell, or to stand off and raise the value upon you. You cannot want those that willPage 135inform you, but to soften them to me and the people, lot them know that you are come to sit down lovingly among them. Let my letter and conditions with my purchasers about just dealing with them, be read in their tongue, that they may see we have their good in our eye," etc. A little later in those instructions, he wrote: "From time to time, in my name, and for my use, buy land of them, where any justly pretends, for they will sell one another's, if you be not careful, that so such as buy and come after these adventurers may have land ready," etc. That this was the principle which animated all of Penn's transactions is abundantly confirmed by the records, a study of which leads the lion. Charles Smith--in an article that is accepted as the most exhaustive and accurate statement of Pennsylvania land questions ever made-to say that "it appears to have been his earnest desire to extinguish every kind of title, or claim to the lands necessary for the accommodation of this colony, and to live on terms of friendship with the Indian nations."The tribes with which the whites first came in contact on the Delaware bay and river were radically different from those who occupied the interior, and at a later day became so conspicuous a figure in the annals of the province. They appear to have been independent tribes of the Algonkin family living on the tributary streams of the Delaware, "probably a tribe in some parts, for every ton or twenty miles," Many of the names applied to these tribes appear to have been arbitrary designations derived from the aboriginal names given to the streams on which they dwelt, and few of them are met in the records and writings of later years. Thus Smith, in his History of New Jersey, speaks of the Assumpinks, Rankokes, Mingo, Andostaka, Neshamine, and Shackamaxon tribes. Those about Burlington he calls the Mantas, probably the "Roodehooks or Mantes" of the early Dutch adventurers and the authors of the massacre which extinguished De Vries's colony in 1681. "But these and others," says Smith, "were all of them distinguished from .the back Indians, who were a more warlike people, by the general name of the Delawares."He notes also other tribes that had a wider reputation and occasionally "inhabited New Jersey and the first settled part of Pennsylvania," among which are the Monseys, the Pomptons, the Senecas, and the Maquaas. "The last was the most numerous and powerful."These more notable tribes represent the two great families of the Indian race which the earliest explorers found in possession of the vast region defined by the great lakes and the St. Lawrence on the north, and the Potomac and Chesapeake bay on the south. The Iroquois were the first to reach this region in the course of their traditional migration from the west, and settled in the lake district. Subsequently the Lenin Lenape, the great head of the Algonkin family, found their way hither, and fixed upon the Delaware river, as their. national centre. Of this nation only three branches appear to have crossed the Alleghenies, of which the. Turtles and the Turkeys continued their migrationPage 136to the seaboard, where they planted their villages and remained until dispos- sessed by the whites. The Wolf branch, better known by their English name of the Monseys, planted itself at the "Minisinks" on the Delaware, extending the line of their villages on the east to the Hudson, and to the Susquehanna on the west. From this branch were derived the different tribes which occupy the foreground in the early annals of the pioneers.For a time the two great families lived on terms o£ friendly intercourse, but. hostilities eventually broke out between them, which, by means fair and foul, resulted in the humbling of the Delawares, as they were named by the English. How this was accomplished is differently related by the dominant and subject peoples. It appears, however, that the Algonkins were at first successful, and threatened the extinction of their rivals. This danger suggested the confederation of the Iroquois, a measure which these astute natives were wise enough to accomplish, and from this period their power began to increase among the Indian nations. Dates in connection with the history of the North American aborigines are of the most uncertain character, and when the complete ascendency of the Iroquois was effected, and whether accomplished by force of arms or artifice, are still unsettled questions.Of. the "back Indians" the early colonists appear to have been most in fear of the Susquehannocks. They are said to have been the most formidable tribe of the Delaware nation. The river which perpetuates their name marks the site of their villages, from which, in their tribal prime, they pushed their forays, pursuing their victorious career to the seaboard, and inspiring terror in the hearts of even the warlike Iroquois. Various dates have been assigned to their final overthrow, but there is substantial agreement in the fact that under the combined ravages of the smallpox and their persistent foes, they were driven from their ancient seats. They were still a warlike people, and in 1675 became involved with the English in Maryland. A contest was waged here for two or three years with such persistence that this once formidable tribe was practically annihilated. The Dutch colonists on the Delaware appear to have suffered little from this state of hostilities save in the diminution of-their trade, a matter which gave rise to loud complaints and led them to make repeated offers of their friendly offices in bringing about a peace.The early settlers on the Delaware were singularly free from Indian outrages. With the exception of the destruction of De Vries's colony, which may be attributed to the incapacity of the commandant rather than the determined hostility of the natives, the colonists on the river record no outrages received from their savage neighbors until 1661, when the foray of the Seneccas brought a new element into this region. On January 4th of this year three Englishmen find a Dutchman approaching New Amstel (Newcastle) were murdered, and two or three weeks later several savages boldly entering the town with the clothes of these men, offered them for sale. They were promptly arrested,Page 138 PicturePage 139tried, and acquitted, to the great displeasure of the Maryland governor. It is quite probable that the arrested parties were innocent of the murder, but the Maryland authorities, without sufficient evidence, began a quarrel with the Susquehannocks, which, however, led to no practical results, the Senecas taking advantage of the situation to attack their hereditary foe and bring on a protracted war between the two nations. The presence of these warriors gave rise to frequent alarms in the Delaware settlements, several plantations were destroyed and one or two murders. are noted; but the, invaders, having glutted their vengeance upon their own race, retired without further interference with the whites.In 1670 the murder of a servant of Mr. Tom by a drunken Indian was permitted to go unpunished through the negligence of the magistrates, and this was followed in the next year by a similar murder of two other whites. The excitement, the warlike preparations, and the peaceful ending of this episode have been elsewhere noted. In 1675 occurred the determined struggles between the Marylandors and the Susquehannocks. The Delaware colonists reported their Indian neighbors as wavering in their loyalty, and Governor Andros, while advising the whites to "be just to them," recommends that precautions be taken for defense and promises to send needed supplies. The fears of settlers happily proved unfounded, and from that time until the arrival of Penn the two races lived in such harmony that, notwithstanding an occasional repetition of these alarms disturbed the general sense of security, the settlers paid scarcely any attention to providing for defense against Indian hostilities.Prior to Penn's arrival the limited expansion of the settlements go the river had not given rise to any question of the aboriginal title to the lands which the Indians freely sold. The local tribes had been invariably willing, to sell all that the whites could buy, though, it should be added, with no adequate appreciation of the character of the transaction, and showed no hesitation in selling the same lands over and over again as often as purchasers could he found. The earliest purchase was made in 1629 by Godyn's agents, who secured from certain Indians, "the lands belonging to them lying on the south side of aforesaid bay, by us named the Bay of. South River, extending in length from Cape Hindlop to the north of said river, about eight large miles [thirty-two English miles], and landmarks half a mile [two English miles], to a certain valley or marsh through which these bounds can be sufficiently distinguished." In 1688 Arent Corsson, the commandant of Fort Nassau, bought "the Schuylkill and adjoining lands for certain cargoes," which the grantors say in the deed "are not paid in full, but for which we are fully satisfied at present." Five years later the Swedes came, and, according to Acrelius, "immediately land was bought from the Indians; a deed was given in low Dutch, as the Swede could yet interpret the Indian. By this agreement the Swedes obtained all the western land on the river, from Cape Henlopen to the falls at Trenton, then called by thePage 140Indians Santican, and as much inward from it in breadth as they might want." The limits of this purchase were plainly indicated by "stakes and marks," and were never afterwards contested by the savages, though frequently resold in parcels to the different governments which succeeded.In the larger operations of William Penn a new claim was developed. At this time the Iroquois exercised almost unquestioned authority over the aboriginal occupants of the country east of the Mississippi river, and, as conquerors of the different tribes, claimed the absolute ownership of this vast territory. Until the coming of the Europeans they maintained their supremacy by a policy not unlike that of the Romans. Warlike tribes were divided and kept employed in further conquests or in reducing refractory nations, while all were placed under a close surveillance and some form of tribute. But when the whites established themselves upon the continent and demonstrated their power, many of the subject tribes were quick to perceive how they might profit by their friendship. Emboldened by such alliances; some of the Algonkin tribes resisted the houndless claims of the Iroquois, and much of the bloodshed and ravages of war inflicted upon the early settlements in all parts of the country resulted from a too general neglect of this change of attitude in the subject nations. Penn, fortunately wiser in this respect than many of his contemporaries, not only extinguished the claims of the dominant nation, but repeatedly purchased the rights of the native 'occupants, and thus saved his colony from much of the harassing experiences which fell to the lot of less favored provinces.The terms of Penn's instructions to Markham, under date of April 8, 1681, are not known, but they doubtless authorized him to treat with the savages, as he did soon after his arrival in the province. By virtue of the purchases of the Swedes and Govornor Andros, the lands to a points eight miles above the falls already belonged to Penn, through his succession to the rights aoquired by the preceding government, and Markham probably sought a conference with the Indiana to secure the friendship of the natives rather than add to the possessions of the new proprietor. However, at the conference held at Shackamaxon, certain Indian "shackamakers" on the 15th of July executed a deed to a certain tract of land-Beginning at a certain white oak in the land now in the tenure of John Wood, and by him culled the Graystones, over against the falls of Delaware river, and so from thence up ties river aide, to a corner-marked spruce tree, with the letter P, at the foot of a mountain, and from the said corner-marked spruce tree, along by the ledge or foot of the mountains west-north-west, to a corner white oak marked with letter P, standing by the Indian path that leads to an Indian town called Playwicky, and near the head of a crook called 'I'owsissinick, and from thence west to the creek called Neshammony's creek, and along by said Neshammony's creek unto the river Delaware, alias Makerisk-kitton, and so bounded by ties said main river to the sold first-mentioned white oak in John Wood's land, and all those