Valley Girl Views: Shoemaker's Lenape Wigwam Monument at McElhattan

The Lenape Memorial In McElhattan

Placed by Henry Shoemaker

GPS Coords: Approx. N 41° 09.930' W 077° 21.823'

Located on Spook Hollow Road almost under the McElhattan/Woolrich bridge in Wayne Township (part of the Mid-State Trail).

As much as I enjoy Shoemakers stories, I am not a big fan of his monuments. There appears to be no historical basis for them. This one is no exception.

THIS

MARKS THE SITE

OF AN INDIAN TOWN

THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE

LENNI LENAPE

ERECTED

1913

The monument was dedicated on May 30th 1913, during Memorial Day festivities that also included a new flag at Fort Horn, also donated by Shoemaker, speeches, poetry, and grave decorating. The local chapter of Redmen were on hand for the ceremonies.

On the right it says CANASORGU

According to the address given at the monuments dedication, "Conasorgu was the real Indian name of this town... It was called Canasorgu by Conrad Weiser..."

The same address, by Rev. F. C. Buyers, proports that "In the treaty of Albany, 1754, when the Iroquois sold to Penns Province all land west of a line to star at the mouth of Penns Creek and run northwest to the limits of the province, Weiser was sent to run the line and came out on the "Zinchosa" at "Canasorgu" When Weiser came out at Canasorgu with the northwest line, he not only gave the name of the town, but made it historic.

For when the Indians found unexpectedly that the line involved the sale of any of these lands, they stopped Weiser and said 'if this line is run, or if the white people attempted to settle on these lands, the red men will kill their cattle first and if they persist, then the white people themselves shall be killed.

That was the Leni-Lenapes declaration of war in the French and Indian war, and in itself makes this spot historic."

Don't shoot the messenger - I'm only telling you what the address read at the dedication said. I'm not asserting that this is true, or accurate history.

The Williamsport Gazette gave a brief report of the dedication events:

The Altoona Tribune however, owned by Shoemaker, gave a much more detailed, two page, report of the Memorial Day celebrations, and dedications, in McElhattan that day. It reported that 1,000 people were in town. "Never since the days of the once famous West Branch camp meeting have so many people been assembled there and the beautiful ceremonies they witnessed will never be forgotten. Through the boundless generosity of the author and humanitarian, Mr. Henry W. Shoemaker, president of the Tribune - a handsome flagpole was dedicated at the Fort Horn Monument, Old Glory was unfurled and a magnificent granite wigwam marking the site of the Canasorgu - the ancient Indian village of the Lenni Lenape tribe - latterly known as Patterson's Town, was appropriately dedicated." The article includes the entire address given by Rev. F. C. Buyers, as well as the poem written by Chatham for the occasion. I've included both below.

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A WIGWAM CARVED IN STONE

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An Address by the Rev. F. C. Buyers, McElhattan, May 30.

Fellow citizens Mr. Henry W, Shoemaker, of New York City, has erected this monument and set this 30th day of May, 1913, to unveil it in celebration of the day.

It is fine that a wigwam carved ia stone should mark the site of an ancient Indian town.

But-

Who's the Red man, whence' his being!

His own legend gives the answer.

The Great Spirit was his Maker,

From the ground his body taking.

Here to live a life of hunting.

Dying, still a happy Hunter.

But as we found them they were here, men of the forest with faces red hued as in the light of their camp fire, and roaming wide in this their country, for it was their country, this was their terrestrial happy hunting ground, and they would allow no man to take it from them. And can we blame them?

What magnificent natural features here. Giant oaks and towering pines sheltered these children of the forest alike from wintry blasts and summer sun. At sunrise heaven reflected its glory on the bosom of the river.

this beautiful 'Zinachsa. These mountains robed themselves in clouds as brides waiting for their husbands. The bald eagle from her eyry in the mountains soared above them all, in to 'the face of the sun. screaming aloud her challenge to all God's children to be free.

The finned creatures of the stream; the wild life on the hills; the birds of the air. were enough to fill a hunter's dreams. These were the red man's hunting grounds.

They had their towns, though we must not think of the red man as a town builder. We must think rather of the people than of the buildings, which were little more than man high, while their streets were but foot paths. Small huts, however. with large families living in them may mean a large population in a seemingly small town, witness our mining towns of today.

On the bank of this river by every spring and at the mouth of every run and creek were the sites for their wigwams, camps and towns. Every family having its canoe, the river was their main street and highway.

The term town in Indian history, however, meant more than the settlement at the mouth of a run like this. It included all within some distance.

Post described Knshkushkee as in four parts, each distant from the other. Shamokin was in three parts: at the forks, on the island, and east of the river, with the river flowing between. Big island was likely so, including three settlements on the island, three on the south side, and at Liberty and Dunnstown on the north side of the river, and likely too, those of Lockport and Lock Haven. The Indian name of this important group I have found to be Meheck-menata.

The town that stood here therefore is to be thought of as comprising in it all the settlements on this and the opposite side of the river from the mouth of McElhattan run, down to Fort Horn, and having at times possibly many hundreds- of inhabitants. Its name in later times was Patterson, so called for a chieftain who lived here. He was likely the same that figured in the battle of Muncy Hill, Sept. 1763, and if so his first name was James, and perhaps he was head of a family of Pattersons.

It was not an Indian name and that he should have been so called is a memorial to the time when the two races were friendly yet. When Penn's government of brotherly love extended even to the Indian and the red man lovingly named his babe for some fond white friend.

Canasorgu, the real Indian name of this town was one of those beautiful names with which their language is replete. It was called Cansorgu by Conrad Weiser, than whom there is no better authority on such matters.

In the treaty of Albany, July 6th 1754, Benjamin Franklin, being one of our distinguished representatives, the Iroquois sold to Penn's province all the land west of a line to start at the mouth ot Penn's Creek and run northwest to the limits of the province. Weiser was sent to run the line and came out on the "Zinochsa" at "Canasorgu".

When Weiser came out at Canasorgu with that northwest line he not only gave the name of the town but made it historic. For when the Indians found unexpectedly that the line involved the sale of any of these lands, they stopped Weiser and said "If this line is run, or if the white people attempted to settle on these lands, the red men will kill their cattle first, and if they persist, then the white people themselves shall killed.

That was the Leni-Lenapes declaration of war in the French and Indian war. and in itself makes this spot historic. The next year came the Big Island council of these Indians and French. The first war like act of Indians against white men on Pennsylvania soil issued from that council when on Oct l5th. 1755 those Indians fell upon and massacred the settlers on Penn's Creek, which was in direct consequence of this line having been run and in accordance their declaration on this spot just one year before. The further story of blood and fire that ensued in the following years is too long and too horrible to repeat here. With torch and tomahawk in hand, in the light of burning homes from end to end of the province, we see the red man in all his savage nature when roused for war.

The Indian as usual lived up to his word and mercilessly and dearly did those early settlers pay for attempting to take from the Indians their favorite of all hunting grounds, the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna river, which however, was finally wrested from the red men who moved toward the setting of the sun, and these their towns became fire for the white men's torch. Col. Armstrong destroying them all nine years after the running of the line here.

This climax had not been reached suddenly. Over a decade before in Jan. 1743 Thomas McKee had been at Big Island and had been roused one morning by the scalp yell. (The scalp veil is aw-oh. so called that it is said it invariably almost paralyses the victim) McKee went to see what the trouble was and found that some of their warriors on a southern excursion had gotten in a fight with Virginia settlers over some hogs and some Indians had been killed and in consequence these warriors were in warlike mode and ready to kill all white men they met, and McKee had to run for his life. Hence we see that all our trouble with- Indians had its start in a quarrel over some Virginia hogs.

The warriors held a council of war on Big Island at the time which resulted in another at Shamokin. Both these were epoch making councils - this one, because it was the first one to threaten war on the settlers in our state: the one at Shamokin because of the notable Indians gathered there ad the character of the deliberations that prevailed. Twenty-five of their leadig chieftas were there. Walton says, "The fate of a future nation was at stake when those 25 wise men of the red race met at Shamokin in Jan. 1743."

Canasatego was the king over all these chieftains and Indian nations of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. If Canasatego and his chieftains had then decided to go to war with the settlers nothing could have saved the colonies to the English.

Shikellimy was Canasatego's vice-ruler at Shamokin. Without doubt his influence was largely the deciding power in that council where the fate of our nation was in the balance. None will ever know how much our nation owes to the sagacious statesmanship of Shikellimy in that memorable Indian council.

He was the best friend the white race had among all the Indians, too much so for the good of his own race. When he died he was mourned alike by white and red men. Yet, strange as it is, there is not a place of which know, bearing the name of this greatest of our chieftains, except an imaginary face upon the rocky bluff of Blue hill opposite Sunbury.

Shikellimy dreamed that Conrad Weiser gave him his gun and told Weiser his dream, which required according to Indian custom that he give him the gun, which Weiser did, A night or two after that. Weiser dreamed that Shikellimy bad given him the Isle of Que at Selinsgrove which contains about 400 acres, and told Shikellimy his dream, and the chieftain promptly gave him the island, but said, "We had better stop dreaming now." It was a bad thing for an Indian to dream in commercial transactions with a white man.

Chieftain Shawnee Ben, who lived on the Big Island with the Delaware chieftain Newhaleeka, is said to have sold Big Island (Meheckmenata) to William Dunn for a gun and some whiskey, and though after he became sober, he sorely rued the bargain, yet for his honor's sake he respected the sale.

These incidents serve to show how in one way or another the red man gave way before the advance of the white race. They moved their wigwams once and again toward the setting of the sun far over mountain and plain. Chicklacamoose first moved his wigwam to the present site of Clearfield, then west.

In that receding western movement, the figures of two chieftains loom large upon the western horizon.

Chieftain Bald Eagle who has left his name immortal here on valley, creek and mountains, moved westward with his people, but was brutally murdered by white men. Upon this his tribe arose and in vengeance struck our frontier, like lightning sometimes strikes when we think the storm has passed.

Logan, a Cayuga chieftain, after whom Loganton Is named as also Logan's Spring on the Juniata, was the other and perhaps the best known among all of our chieftains, excepting Shikellimy whose son he was. One of a large family, and much like his father. MacLay said of him that "Logan was the finest specimen of manhood, white or red, he bad ever seen." He too had been a valued friend of the white men. It was he who first reported the council on Big Island of Delawares, Shawanee and French in Oct. 1755 which was followed by the Penn's Creek massacre, yet on the Ohio where he had moved, white men, forgetting the debt they owed to him and his father, fiendishly murdered his whole family while he was out hunting. This he said called for revenge, and leading his tribe of Cayuga warriors he joined forces with the Delawares and Shawanees in vengeance for Bald Eagle's and his own family's death and 3,000 strong they fell upon our frontier with torch and scalping knife, until Logan said, he had fully glutted his vengeance. It was after that, when a peace council was called .that he sent to Gov. Dunnsmore the message preserved by Thomas Jefferson as a model of eloquence familiar to all.

But westward still the redman continued to move his wigwam toward the setting of the sun, whence unknown years before they had come. Toward the setting of the sun their race has faded away, and in the deep red light of the evening sky, far over the western plain, we see him still the red man.

He has gone, but his wigwam carved in stone shall commemorate his history here, at what might be called the high water mark of the red man's power on the American continent the Red Man's town, Canasorgu.

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The Address by Rev Buyers was followed by a poem from J.H. Chatham, titled

MONUMENTAL POEM