Identifier: array1875sipe (find matches)
Title: The Pennsylvania railroad: its origin, construction, condition, and connections. Embracing historical, descriptive, and statistical notices of cities, towns, villages, stations, industries, and objects of interest on its various lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: Sipes, William B., d. 1905 Pennsylvania Railroad. Passenger Dept
Subjects: Pennsylvania Railroad
Publisher: Philadelphia (Pennsylvania Railroad Co.) Passenger Dept.
Contributing Library: Northeastern University, Snell Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Northeastern University, Snell Library

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concentration of the tribesin the Susquehanna and Juniata valleys.Mr. Brainerd describes an Indian religiousenthusiast whom he met on the island, andhis description portrays a creature so uncouththat it is worth preserving. He made hisappearance, says the missionary, in hispontifical garb, which was a coat of bear-skins, dressed with the hair on, and hangingdown to his toes; a pair of bearskin stock-ings, and a great wooden face, painted, theone-half black, the other half tawny, aboutthe color of an Indians skin, with an ex-travagant mouth, cut very much awry; theface fastened to a bearskin cap, which wasdrawn over his head. He advanced towardsme with the instrument in his hand whichhe used for music in his idolatrous worship,which was a dry tortoise-shell, with somecorn in it, and the neck of it drawn on to apiece of wood, which made a very convenienthandle. Mr. Brainerd describes many ofthe services and performances, not onlyof this uncouth zealot, but of the Indians DUNCANNON. 117
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generally collected upon the island, manyof whom, he says, could speak the Englishlanguage; but, as a rule, they were drunken,vicious, and profane. At a later period thisisland became the scene of various outrages on the part of the Indians, and adventuresby the white settlers. In 1756 the settlersabandoned it, and in 1760 a bloody fighttook place upon it between the whites andIndians. On one occasion the wife of the 118 THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. owner of the island, with a child before her,swam the Susquehanna river on a horse toescape from the savages. When it is remem-bered that the river is here fully a mile wide,and that it was then swollen by the springfreshet, the perilousness of the feat can berealized. A large Indian mound was builtupon the island, and also an extensive burial-place, but the construction of the canaldestroyed both. In excavating this manyrelics were found, such as beads, stonehatchets, arrow-heads, and the like. ThePennsylvania canal here crosses the Susque-

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