OF DOLLAR PER ANNUM, INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
IOWA NDA:
Cuinrbm fllornmn, Xpril 7. 1853.
pottni.
THE BURSTING OF THE BUD.
Spring IN coming—Spring is coming!
With her sunshine anil her shower ;
Heaven is ringing with the singing
Of the Girds in brak" and bower.
Buds are tilling, leave.- are swelling.
Flowers on field, and bloom on tree,
O'er the earth, and air and ocean;
Nature holds her jubilee.
fl thou stealing, comes a feeling
O'er my bosom tenderly ;
Sweet I ponder as I wonder.
For my musings are of thee. j
- ring i- coming—Spring is coming 1
With her mornings fresh and light.
With her moon of chequered glory,
*V. of blue, and clouds of white,
t'jim. gray nightfall, when the light falli
Frv.u the -tar-lv-ranch-d sky,
\\ |i;!< the splendor, pale and tender.
Of the voting moou gleams on high.
S: 1 at mom. at noon, and even,
-a. ig i- full of joy for me,
F.r I ponder a- I womh'r.
And my musings are of thee.
-t ' n thee my thoughts are dwelling.
What- •e'er thy name may lie ;
Beautiful. Utyond words telling,
i- thy pre-enee unto me.
V rning's breakings find t'.iee waking,
\\ indering in the breezes' flight ;
N gl-ry mantles o'er thee
la a shower of sunny light;
P _ r ht. dying, leaves thee lying
l.i the silvery twilight ray ;
stars i.. k i rightly on then' nightly
; the coming of the day.
I* rywhere and every minute
Feel 1 near thee, lovely one ;
In the lark and in the linnet
I ran hear thy joyous tone.
Bud and blooming mark the coming
Of thy feet o'er vale and hill:
And thy jrr-ence. .th life's e—enee.
Makes the forest's heart to fill.
Lo Ufoiv this-. I adore thee.
l.ovk ("KitaTtVE, thee 1 .-lag ;
.Vow 1 meet thee, and 1 greet thee
By ihe h> ly name of SORING.
|)ionffr Distorn.
Lot tor from Hon. C. 1\ A very.
r i fFYSE OF THE STROPE FAMILY FROM
THE tHARHE OF TORYISM A V/> FROM A
IiROSS n TAt K MADE IPOS THEM BY
i i/.'VFR OF IIILKESRARRE HFS HfSTO
•\ V <>F II YoMlSt r < .t .Vi ASSEtI PIOXEER
t - s I'II'AL—STROPE BIBLE
T Wlt.T'. AM P. M'N'ER, KSQ..
Editor and PsNiJlfr of the " Record of ike Timet,"
ll'lht tt-barre
Sir. : It is with no little regret that I have
;'-t read an article .u your paper of last week,
purporting to have been written by your t*a
;her. the venerable CHARI.ES MIXER, and
•ouehed in the form of a letter to Our mutu
ally re.sjn.vtgtl friend lion. Wm Jrssir. of
M ntroso.
The direct aim of the letter appear s to lie.
'•i throw entire discredit upon the narrative of
Mr- .1 ASK WHITAKER, a daughter of JNEBASTIAX
STR : E. who. as has been published by tue. was
.ken captive with other relatives iu May,
1775, from the wjaox and earned as prisoners
: Canada where they were detained for two
y -s This discredit he seeks to estaldish. not
y . "N hut by mere eonjecturrs and inferen
- •: a fore I and very uusatisfactory eharao
lu the same war. without adducing a
: ■' tie of substantial proof, he seeks to fasten
tf charge of toryism ami the character of a
- y uix>n her father. SEBASTIAN STROPS, JOHN
v. her uncle, and all of the members of
: . Vi\ VALKENRIRG family who constituted
t: -ettiement. at the mouth of the Wysox. at
time of the capture.
Deeply .a; ire -sod. as I am, with the strict
r-.ii truth of her narrative, as well from
P cveii :.t character ami romiborating facts.
■ the otter of her orieina
t. ra fabrication. 1 could not hut be
y i-.i • that Mr. MIXER should have
- >- and you should have permitted
•* - at this late day and far such it •
r- u.s. to aqpetae the memory of j
: •" " -: • able lady. If the desivndants
*. \ Sunn, ami of his brother Jane,
i l are now living at Towandaand
'--'—it v :.ity. had not the most convincing
i- • • f :ae truth of her statements, corrobora
y : r.e unbroken current of traditiou iu that
• • -si; if they could not satisfy any
r sliced uiiud of the self-eacrifieiug
' ■ u of their ancestors during oar strug
f ' i: ; vrt they might indeed look ujon
Mixta* attack as s. inethingserious ; but,
; -•: rtuuateiv for them, and they ahi per
' - —u " hough a stranger—to congratulate
-t painful irisls in the history of
: iy. that facts have lava preserved,
a:i-• i oav Inciag, not s*.'&*■.. but a :iu
"• which leave t;o room, Uur uceustoa for
•" -*■ EAEA to advance disturbing and inijwr
.>■ :urts ; and which otakU upon
athw, as ianregnable as the rock of
f ffihar, the integrity of their w>ttwi—
•• -i. i jatricvtisnj. and their reliance
—c li<.<d of the Uibie. most tuuchiugir
- : ..-tractive —during a long and try -
* s*' t vitr.
. • " • r\-eeding to the facts of this ease.
- y pmnise. that, as au cdit<r. you are
y ® J hei i accountable, by the descendants
I■ s, far what has receutly ajveared
■} T .unins Aside from such well uoder
• .-poLo bi'. ty, iu every v-ase. they will alsv
y it to meet whatever cevtiseNiUA'neea
t- t or remote, that legitimates
' - nuprorokevl. and. to rae. jvain
>> w hah your aged father, thro'
■ 1 • ' ibean- i.>f your ooiimms. ha< initia
"g • . A ,w with them. ! shall deal .
THE BRADFORD REPORTER.
in his venerable years, stood alone, and had
been solely instrumental in presenting himself,
so unfortunately and with so much rancor and
viudictireness to the public. You are his pro
tector and friend, not exempt by age or any
other cause, voluntarily in the field, fully re
sponsible, skilful and imjvetuous, as the emer
gency may require, in making or receiving a
charge. It is for this reason my letter is ad
dressed to you iustead of him.
1 will address myself at once to the facts of
this narrative, and. because your father through
you, has given only partial extracts from it, I
will introduce a rough outline of it in connec
ted form, and endeavor to meet his conjectures
and hypotheses.
The fara uies of the settlement at the mouth
of the \\ ysox at the time of the capture, num
bered three, viz : —SEBASTIAN STROBE, wife and
children, of whom Mrs. WHITAKER, my inform
ant was one : JOHN STROPE, wife and children,
.Mr. and Mrs. TAX YALKEXBI-RC, and their un
married daughter, EVA. These families were
all connected. The Messrs. STROPE were bro
thers and each had married a daughter of Mr.
VAN* YAI.KENBURG.
The date of their emigration from Cat.-ki'l
to Wysox was 1773-4, nearly five years pre
vious to the capture. All of them were cap
tured in May 1778, with the exception of SE
BASTIAX STROPE. who apprehending an attack,
had gone to the Fort-; at Wyoming to procure
a sufficient guard and help to protect and aid
him in removing the families arid their valua
bles to Wyoming, which was then viewed, in
comparison with their remote frontier residence,
as a place of security.
The houses of the settlement were all de
stroyed and the captives were taken at once
to Tioga Point, and there given uj> to a Bri
tish officer, at the head of his Rangers and In
dians. In the latter part of July, they were
taken up to Baiubridge and Unadiila. Short
ly after, they were scut back to Tioga Point.
Thence, in the Pali they were sent, by the usual
trail, to Fort Niagara. [ln the published se
ries of the Sr. Nicholas, these journeys are giv
en tolerably full, although facts might, anri
should have been given more iu detail. Mr.
VAN" V.VLKEXBLRG and JOHN STROPE had been
-cut. immediately after the capture, as prison
ers under Inuiau escort to Fort Niagara, where
they were iu confinement when their families
arrived.
Having remained a short time at the Fort,
they were all then seat down the Lake to
Buck's Island in a vessel. I u the narrative
as given me by Mrs. WHITAKER. she calls it
' Buck's lslaud." but knowing that it could
have b*>en none other than the one at the foot
of the Lake, I felt warranted in correcting,
what was with her. evidently, only a defect of
memory.] From that point they were sent in
bateaux to St. Johns, where theyremaiued du
ring the greater part of their captivity : after
ward to Maehiehe, and soon after to the vi
i ciuity of Montreal, and in the Autumn of 1780,
they rre svet. with three hundred other eajj
tivi- for exchange, by cartel, to Skeucsboro*.
now Whitehall. Thence they were sent, in
such vehicles as could be then procured, to their
various homes. l~{ou hearing the new-of the
return of so many captives. SEBASTIAN SXR TK
hastened to All.any, and pu-hing on at ouce
toward Ske:ieslM>r nigh, met hi- long I-i fami
ly and friend-, including his aged father and
mother-in-la .v and otners. Such a meeting
words are inadequate to describe.
lit took them all to Cut-kill, and remained
there until peace was established, and the next
Spring returned to Wy-ox. t which place the
others followed in the Fall. The full p.triicu
!ar<. as emlvxlietl by nie in the June. July aud
SeptCMfeer nuialx'rs tf the 6t. Nicholas, ,an
uot. of course, be detaileti here. This rough
outline i- sufficient for our present purpose.
Among other incidents which xvurred after
the return to Wysox, aud may be aj>f>r>priate
ly re-statel here, was this : J HN T>TXURT. a
noteil Tory, after the war. attempted to settle
iu Mr. STROBE'S neighborhood, and so indignant
was the latter, ou account of that man's cruel
ty to the captives, while they were jrisoners
upon tiie Susjuchauna, that he sought him
out. whipped LLu and drove him froai the
country.
The name of Mrs. JANE WKITAKER'S first
husband was JEREMIAH WHITE. IU the year
17>7. s'Xn after their marriage, they removed :
up the river, as did many of the Wyoming he
roes. the SAITEKLXES, ELU-KS, HVNXAS. JBLax
- •M-. AU'ENS. F RSYTUS. AC. Mr. WHITER-.t
"led ou land on the west side of the Owcgo
Creek, ynow the town of Tioga, but less than
a uitle from our village. From timt date—
down to tin 1 time of her removal to Berkshire,
in this County, a few year.- since, where she
went to reside with her daughters, Mrs. HAN
NAH HI LL aud Mr- LYPIA OLNEY, whui she
left about the year IN.YO, to take up kr re.-i- |
dence with her son. OUVE* WHITAKER. a m >st
resj-eetable gentleman of Toulon. Illinois, where !
she died, rihe was known to all of our citi
zens. and from the first to the la-: she bore a
character, which the public hero w II say. Mr. |
CHARLES MIXER and WILLIAM PENS MIXER '
might Ix 1 proud to eujor, even with their " proud
breast-."* of which they boa<t. in print, and—
strange incousisteo y ! —in the -"an. 1 jwra
graj h, and with type--fn>m the same font, which
they s.> freely u<c in blackening hers.
Soon after her settlement in the town of
TVga. an incident occurred which wa.- not in
corje>rated into her narrative a* published. It
TVS- not then deemed imjx>rtant. It is now
1 give it in her precise :—"One O>LE
was a Tory in the time of the war lie came
to > nr house : a surveying oarty wa- there ;
Surveyor PIXLET among the re-: COLE
teii ti.at at such and such places he had led
the enemy My Wood l>i!ed when J recMlcc
tl how much we bail all suffered. ! said to
hira. " walk out of the door " lie hesitated :
my hn<band wa- away, but COLE olwyed nte
and went and took a seat in frout of the house,
ami the men went out ami sat around hint and
heart! him talk, although they despised him ;
but 1 co!d not bear to hear the wretch."—
Now. sir, does that soami to you as if it cam*
fnnc the Hps of aw oman who Lad inherited tt
Ton's h'-art, or the still meaner of *
•rv Jau. r r SM . € -. •' •* Wy-.
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. O'MEARA GOODRICH.
" REGARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER."
ming spirit—the very " shiboleth" Of Wyoming;'
the same sort of deep patriotic heart-throb
which sent her father, after his family had been
torn from him, with a heart all bleeding aud
riven, into the ranks for the protection of doom
ed Wyoming. What stronger evidence could
he or she give of their ability—to express in
the best kind of Connecticut language—the
"Shiboleth of Wyoming" ?
I shall uext call attention to such portions
of your father's communication as seem to re
quire comment ; and, first : I notice a great
wrong which he has done himself and his '"His
tory." The families, settled at the Wysox,
were from Catskill, as became known to your
father through the " St. Nicholas,". In order
to give some foundation for his attack upon
them, and to help make out his case, he pre
tends to quote from his own Book, the Histo
ry of Wyoming. Now, sir, do yon kuow that
he has quoted incorrectly—spuriously ? Ou
the right column you will find a true extract
from his book, as published in 1845— page 189;
on the left column, the spurious extract, as j
contained iu your paper of last week.
srnuocs. j GENUINE.
' There had come in strange > 'There had come in strange
fare dies of interlopers from families of interlopers fruii
Miuisink. from Westchester.'Minisink. from Westchester, i
Xevr York.fro ui Kiuderhook.jXew York, from Kinder hook
from Cat'kill and the ,\f and the Mohawk, neithercoii
hawk.neither connected withjnected with Pen; sylvan ia
Pennsylvania nor Counecti-fnor Connecticut, between ;
cut, between whom and the whom and the old settlem j
old settlers there was neither there was neither sympathy
sympathy offeelinsr.norcom-W feeling nor community of
munity of interest—Van 'ior-f interest—Wintermoots, Van
der- and Van Al-tine- and order- and Van Alstines.
olken. — A path of communi- A path of communication i
cation was opened between was opened by the disaffected
New- York. l i~iaox and Tio- betweeri Xew : York and Xi
ga, the Indian country and ig-ara, to strike the Susque-
Xiagara. to strike the Sus- iianna twenty miles above
uuehanna tweut v miles above j VVilkes-barreY
Wilkes-barre.'
It appears from this, that to " make oat a
case." your father has interjxjlated the word-.
" Catskill," (the old home of the STROPES
" Wysox," (their new home.) and further, the
words "and others." In the spurious extract,
he ha left out the " Wintermoots," the most
notorious of all, and substituted the words " aazi
others," for the jmrpose, doubtless, when ques
tioned. to answer that those words iucluded
the WINTERMOOTS, SIROPES and Van YALKEX
BCRGS. What a miserable trick ! How uu-
Sortunate. sir. that your compositor set up those
interpolations ia italics, thus makimr them so
conspicuous to the public ; and did you sup
pose, when you allowed the article to go into
your columns, that some friend of the STROPES
would not detect the wroac ? Why, the words
"Cat-kill," "STROPES" and YAK "YALKENBCRGS"
do not appear iu your father's work of 1845,
from the beginning to the end ! Here is an
" afterthought" with a vengeance—yes, truly,
with a vengeance.
This disclosure, sir, needs no comment: but
a fair-minded public, rest assured—particular
ly the surviving representatives of this family—
will, of right, make their own comments. In j
the name of common fairness—in the name of |
the dead and the living—l ask why you, as
editor aud son, suffered this to so into print
thus ! Pray, sir, urge your father to make a
prompt correction. Let justice be done—sim
ple justice. Let not the pure curren uf histo
rv be thus polluted. Tuis is all that family ask
of yott.
Your father says:—" Her narrative must
have been an afterthought," Ac l'iease to
say to him. that I dt.eai it fortunate for iier.
and not a little so for myself, that there are
individuals yet living, who have heard hernar- j
rate it, ju-t as it has been jrinted. I give yon
their names and Po-toffiee address : Captain
DANIEL 11 PARK, Fleuttngvilie, Tiuira Co. :
JESSE IGG, JACOB CATUX, CHALXCEY IIILL,
Pa vh TAYL -r. Mrs. JOEL FARNHAM, Mr. aud
Mr-. SYLVENTS FOX. and. at a later late, Mr.
F. 11 PCMPELLY. Owego. Not oolv before
1n32. when your father ttrmmenced his research,
but at au early ifay, they heard her narrative,
before he ever thought of erecting u|'<."xi the
liank of the Susquehanna, a tribunal, like that
of the Gileadites, at the pa-sages of the Jor
dan. to see. forsooth, whether Judire HOLLEX
3ACK. SEBASTUV STROPR. and other-, whoharv- J
jx-ncd, without fault of their own. to hail front
Virginia, Cat-kill, 4c.. instead of Connecticut.
—!<• SBC, I -ay. whether -itch incorruptible pa- •
triot- crit'i express the Shibboleth of Wv>
minir" :n away that he could approve ! Please
say to your father, that if he had consulted a
little mcTe freely the papers of Judge HOLLEX- :
BACK, in the possession of his son. George M .
and -uine other authentic sources, which he has
somewhat neglected, it would not have injured
his history.
After impugning my motives, in a war not
to be iui.-utiderstOod. yov father, with hi-foot
>tiil planteo ujx>n the gravt of Mrs. WHITAKER,
says further of the riiROPE- : " Under what j
title or auspices did they -ettle? Neither the
gallant and patriotic grand-father of Mr A', E
RY, nor any other Connecticut settlers recog
nized them at that time." I will answer. fir?t.
that there are no documents to show it ; but
the tradition is, that at the time of the cap
ture. they wire holding und<-r a Connecticut
claim The township in which Wysox w:i
situated. was " Ciaveraek." 3 name given by
the Sus.pi-hanna proprietor-, and that being
the name of a town fi the Ea-t side of the
lluds-m. uearly ej>posite Catskill, where the
VAN Valkk.nm.rcs had. iivt-d : how natural bir
the Conuevticut owners to endesv =r to please
the settler- from Cat-kill and " Old Olavent.-h.*'
bv giving the same name to their new homes.
Iu this view the Stropes and VAN VALKEX
biK-.s lot k like any other sort ..f characters
than adventuring "interlopers." They secured,
from the " proprietors." their old Dutch name,
to which, by early association-, they had be- ;•
cw -o mix h attached. Tni- indhnfttes tenn
of cordial cofidence between them and the pa
triotic " proprietor*."
But. ;tr. with considerable effort, and with
bis foot set uf-sn an honored lady's tomb. yx:r
father reaches *p to pluck tbe'ieavos from the
laurel, which.' by patient research and with
fe most ponxxse I had planted, and had been
hoping to keep green to her memory. With
a strauge impulse, he -ca:ters tho-e leave-
equivocally obtained, upon th* grave of my
•-rrsßd-'atcer Ou b 1 ? behalf w-om I bsv
. :g l •- *r*ak T rer •• ic ——i.
The violent and reckless baud, which was re
quired to strip them from the branch oil which
they were growing by Mrs. WHITAKER' S tomb,
made them wither before they fell upon his.—
Take them back : let your lather do simple jus
tice before he seeks to bestow complimentary
legacies.
On re-perusing Mrs. WHITAKER'S narrative,
you may be sure, sir, I was truly pleased to
fiud this statement iu her own words : "When
my first husband died, in ISUS, J. H. AVERY
helped and befriended me in settling his estate,
so also did Judge ASHBEL WELLS : my hus
band left no will, having died suddenly, bv
having his leg crushed iu the machinery of a
mill, near where the late Deacon JoxEs lived."
I can sj>eak with propriety of Judge WELLS. —
He was a discriminating, highly intelligent aud
judicious man, and knew the difference bet ween
a truth-telling woman, and one who could ori
ginate a vile fabrication.
Your father takes exception to this, which
ajtpears in the St. Nicholas, as written by me ;
" Mr. MIXER, in his excellent History of Wyo
ming, makes no mention of the destruction ot
the settlement at Wysox. He does not ap
j>ear even to have been apprised of its exis
tence." no calls this a " complimentary im
jieachment" of his History. Any sensible man
will tell him that those sentences convey no
impeachment. He happened not to have been
ajprised of the event. It would have been an
impeachment if I had charged him with a
knowledge of it, and that he had suppressed it
from his work Wysox was about sixty miles
above the field of his immediate research, and
no rational man would impeach him unless he
assumed to cover more ground than he could
examine thoroughly. I ask notc whether such
was not the case, and whether he should not
now be impeached by this, connected with oth
er omitted facts. He fins omitted mention of
a patriotic family, settled at She-she-quiu, one
at Towanda, aud also the more interesting par
ticulars connected with the FITZGERALDS who
settled below Wysox. But I will impeach hiru
from the record. He says : "In the month of
May, 17T8, * * no families were attacked—
no houses burned." In answer to this. I refer
youjto page 516, ' Pennsylvania Archives,
1777-S," where a letter appears from JAMES
POTTER, under date of ATay 17. 1778. written
from "Upper Fort," Penns Valley. He says:
*' Our savage enemies continue to murder and
scalp. * * * On the 11th in-t., out of a
few families, coming to Lycoming, six person
were killed. * * Three men also, at Loyal-'
sock. * * Further, twenty person- killed
on the North Brunch I the main river which
runs by Wysox. was then so called) and one
taken prisoner, who made his escape. (This
was probably far above Wyoming, for. if it had
been near there. Mr MIXER might have heard
of it ; but as he has now taken all of the Sus
quehanna under his jurisdiction, we have a
right to make a charge of—want of knowledge.
The wriur goes on, " the prisoner who has es
caped. -ay- that the Indians are determined to
clear the two Branches of the Susquehanna,
thu moon (clear them of the white -cttler-. of
course.^
Now, here is substantial impeachment, and
not very "complimentary." Your father mid
like to make u- believe that the tuajoritv of
settlers above Wyoming were Tories. A* he
knew scarcely anything of the upper portions
of the river, th.s was a convenient theory. But
the fact is different, as mauy yet living, well
know. The Tories were few. comparatively.
For further and important defects in votir
father's history, with regard to BRANT'S parti
cipation in the Wyoming massacre—the Mora
vian Mi-sion- ESTHER'S hi-tory—the
locality of S' LIJVAN'S battle upon the Toga,
and Indian H;-t<>ry generally. I might refer
you to ttro faithful and intelligent Historian*.
o!" Towanda aud Eiraira, as well a- to the se
ries and "54' of tfle St. Nicholas ; but
for the rea.*on that I have no right to ura
any gentlemen into to this controversy, with
out consulting thcin. I refrain from saying how
much the* might enlighten your father
Again, sir. you have misquoted iae from the
St. Nicholas, to suit your jmrpo-e :—•
srcuocs. OLM'INT
*• At the <•{*■:!!!* of th ** At th opening of the
nrtr. under the gauLtuce of war. Un ier the iruidi&'re of
their war-chief*, (the M -'their war-chief .the .
hawks.) r.umerva- famuiui rjmer'His powerful, va
vacat'Ni their p- oi ated their P"-sc-*si..ris np- n
the M >hawk. aisi removed the Mohawk, aad renKurii to
toCaaada. ' i< aaada."—it .YicAuu-r, p.
Auain : *• Tfcev were tak-: *l.
eti at once to T: -ca I'wil. Again—page 12i : •• The
in>i th*re fiun up." [in tW aptOes were take-, el e -
le >or(o b poe i.) Twn Point, and there
t Oi, w. no, no 'J ■ hire up L" a Britih. at DK
Jncfd to a Bntteh officer." lead of his JUiigers and In
ic. iuos."
The words, " families," " iatroluccd," 4c.,
arc your iut. rpolation*.
Now, air. I appn-wh another subject with
some reluctance, imt I feel the necessity and
justice of allude:ng to it. The of
Selastain ami Joho Str.pe are so respect aide
and intelligent, and feel so keenly your attack,
that they will banily excuse me if I fail to make
mention >f any important fact that may have
a bearing U]>-Q the qn-tion of father's
cwadoT ami fairness. As they arc upon the de
fen-ive —an attacked party—and. a-sailed bv
suqris\ a.* you w t ll km *—l v*ill help then:
to weaken you and fortify themselves. I wi'l
name some of them : Mrs. LTWA S*rorr. wi
dow of Judge GEORGE SCOTT, ami Mrs. Bt RDX
KINGSBJ RV. her dajght< r. at Towanda ; Mr*.
JANE LEAVEXWORTH and Mrs. CATHARINE HC
LET. of Genoa, in th"> State : II >.RRT STROPT.
of Wysox; Mr-. MARY HART, of Mooroeton :
Mrs. EBENEZEK STEVENS, of Candor iu this
county ; ISAAC STROVE, Mrs. HENRY TO TLE,
4c., 4e.
You ap- w*'l awar that quite a proportion
of voor father's bist>rr roiat** to the roeftict
ing titles of Connecticut and Fenn-ylrama t->
th* northern part of your State. I had heard
about two years since, that Samuel Avery, mv
grin-ifatber, pebiisbed a treatise upon those
titles aiwl. having a wish to see it.
I wrote to yc>nr father in 1853. requesting hiir
to -end me a eojvy, as I had understood he was
the publisher of tfie work for Mr. A Your
father rouid !>*■( or weald cot furnish it tone.
About a yar since st the Piouecr Festfral at
A 'l e? !* iroiT.es -~>f "he oM settlers for
t. ' ' :. r" v I "e? s **jw >~vz t
Major KINGSBURY of Bradford County. Jt
tit! is "The Suscjuelianna Controversy Exam
ined' Done with Truth and Candor, by S. A.
(Wilkesbarre Pa.) Printed by A. 4 C. Miner,
1803," und numbering 141 pages of closely and
well reasoned mutter and showing laborious
research. 1 would like to have the grand chil
dren and the great-grandchildren of Sebastian
Strojie take your father's hook in one hand,
particularly between pages 63 and 103 and the
treatise in the other, and see whole solid pages
transcribed from one to the other. Tills was
all well enough if your father had ouly given
credit, but the uame, Samuel Avery, does not
appear from the beginning to the end of hi
work. lie does say occasionally, however, in
a style quite amusing, "it is moreover asserted
by A very. 1 kuow not ou what authority' Ac.,
again " Sir. Avery adds but gives no authority
for the opinion," Ac., again, "so says the Con
necticut Advocate" 4c. The authority was
good enough for your father, on which to base
pages of sold matter ; then why. did he ques
tion it ?
Mr. A VERY was a poor man ; thrown al
most upon the charities of the world by the
failure of his Connecticut title ; and his trea
tise was written while he was surrounded by a_
large family, suffering and dependent. Iu this
point of view it was poor authority, but the
material was rich enough for your father's use,
notwithstanding it was furnished to his hand
by a depressed and almost despairing man.
And now, sir, let me weave together the
threads of this matter in a more compart form:
and. after having thrown the uet—for which
you have *o -.trangely j)reiured yourselves, by
your ferociou.* attack—securely over both, 1
will leave you. I hold,
l*t. I have established Mrs. WHITTAKER'S
go<xl faith.
2d. 1 have shown that her narrative i- nei
ther un " afterthought**" of Ii-rs, uor of njiuc.
3d. The recital, in and of itself, is con-is
tent, and corrcsjtouds with coteuiporaucous
history.
4th. .She was old enough to comprehend the
leading events.
sth. That the settlement at WYSOX was pro
bably under Connecticut, and therefore ortho
dox ausjfices. according to Mr. Miner.
6th. '1 hat .t was destroyed and the families f
captured.
7th. That Mr. Miner's History is defective '
in the omission of this and numerous similar
events ujwn the uj>jer portionsof the river and
conflicts with Mrs. Whittaker. and the " Penn
sylvania Archives."
Bth. That lie has, by interpolation, misquot
ed, materially, his own history and in} writings
in the St Nicholas, for nootber purpose aj>pa
reutly, than to injure the character of the
Stroj>e.s and wound my feeiingsas the r humble
annalist.
9th. That he ha-, in his history, n-ed *h..-
literary htlxvrs of an old friend, published bv
him iu lbo3, without honorable eckaowkrtLs
ment.
10th. That he ha- committed a blunder,
near horn-' by not knowing that it was
Elijah Shoemaker, whon th* tory Wtndaker,
ina-sacred. See hi.- appendix, page 16. where
he ha* it wrung, j
11th. That the large Dutch Bible, exhibited
at the Pioneer F etiral at Okego. thciJdult..
and which wa- carri-1ly the fainlfv throughout
their whole captivity, and has upon it- cover
the mark of the conflagration from which it >. as
saved is ' *troug as proof from the Holy Writ.'
to their unshaken fidelity, a- Christian
Patriot.*; and that the absurd hyjiothcsl* that
they burned t;.< ir own buildings, "as n tL-cfnl
doai to cover their true desiini M JWBT fa
ilier -*ay> : scorched their family Bible : swept
off all the coiuforta which they had Ln accu
mulating f.>r five years at their Louie cp-oatL'.s
remote frontier ; and then eud•lred a captivity
of twi years and abent a half: an i. after the
the war, returned to the sam-- groond. which '5
even now occtqaed by a graua-oa. ami—but
*top. w iiy pur-ue such absurdity ? 1 take it
that the world are not all fv< Is. if your fatiier
i*—such a. bad logician.
12th That he ha- unnecessarily, har-hiy
and wantonly hurt th* feelings of the descen
dants of Seija*tian and Johu Stroj**. by ro;,
jectures and reckless assertions, w iuiout a sin
gle fa**t. and has. qute —rrTiirarilj. although
quit' 1 jathetical!y, c Judge Jr.- • r
tor having re*T<oded. •' ami I will add that ! *
did so in a truly excellent speech} t< the 7th
regular toast, which fur fear you ui!-qite
I will give you in full :
"Tu* family of .SEBASTIAN STROPE —captives
of the Wysox -pr-oners upon the ro.i-q'Khaa
na— -exile* in Canada. TIKV have taught the
white ohi!6-oj.h*r a* w#{' a- the Indian stoic,
the sobiiinity of Faith."'
And further, you have nnneeesarily, bat
with a high reaching jvufcos. cnm:-mtol
lien. <"A*. Mr. BROPHFAD and others, for hay
ing -cut cheering letters of re-p a? t- i-nr
" splendid ff*tival." a* you derisively call it ;
and to which th- y had l--*n -; -a - y.
with apt*rout horror, to ple!ru " inirrwwral
HONOR- to RIFBASRTAN STROPE and G so. WAMS
INSTON \ S;r. I rc|*at. ':rtitn.>t in \ >ae an
worthy vein, it *a> a sjiendia Festival, a ,d I
rejoice that apj-njriatc mention va* mad of
lwt> anrtiiv.
To that fe-'iva?, vonr father w-- ful
ly ami cordially invited. Hi* letter response
WAS noble, uiuuly. and u.vrtny of tiw cca?m
I shall IKY- r forget th* gr. rif.ed !-.k of the
andien'T. anl the plea-nre I felt w?.. n or,
ha of (t-,~ ("omrilttceof AmjP-romc- r-. I rond
it to th* honored in as gnot way 3s
my - &'••*.-- w> >ki permit. Among il-e
FAFATA VCK HURT >:X--PE. an old g> ntlr
ma* atwi - veral who hid joorncved all
the way from Wysox and Towanda. to Kc rce--
en' n-vi wiw> aro d*s(*oi>daii*s of the r-atrot.
against whom you have issued inyowcoinnms.
a: this late day. a procratratKHi of arraiDoer
If I had droamc*i or suspected thai the same
pen. which w rote thv letter, sv- *o soon to in
dite the proclamation I wctnltl now ask their
j aro- c. behait of the Committee and of our
County—for sach WJL* cot the fetfrtaaawrt
to which err r ~ td citiaens, zz-i
r*. *r :ro'*ed "ZciZ
\'OL. XV. —NO. 4:3.
[NOTE. —When, burdened with official du
ties uud with but little leisure, 1 commenced
writing this letter—l hoped—desired, earnest
ly desired—that I might discharge uiy duty to
this family and to the cause of truth, without
speaking too plainly, and agitating your aged
lather—for I have b?en accustomed to Vcn r
ate years—and 1 have, in an humble way, nt
all tines endeavored, by influence and example,
to enjoin this upou those of my own age and
generation ; but pray, sir, point out the limit,
--or let the public do that fyr us—ujxjti the
• lark, field of private vrronsr, 'where veneration
should- leave off, and resistance begin.
I hear from a friend, who was at Wilkesbwr
re the next week after oar village pupers reach -
| ed there, freighted as they were with the report
|of that festival-—of the great interest it there
j excited with all classes—your father, doubtless
| at thu time, had many iuquiric* addressed to
I him as to the history ai d sufferings of the
! STROM: family ; but he, no mention having boon
made of these interesting facts, in hi.s own
J work—felt driven, by- '• pride of authorship" to
: iff are tli'in. Under such impulse, he unwise
ly thought thut he must attaint the bloodof
the Si MORES, or else suffer himself, asa h'uturi
j an. How unfortunate, sir. how verv uufor
j tunale. that he should have so thought, ami
that you should have blazoned such waut of
wisdom in your columns ! It is a mistake to
supjrftsf that any one elevates himself in the
I same ratio that he seeks to depress others.—
I -ually. as in this instance, the result is quite
; different. If his facts are mistaken, his cuu
, elusions erroneous, and his intention sottish, he
d- pre-scs himself, like the heavy end of the old
fashioned well—weep, going down plump to the
j ground. with it dead weight hurrying the de
=*ent. while the old oaken bucket," fresh and
running over from the deep well of Truth, ru
•' us u the top.j
loth. Alt.hough the bran* hes ot defence
against your attack, are as numerous a-. the
J stars upon our country's flag, and too, as clear,
I 1 w ill stop, now. at" thirteen," for the Strores
love 1 that number, in " the times that tried
. mens souls." I make lids statement for fear
; that you may forget the stars, while feeling uud
• contemplating only the Id strip's.
i In colluding. I take the liU-rty tosav, that
, the History of Wyoming by vour father,
<'n.vr.-.F.s Mixf.r. by means of this painful con
' trover.-y. which !♦*, through you. has initiated,
j looks UiU. ii less like a monument to his indus
! try and fairness thau it did before his wanton
j attack and th*sr disclosures, if. !>v his impru
dence and pa—ion. it becomes further under
j mined, it will lose its boasted character, and
[totter, on its injured uase, —no lunger a nionu
| Kent—but an aecu-iug, reproachful column.
I am sir. nitb line consideration,
l'our-. Sic.,
< lt.\Ki.r< r. AVERY".
Oiregn. 2/crcd 2b, lSpo.
j SII.vf.RINO Misjtojp.—The silvering of m:r>
i r>.r< i* performed in the following manner :
| A sheet of tin foil, the -ize of the projosed
| niirror, is laid on a flat tabic, and rubl*-d over
with a little men-try. until the latter to a
, certain degree. amalgamates with the tin A
'urge quantity of mercury i.-> then p. a red over
th- worknv..-- ha.lug certain ways informing
them whether the sheet is iu aproperly pre] tar
ed st-jLte rot. When ail i right. the edge
of a sheet of peper is laid upon the edge of
| the mercury, ami the glass is then did trendy
: along, pushing part of the quicksilver before it,
and resting nj<on the remaindt r. When the
plate i? thirty I U H on, the surface is entirely
: covered by Lea .y weights for the purjose of
expiring all the mercury except that which is
combined with the tin foil, ami in this state it
is ado wed to ret .-.a, the tabic having a alight
induration. until tie mercury Ls drained off
la the rase of large plate*, this sometime*
occnid.- a lone time : and even after the pb->s
1.4J fccn lifted and set on edge, smnli quantities
continue to ooze o.it. When the plate is lut
ed. tlit tin foil adheres to the lack, a:.d the
mirror is form d.
i
A R 'tfNNG Sr-VR 11 ATHF.aS v. i M S- VT(
what of that : who w ants to be a Rf-sv old
stone away in some damp Corner of a pasture
where -andiinc ami fre-h air never conn.a, f r
the cows to rub thcmsclres against, for snails
r.rd bug s to <rawf over, ami toads to sqnat un
der among the poisoonsts weeds. It is farbet
tcr to b- a smooth end polisfcal stone roiling
along in tl-e brar- i;ng stream of die. wearing
off the rough arm r-. bringing out the firm
cry - fuli a<* structure of the delicate veins of th-.
agate. I* j; cha ;giog and rub
bing in the whirling current that show? what
sort of grit a man U maic- of, and what uv Le
is good for.
■—
A Broap Hivt. A jv.pular clergyman in
New -\ ork, who was >a.iiy annc.ved bv inces
sant coughing among hi* wtTtration. mns>.j
tn ds discourse an 1 remarked, tnat *• If toe
i-i-is*.*" would wreuT tlidr bor a.: s their boa-Is,
fctt-i t-.e the str.ng*. cough- w.vud not le v
j rwah-nt." He certainly d eft mran to be
" coughed down."
f'l'" Toe foilcw lag was jasstal oa the d.v.vr
of th I.ttiivx ( .run h iu HirUoriibire some
tD h&t k :—" r.i- - to give not;.-e that ao
j-. r-ui to l>e 1 ir.'.-l in the cLnr.heard, but
th-is Sv?.;g in the parib. Tbc<ae who w[h to
k .iri.-vi, ir ksiri to apply to Kpfcraitn
tjruuo. partsu cie/k.'
CT ee ror Kinoboxe —I notjcod in the C ;!ti
vator for May i"*h aa taqnirv for the care. ; t
r r.gr <> ;n a colt. ar.] ar.w e r, take h'gl
T cider brandy ati*J yahr*-tre as wi a 5 wil
disawlve, a*<i ;i-h the ring:oac two or th r e %
tmc.- a tiny. Uae •>. ray ae.gnmvs curai oo*
of three or jVt years -trading, by the a-
UQB of tru- a few biues — Lou a Celt it zt
i *
ter If y i to wfcethcra -oil
*r tr ■? oo"."a:?.* i;c*r. ru jj-jr pcur ir - ""
it % small qaatuttr of noegnr. or dilate tr url
acc tiid. If uzse rg vit's ' -
'ir'.izzr :: *~s;-ec-e