DIARY OF A MORAVIAN INDIAN MISSION
MIGRATION ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA
IN 1772
Translated and edited by AUGUST C. MAHR
Professor of German, Ohio State
University
The travel diary presented in these
pages deals with the
migration of Indian convert members of
the Moravian Church
from northeastern to northwestern
Pennsylvania in the summer
of 1772. Undertaken as a measure of
extreme necessity and
directed by two competent missioners,
this expedition carried out
only in part the Moravian Mission's
full intention: to transplant its
Pennsylvania Indian converts into the
Muskingum basin in eastern
Ohio. This diary, describing that
laborious trek throughout the full
length of Pennsylvania, antedates by
eight months the Rev. John
Heckewelder's diary account of a river
journey by which he con-
veyed a great many of these same
converts, with all their be-
longings, from the Great Beaver mission
of Friedensstadt
(Langundoutenunk) to Schonbrunn and
Gnadenhutten, the new
missions just founded on the Tuscarawas
River in Ohio. Never-
theless, Heckewelder's diary was
printed in this magazine prior
to the present one.1 The proper
chronological order of publication
was reversed for a simple reason: at
the time that Heckewelder's
diary was being prepared for the
printer, the manuscript of the
present diary had not even been known
to exist, for not until
late in 1951 was it
"discovered" among other manuscripts in the
documents collection of the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Society, and its identity
established by this writer.
The following historical and
biographical survey may serve to
demonstrate the import of the diary
presented below for the study
of the pre-Revolutionary situation in
eastern Ohio, which, in the
early 1770's, was essentially
determined by the active presence of
1 August C. Mahr, tr. and ed., "A
Canoe Journey from the Big Beaver to the
Tuscarawas in 1773: A Travel Diary of John
Heckewelder," Ohio State Archae-
ological and Historical Quarterly, LXI (1952), 283-298.
The preparation of both these articles
was supported in part from funds granted
to Ohio State University by the Research Foundation at
Ohio State University for
aid in fundamental research.
247
248
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
the Moravian convert Indians who, under
the guidance of their
missionaries, had moved here from
Pennsylvania.
In 1769 the Mission Board of the
Moravian Church at Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, upon the recommendation
of its leading missioner,
David Zeisberger, enjoined one of the
latter's co-workers in the
Indian mission field, the Rev. Johannes
Roth, to lay out a new
mission station on the upper course of
the Susquehanna's North
Branch. The site for it had been chosen
near Schechschequanunk,
an old Indian village about twenty-five
river miles above the
mission of Friedenshutten, founded by
Zeisberger four years
earlier near present-day Wyalusing.
Very soon, both of these
stations greatly prospered; yet, even
then, the Moravian Indian
mission on the Susquehanna was doomed,
though through no
fault of Zeisberger's or his helpers',
but solely as a result of un-
controllable circumstances. The
Moravian chronicler and biog-
rapher Bishop Edmund de Schweinitz
plainly states the reasons:
The land granted by the Iroquois
Council to the Susquehanna converts
now formed a part of the tract sold by
the same Council to Pennsylvania
at the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. . . .
Moreover, the Yankee and Pennamite
War raged in the valley of Wyoming; and
the disturbances which had been
inaugurated were beginning to affect
Friedenshutten, whose teachers saw
that it was no longer a safe retreat for
the Mission. On the other hand, the
Grand Council at Gekelemukpechunk
[present-day Newcomerstown, Ohio]
had urgently invited the Christian Indians to settle
among the Delawares.2
Increasingly discouraged about their
future in the East, the
Delaware (or Lenni Lenape), since about
1724, had gradually
migrated westward. The mission board
therefore agreed with
Zeisberger when he proposed to
transplant the Susquehanna con-
verts into the new Delaware territory.
Hence in 1770 he founded
Friedensstadt among the Monsey, the
Wolf Tribe of the Delaware,
on the Great Beaver River near
present-day Moravia in north-
western Pennsylvania. Soon, though, he
realized that the profligate
heathen Monsey in the long run were
sure to make highly ob-
noxious neighbors for his mission
Indians. So he decided that
2 Edmund de Schweinitz, The Life and
Times of David Zeisberger (Philadelphia,
1870), 369-370.
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 249
Friedensstadt too was to be abandoned
as soon as possible, but
not, however, until he would have
provided for them a new
mission home across the Ohio, somewhere
near Gekelemukpechunk,
the capital of his protector,
Netawatwes, Great Chief of the
Delaware nation. Friedensstadt,
meanwhile, was to serve as a
receiving station, as it were, for the
Susquehanna converts during
their gradual migration from
northeastern Pennsylvania to the
Muskingum basin in Ohio. Netawatwes and
his grand council in
1771 gave the Moravian mission the
definite go-ahead sign; hence
in May 1772 Zeisberger established the
new mission town of
Schonbrunn, and, later in the same
year, Gnadenhutten, both on
the Tuscarawas, twenty and ten miles,
respectively, up the river
from the great chief's council seat.
With Schonbrunn laid out, Ettwein and
Roth, the missionaries
at Friedenshutten and
Schechschequanunk, started on their over-
land trek with all the converts.
"The Indians were mustered on
the 1st of June." "One
hundred and fifty-one" of them were "from
Friedenshutten, and fifty-three from
Schechschiquanunk." A con-
siderable number, indeed, for, "in
the time of the Mission at
Friedenshutten, 1765 to 1772, one
hundred and eighty-six persons"
had been "added to the
Church."3
On June 11, the Indian converts,
altogether two hundred and
four men, women, and children, started
on their migration west-
ward in two columns. The one by land
under the Rev. Johannes
Ettwein marched in a general
southwestern direction, first to the
headwaters of Muncy Creek, and then,
following that stream,
to its confluence with the West Branch
of the Susquehanna.
Here they were joined by the second
column under the Rev.
Johannes Roth which had traveled in a
great number of canoes
freighted with old people, mothers and
children, and the heavy
baggage down the North Branch and up
the West Branch to
Ettwein's camp, about five miles above
the mouth of Muncy
Creek. Having been notified about
Ettwein's arrival as early
as June 17, it still took Roth and his
river travelers until June 20
at 4:00 P.M. to meet with Ettwein.
3 Ibid., 376n.
250
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
From the diaries of both Ettwein and
Roth a clear picture of
their joint overland expedition stands
out, with all its gruelling
hardships for old and young, strong and
weak, men and women,
redskins and whites alike. Starting at
Great Island (near present-
day Lock Haven), where Roth's river
travelers sold their canoes
to local white settlers, Ettwein's and
Roth's columns marched
jointly across the mountains westward
toward the Allegheny
River. At Great Island they also left
the heaviest pieces of their
belongings in safe keeping, such
articles as weighty iron tools that
were not immediately needed; but even
rid of this ballast, they
suffered untold hardships. In July,
when the weather became hot,
they had to traverse swamps where
millions of gnats and mosquitoes
nearly drove them to distraction--along
with their horses and their
cattle, a large herd of which Ettwein's
converts had taken all the
way from Friedenshutten. On top of the
measles, which had begun
to break out at the very outset, there
came malaria and dysentery;
many of the children were sick,
including Roth's infant son,
Johannes, who at the time of this
journey was only a little older
than ten months. Twice the ailing
child, together with his mother
who carried him in her arms on
horseback, was thrown out of the
saddle. Even for those who were not
sick, walking or riding down
steep proclivities was in some places
an untold exertion because
of the slipperiness of the stony path,
if such it can be called, where
neither man nor beast could catch a
secure foothold.
Strangely enough, the ailments and the
misery of only a few
ended in death. The majority safely
reached their destination: the
mission of Friedensstadt on the Great
Beaver. Eventually, during
the few months following their arrival
from the Susquehanna, all
of them were led to the Tuscarawas
missions, Schonbrunn and
Gnadenhutten.
Of this remarkable migratory
enterprise, not without justification
styled an "Anabasis" by Roth
himself, two accounts are in existence.
One of the two is Ettwein's official
travel journal submitted to the
authorities of the Moravian Church.4
Ettwein's journal has been
4 The manuscript is among the Ettwein
Papers in the Moravian Archives at
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 251
frequently studied and discussed. It
contains a detailed description
of the Susquehanna converts' migration
under his leadership from
Friedenshutten to Friedensstadt. Roth's
river journey is barely men-
tioned in it.
The other of the two accounts had
remained unknown for 180
years, at least to history. It is the
Rev. Johannes Roth's diary cover-
ing this expedition. It is a private
diary, and that is why, so far,
no copy of it has been found in the
Moravian Archives at Bethlehem,
the explanation being that only one
official report about any im-
portant Moravian matter of business is
ever submitted to the
church--that of the person officially
in charge. The responsible
agent in this case having been the Rev.
Johannes Ettwein, whose
report had been duly received at
Bethlehem shortly after the com-
pletion of his assignment, the diary of
the Rev. Johannes Roth, his
lieutenant, must have been privately
kept and never meant for the
authorities. The diary had been passed
on in direct line in the Roth
family until, in 1935, the Rev. C. C.
Roth of Kenosha, Wisconsin,
a descendant of the diarist, placed it,
as a deposit, in the manuscripts
collection of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society.
In connection with research on Moravian
documents carried out by
this writer, it came to light, was
translated from the German, and is
being published in these pages for the
first time, with the approval
of the Archives Commission of the
Provincial Elders' Conference,
Northern Province, of the Moravian
Church in North America.
From this diary not much can be found
out about either Roth's
ability or his method as a leader. He
seems not to have had too
much personal contact with the
individual Indians of his travel
party, nor to have interfered directly
whenever it became necessary;
wisely, he probably left it to his five
native "division leaders,"
whom he mentions in the very beginning
of his account, to straighten
out difficulties with the Indians. In
part, this may have been the
accepted procedure among Moravian
missionaries when on the road
with Indian converts; in part, however,
it may have been Roth's
Prussian heritage that caused him to
leave to his "corporals" what
he knew to be their business, but not
his, the "commanding officer's."
This is an earmark of the Prussian form
of efficiency, and Roth was
252
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
a Prussian, born in the province of
Brandenburg. His parents were of
the middle class, and, as a lad, he had
been trained as a locksmith.
Yet he appears to have been
sufficiently imbued with the Prussian
principle of authority to be capable of
delegating responsibilities
when called upon to do so. At any rate,
he proved a thoroughly
trustworthy and brave field executive
under the command of a
superior planner and organizer, such as
the future bishop in his
church, Johannes Ettwein. As a devout
and fervent Moravian
Christian, missioner, and minister of
Christ's gospel, Roth was fully
Ettwein's equal--also as a shepherd who
would have given willingly
for his flock not only his own life but
also those of his wife and
child.
Roth's diary is important to the
historian in general, and in par-
ticular, to the student of the Moravian
Indian missions in the
late eighteenth century, in that it
gives a detailed account of the
river journey from Friedenshutten to
Muncy Creek. It could not be
described in Ettwein's official report
because Ettwein, during those
days, was marching overland, with his
party, from the one point
to the other. To the linguist, however,
and especially to him who is
concerned with the language of the
Lenape and with Indian place
names, this diary is invaluable, since
Roth recorded in it numerous
appellations his Indian travel
companions used for localities along
the river as well as in the mountains,
which, subsequently, he
traversed jointly with Ettwein and his
party.
Roth's transliterations of these Lenape
names, many of which
have so far been entirely unknown, are
clearly phonetical; that is,
he jotted them down as they sounded to
his German ear, and on
the basis of German phonology. He was
totally unconcerned with
their etymology, which doubtless,
however, held no mysteries for
him, accomplished linguist that he was.
Next to Zeisberger, Roth was perhaps
the greatest expert in
Delaware dialects among the Moravian
missionaries of his day,
excelling even Heckewelder. He had
acquired this knowledge
comparatively late in life. At the time
of this journey across Penn-
sylvania in the summer of 1772, Roth
was in his forty-seventh year
of life, had been married only two
years, and had been a missioner
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 253
for only thirteen. Daniel G. Brinton,
in a justified appreciation of
Roth's merits as a Lenapist, published
a representative sample, with
interlinear translation, of "an
extensive religious work" composed
by Roth "distinctly in the
Unami" dialect. It dealt with "the Story
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
translated into the Unami
dialect of the Delaware, from Passion
Week until the Ascension
of our Lord; in the years 1770 and
[to?] 1772, at Tschech-
schequanung on the Susquehanna."
This creditable enterprise must
have been just completed when the bell
was about to toll for
pulling up stakes at the Susquehanna
missions. Unfortunately, "only
the fifth part remains" of this
work. "It is now in the possession
of the American Philosophical
Society," in Philadelphia.5
Immediately upon the Susquehanna
converts' arrival at Friedens-
stadt, Roth was appointed resident
minister to this mission. In 1773
he was transferred to Gnadenhutten, the
second of the two Tus-
carawas missions founded in 1772. Here,
on July 4, 1773, his
second son, Johannes Ludwig, was born,
giving Roth and his wife
the distinction of being the parents of
the first white child known
to be born in Ohio. In 1774 Roth
withdrew from the Indian mission
field and returned with his family to
Pennsylvania. After occupying
several pastorates, he died at York,
July 22, 1791.
The diary, here printed in English
translation, was written in
Roth's own hand, with pen and ink, from
a pencil draft made in
the field. The manuscript covers both
sides of three sheets of paper,
each 8" x 10" and folded
once, thus making six double, or twelve
single, pages. The right half of the
first double page is the first
text page of the diary and, at the same
time, its front cover. The
first sheet is folded in such a manner
that its left half forms the
outside back cover of the fascicle.
Only eleven pages contain text,
while the outside back cover has been
used by Roth for pen exer-
cises in trying out a new quill; the
words written are mainly men's
first names, in both German and Latin
script. Underneath, there are
six lines of Unami, carefully penned in
Latin characters; their
content is religious, probably phrases
used in a sermon.
5 Daniel G. Brinton, The Lenape and
Their Legends . . . (Philadelphia 1885),
78-83.
254 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
The diary's text is in German, quite
colloquial, with a number of
dialect idioms and grammatical
features. In addition, it contains,
after the custom of the time, numerous
Germanized loan words,
mainly from the French; these, as well
as the frequent Lenape
(Unami) words, mostly place names, are
penned in Latin script,
while the bulk of the text is written
in a rather small German script
which, however, it was not too
difficult to decipher, except in a
few places. Roth made a few notes in
the text which have been
placed at the foot of the page along
with this writer's notes. They
are indicated by asterisks. Dates have
been italicized for easier
reference, and the Indian names, which
Roth wrote in Latin script,
have also been italicized.
TRAVEL DIARY FROM FRIEDENSHUTTEN TO
LANGUNDO UTENUNK
[FRIEDENSSTADT]. 1771 [1772]6
Thursday, June l1th. After
Brother Ettwein, in the morning service, had
recommended us and our journey to the
grace of God in a prayer on our
knees, and we had thanked Him with
blissfully contrite and humble hearts
for the blessings so far received from
Him, we departed at 2 o'clock in the
afternoon in five divisions. Each division
was given its leader, and that
same day we still completed eight miles
of our course.7 We and our things
became pretty wet from the rain on the
Susquehanna. Many a time we
sighed: "God bless our departure .
.. [a hymn]." In our night quarters
we had smoke and sand flies all about
us; the place was called que nahlach
quamique;8 on account of the rain we were forced to build [bark]
huts;
to my amazement it happened that within
two hours we all had roofs
6 The year, "1771," was later
added, in darker ink, to the title of the manuscript,
but is incorrect; it ought to read
"1772."
7 The night camp of June 11 was at the
wide, flat expanse across the river from
present-day Skinner's Eddy, Wyoming
County.
8 In the form in which Roth writes this
name it makes no sense. As an acceptable
conjecture I propose quen-nallah-kamike:
quen-, "far, long"; nallah[ih], "up the
stream"; -kamike, often
found in descriptive place names, refers to the nature of the
soil, here meaning "good
soil." See David Zeisberger, "Dictionary in Four
Languages, viz., English, German,
Onondaga & Delaware," a manuscript in the
Harvard University Library, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, fol. 47; see also D. G. Brinton
and A. S. Anthony, A Lenape-English
Dictionary (Philadelphia, 1888), 170. The
name, meaning "bottom land far
upstream," perfectly fits the wide flats opposite
Skinner's Eddy. It is named "North
Flat" on the United States Geological Survey
Map of Pennsylvania, Laceyville Quadrangle.
For a detailed word analysis of the
new Indian place names in this diary,
see August C. Mahr, "How to Locate Indian
Place Names on Modern Maps," Ohio
Journal of Science, LIII (1953), 129-137.
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 255
over our heads. Thus we spent a quiet
night and slept so well that nobody
woke up until it was bright daylight;
the rest did us a lot of good. Our
little Johannes,9 too, slept
peacefully and sound in his tent. We all arose
in high spirits. The Daily Word for the 12th
of this month [Exod. 15:17]
was well suited to our journey and
encouraged us a great deal, and at
8:30 A.M.
we continued happily on our way amidst
storm and waves. The
Susquehanna was quite rough and in
several places the wind smashed trees
right into the Susquehanna where some of
us had just passed; other [canoes]
were right across on the other side.10
Today Samuel's daughter broke out
with measles.11
We made camp for the night below Mehamakapuchkung
where three islands
are in the river.12 After
each of us had lighted his fire, we had the first
meeting in the forest. It made us feel
good in our hearts but we all had
to stand amidst the shrubs and high
grass. This night it was so cold that
no one could sleep on account of the
chill. On the 13th, at half past 8 A.M.,
we departed again; we had more stormy
weather, so that the Susquehanna
consisted of nothing but waves, which
hindered us a great deal on account
of the head wind. We passed Lechawachneek13
at half past 12 P.M., and at
5 P.M., Ehomatank (that is, "a cataract"),14 where at the
present time those
9 This child, Johannes Roth, was the first-born son of the Rev. Johannes
Roth
and his wife, Maria Agnes, nee
Pfingstag. The child, having been born on August 4,
1771, was, at the time of this strenuous
journey, barely older than ten months.
10 This sentence is not quite clear in
the German either.
11 This is the first-mentioned incidence
on this trip of the measles, which shortly
became epidemic among both children and
adults. Several of the children died.
12 These three islands near which camp was made on June 12 are slightly
upstream from the mouth of the
Tunkhannock, that is, about twenty-four miles
down the river from Skinner's Eddy. The name Mahamakapuchkung,
"place of
the big red rock(s)," or
"cliff(s)," indicates that the camp site has been correctly
identified, since here, along the west
bank of the Susquehanna, "red cliffs plunge
into the stream." Pennsylvania:
A Guide to the Keystone State (New York, 1940),
362; see also U. S. Geological Survey
Map of Pennsylvania, Tunkhannock
Quadrangle.
13 Properly, Lechawah-hannok, the
mouth of the Lackawanna River, above
Pittston, Luzerne County. See John
Heckewelder, "Names, Which the Lenni
Lenape, or Delaware Indians, Gave to
Rivers, Streams, and Localities Within the
States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Maryland, and Virginia, With Their Sig-
nifications," Transactions of
the American Philosophical Society, N.S., IV (1834),
361.
14 The meaning of the name is probably, "here, indeed, one fishes with
hook
and line." Roth's added remark,
"that is, 'a cataract,'" is clearly intended as a
translation of the Lenape name, and does
not conflict with the conjecture here
offered since it is reasonable that
"fishing with hook and line" should be done
by the Indians at a cataract. These
rapids were most likely at present-day Exeter,
Luzerne County.
256 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
are located who had settled in Wajomik
but had left that place. In the
fort on the right bank of the
Susquehanna there stood many spectators.15
One of them played the violin for us;
every possible caution was needed
to get over the falls. We made our night
camp in Woapaguchunge16 on the
bank of the Susquehanna on nothing but
pebbles; they were so soft [sic]
to lie on that we had to twist and turn all
the time. Here, for the first time,
we also were greatly annoyed by
booze-hounds. It had been intended as a
place of peace, in view of the Sabbath,
but because of the evil visitors we
left the camp with sleep in our eyes at
half past 5 A.M. on the 14th, and
at half past 9 A.M. we passed the Wajomik17
plain. Here I was shown the
Silver Mount and the spring which comes
out of the mountain and whose
water tastes strongly of ore so that the
Indians call that water, Bitter Water.18
Near Ehomaetank19 we
disembarked after all the canoes had been taken
over the falls. Then I preached a sermon
on Deut. 7:7. "The Lord did not
set his love upon you, etc."
Thereafter we resumed our journey and
came to Muchwewoamunk.20 Here
the first deer meat was distributed. The
evening service was about the Daily
Text [Gal. 4:6] "And because ye are
sons, etc."
Today all kinds of unpleasantness
happened, and I had to pretend not to
see things, etc. Our young men shot
three deer today. We spent the night
at Siktschinnunk.21
15 Most probably, this fort was
Fort Windermute. Those "who had settled in
Wajomik [Wyoming Valley]" but now
"are located" here after having "left
that place," were the Pennsylvanian settlers who
had been forced out when, about
a year earlier (1771), the first phase of the
Pennamite-Yankee War had ended
with a victory of the Connecticut settlers, and with
their control of the Wyoming
plains.
16 It is not possible to determine where exactly this "place near the
sycamore(s)"
was located. It can, however, not have been too far
from the fort, since the
"booze-hounds" who during the night visited
the Moravian Indians' camp (see
below), were most likely the same people who in the
late afternoon had watched
on the river bank the travelers' labors
in taking their canoes "over the falls."
17 Meaning "flat lands," it carries the connotation of
"large, extensive." This
end of the plain, passed four hours
after having set out from their night camp "at
the sycamores," was, according to evidence from
both old and modern maps,
between present-day Wilkes-Barre (south bank) and Kingston (north
bank).
18 The "Silver Mount" and the "Bitter Water" spring,
here mentioned, must
have been situated in the area covered
today by the city of Wilkes-Barre.
19 See above, note 14. This clearly is a second place the Indians called
by that
name. The rapids, found on old maps
under the name of "Wyoming Falls," appear
to have been near present-day Larksville, at Richard's
Island. See U. S. Geological
Survey Map of Pennsylvania,
Wilkes-Barre-West Quadrangle. Right below these
rapids Roth delivered his Sunday sermon on June 14.
20 As evident from W. Schull's Map
of Pennsylvania (1770), and according
to Roth's description of his journey,
this Indian village, called "Wyoming," was
situated on the south bank of the river
in the present suburban area of Wilkes-
Barre, on a plateau occupied today by
the suburbs of Buttonwood and Hanover
Green. It was 1.2 miles downstream from the falls
(Richard's Island).
21 Meaning "where the fine
hemlock are," this Indian village was at, or at least
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 257
On the 15th, early in the morning
there again arose all kinds of trouble,
and one was tempted to wish not to be
there, etc. At 8 o'clock we again
moved on. About noon,I noticed that I
had lost my pencil in the grass
and shrubs where we had camped. I was
supposed to write my diary and
I found myself in quite a predicament. I
tried to scribble with a piece of
lead, but within two hours all the
writing had vanished from my pad, and
things were no better than before. At 2 P.M. we passed Necopeco,
properly
Nisk[o]pokat,22
that means "an ugly deep
hole" below the cataract in that
place. Here, amidst fear and trembling,
the canoes were hauled over the
falls; it took two hours until all were
across, partly dragged by ropes, partly
pushed by hand. Here the Susquehanna was
no wider than, let us say, the
dam near the oil press at Bethlehem; it
was a hole, God knows how deep,
resembling a caldron, but not far from
this place, about one mile, the stream
was very wide again. Today four deer
were shot and distributed among
the people. In Wikqu[e]tschuwik23
(that means, "end of the big moun-
tains") we again had to make camp
for the night on account of the strong
and contrary wind. We lay down to rest
there with great fear of snakes.
On the 16th, at 7 A.M., we broke camp again. The wind had not yet stopped,
the water splashed into our faces, and
one might have lost heart on the
river had one not had Him as a helper, etc.
Today one bear was shot and
distributed, and likewise four deer. We
made camp for the night in
Temamipapuchko.24 Today no service could be held on account of our
late
arrival at the camp site.
On the 17th we had to put in a
day of rest in view of the severe pains ot
Anna Elisabeth, who was sick. I also
received a short note of Brother Ettwein
close to, the site of present-day
Shickshinny. It was about twenty river miles
downstream from the camp at Woapaguchunge.
22 Meaning, "black, deep water
hole." This is not a place name but the description
of a spot in the river. It is at
present-day Nescopeck, about ten miles downstream
from Shickshinny.
23 Meaning, "at the end of the mountains." This name of the
location would
in itself be of little help in
identifying it. Roth, however, writes "end of the big
mountains," pointing, thereby, to a
place on the river where the big mountains
clearly come to an end and only smaller
hills accompany the Susquehanna:
present-day Catawissa, about twenty-six
miles below Shickshinny, that being the
mileage covered on June 15. What the
Lenape named "the end of the mountains"
is the abrupt western abutment, toward
the Susquehanna, of the Catawissa
Mountain.
24 Meaning "rock [cliff] having come forth singly." This
descriptive name
fits the scenery at Danville, Montour
County, where, across the Susquehanna, near
Riverside, Northumberland County, the
powerful profile of lone Blue Hill domi-
nates the view from the river. This
place being the only one that fits the name
downstream from Catawissa, is,
therefore, to be regarded as the location of the night
camp on June 16. The day's journey was 11 1/2 miles, covered under the most
trying weather conditions, at a very slow pace: they
arrived so late that they
could not even hold their customary evening prayer
meeting.
258 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
from Muncy Creek announcing to us both
the safe arrival of our second
column and its well-being.25
Today, three deer and one bear were
shot. We were visited by many white
people. The evening meeting was about
today's Text [II Cor. 6:16]; it
was attended by numerous white people.
The location of today's meeting
was an unwooded, level area on which we
could form a nice circle, the
Sisters on the left and the Brethren on
the right; some of the visiting strangers
sat down amongst us. After the meeting
was over, a trader approached me,
addressing me with these words,
"You have commendable customs among
your people." I made no reply.
Thereafter he identified himself, saying that
in the past he had attended the
Brethren's meetings at Oley26 and had
kept company with such persons as liked
to speak about dear Jesus, but
that, in these parts, he had not
found that kind of people, a fact to which
he did not seem indifferent, etc. Then
he said, "It is written: Thou shalt
not seek Jesus here or there but in your
heart."27 This gave me an oppor-
tunity to speak straight to his heart of
the only true faith in the crucified
Jesus:"Do you know the wounds, have
you sought and found forgiveness
through their merits [a hymn verse]
?" At this point he admitted his in-
sufficiency and confessed that, in
consideration of God's will, he was a
great debtor, etc.... "He whom the Son makes free is truly free,28
for
there is freedom to be found for all the
world in the sacrifice of Jesus, etc."
He went away deeply moved and was
grateful for my helping words; to all
appearances, it had been a blessed
discourse. The next morning he came
back with his entire family, and after
his particular fashion, took a cordial
farewell, wishing for us God's help,
etc.
25 Muncy Creek, where Ettwein
wrote and dispatched the note to Roth, was
situated near present-day Muncy,
Lycoming County. Here at the mouth of Muncy
Creek, as well as in various other
places along the West Branch, was a Monsey
settlement. By the trail that followed
the course of that creek Ettwein and his
"second column" of Indian
converts had traveled on foot from Friedenshutten
down to the West Branch, awaiting here
the arrival of Roth, who, with his
Schechschequanunk converts, had not even
reached the confluence of the two
Susquehanna branches when he received
Ettwein's note. It was by the same
Muncy Creek trail that other Moravians
had traveled before: Count Zinzendorf,
in 1742; Bishop Spangenberg (with Conrad
Weiser), in 1745; Mack and Grube,
in 1753. See G. P. Donehoo, A History
of the Indian Villages and Place Names
in Pennsylvania . . . (Harrisburg, 1928), 122
et seq. The Lenape name of the
Indian village of Muncy Creek was Minsink,
"the habitation of the Monseys."
Heckewelder, "Indian Names,"
363.
26 One of the oldest settlements
in Berks County, Oley was also "one of the
first fields occupied by the Moravian
Church in Pennsylvania." Donehoo, Indian
Place Names, 136.
27 This is a rather vague reference to
Matt. 24: 23-27 (Mark 13: 21-27).
28 More precisely, "If
therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed" (John 8: 36).
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 259
On the 18th, at 9:30 A.M., we broke
camp, and at 12 o'clock noon we passed
Schohomoking,29 entering at the same time into the West Branch under a
favorable wind. Our night quarters were
at Ehendalawunsing,30 where many
white people came to visit us. On the
20th [19th]31 my patience almost
came to an end. It really was too bad
the way our people kept tramping
around all during the day. Each of them
wished to have this or that from
his baggage, and they were so greedy for
all sorts of things as can hardly
be imagined, etc. Wilhelm's wife came
down with the measles. We made
our night camp, the second on the West
Branch, twenty miles upstream
from Schomoke.32 Today
a deer was killed. At 4 o'clock P.M., we met with
Brother Ettwein's column not far from
Muncy Creek.33 Again, today,
some of the children broke out with the
measles.
On the 21st I preached about Rev.
2:25: "Howbeit that which ye have,
hold fast till I come." That not a
one may stray away from the crucified
Jesus was the true wish of our hearts.
We also had many white people
visiting us today, more than we liked.
In the evening meeting Brother
Ettwein gave an address on the Daily
Text [II Cor. 3:17]: "[Now the Lord
is the Spirit; and] where the Spirit of
the Lord is, there is liberty."
The 22d, due to circumstances,
had to be declared a day of rest. We were
29 Heckewelder states that "Shahamoki
and Shahamokink is the manner in
which the Indians pronounce this word.
Some Indians have supposed the name
of this place to be Shachameki, which
is 'the place of eels'; and so would give
the creek the name of Shachamekhanne,
'eel's creek.'" "Indian Names," 363.
It is hard to see why Donehoo finds that
"Heckewelder is mistaken . . . in
the statement concerning the origin of
the name"; the more so since Heckewelder
not only cites its native pronunciation
but also the connotation which it carried in
the Indians' mind, that is, some
connection with the presence of eels at that
place. Donehoo's (citing Reichel's)
derivation, "from sakima, 'a chief, a ruler,'"
as "a more probable origin" of
the name, is not convincing because it does not
even appear to apply to
"Shamokin" but rather to "Shackamaxon." Indian Place
Names, 185-187. Hence, I propose Shachamokunk, "place
where there are eels,"
as a reasonable explanation.
30 Meaning,
"place where indeed to hunt." This night camp, on June 19, cannot
be precisely located; it may have been
near the site of present-day Lewisburg,
Union County. The "many white
people" who came visiting the travelers point
to the rich and early-settled farming
district in which Lewisburg was laid out as
early as 1785, while names such as
Buffalo Creek, entering at Lewisburg, and
White Deer, eight miles north, suggest
good hunting. So does indirectly the
fact that near here the well-known
Oneida chief, Shikellemy, had his residence,
still remembered as "Site of
Shikellemy's Old Town." Pennsylvania Guide, 544.
The distance covered by Roth on June 18
must have been in the neighborhood of
sixteen miles.
31 This
date is obviously wrong: it ought to read, "the 19th."
32 This
night camp of June 19, "twenty miles [upstream] from Schomoke"
(site of present-day Sunbury,
Northumberland County) was made at a spot 1 1/2
miles below present-day Montgomery,
Lycoming County, slightly south of the
county line in Union County.
33 Roth's progress on June 20 to
Ettwein's camp, "about five miles above the
mouth of Muncy Creek," was about 10
1/2 miles.
260 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
greatly molested by white people, and
some of our young people exhibited
a thirst for rum. Also, there were two
deer shot today. Serious blunders
occurred in the distribution of the
food.
On the 23d we continued our
journey amidst storm and rain, but we did
not progress any farther than Lelawisakung34
where we made camp for the
night. Today two deer were shot.
On the 24th, to Marcus and his
wife a little daughter was born at daybreak,
passed away, and was buried in the
afternoon of the same day. Today
four deer were shot.
On the 25th we departed from Lelawisakung,
and, at 4 o'clock P.M., we
came to quename mennahenna,35 where
we made camp for the night in
heavy rain. Today all kinds of things
happened: some of the cows had
calves, etc; a horse suffered a
rattlesnake's bite, which greatly deformed the
horse's head. It was horrible to witness
how the contaminated blood ran
out of the nostrils. There were also
some deer shot, and four rattlesnakes
killed.
On the 26th we continued our
journey in rain and cold wind and arrived,
wet and cold, at 6 o'clock P.M., at
Great Island,36 where we spent the
night. Not until the 27th of June,
at 2 o'clock P.M., could we depart from
here. The horse bitten by the
rattlesnake died today, and another became
very sick. We made only three miles
beyond Great Island.37 Here we had
to dispose of our canoes. Everything was
carried to shore, and the canoes
34 Meaning,
"place where there is a creek's mouth halfway between [two
others]. See also, Heckewelder,
"Indian Names," 363. Loyalsock is the modern
form of this place name.
35 Meaning, "a very long
island." The modern name is "Long Island." On
June 25 Roth covered a distance of about
22 1/2 miles, that is, from the mouth of
Loyalsock Creek to Long Island, 2 1/2
miles below the mouth of Pine Creek at
Jersey Shore. Ettwein lists as his night
camp of June 25 a place "opposite Long
Island." John W. Jordan, "Rev.
John Ettwein's Notes of Travel from the North
Branch of the Susquehanna to the Beaver,
Pennsylvania, 1772," Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography, XXV (1901), 210. This, however, is a
different island, usually called
"Great Island," although Lewis Evans on his
Pennsylvania map of 1755 also misnames
it "Long Island."
36 It is the island named "Great
Island" even on modern maps, 1 1/2 miles down-
stream from Lock Haven, Clinton County.
37 That brought them to a white settlement
1 1/2 miles above present-day Lock
Haven. Ettwein in his report under the
same date (June 27), names the place,
"at Campbell's," and mentions
the fact that "Mr. Anderson," who was a Quaker
trader highly respected by the Indians
for his honesty, "dissuaded us from at-
tempting to embark" with the
baggage of the women, and go by water as far as
Chinclacamoose on the upper West Branch
(as Ettwein had proposed on June 26),
"stating" that "the water
was too shallow for navigation."
Jordan, "Ettwein's
Notes of Travel," 211; for "Mr.
Anderson," see John Heckewelder, Account of
the History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations
. . . (Philadelphia, 1819),
24 et seq.
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 261
were sold to the white people at a low
price. On the 28th Brother Ettwein
held the evening service on the river
bank. He also preached to the white
people in English.38 To me,
the present day was like a day in the life of
Job: one mishap followed the other, so
that, finally, my wife and I began
to cry.
On the 29th Brother Ettwein, with
the first column, advanced about fourteen
miles. Near a creek where there were
many biting gnats, camp was made
for the night.39 By many the
stretch was covered two to three times, back
and forth, in order to fetch the things
that had been left behind. Today a
calf (Cornelius') was born. On the 30th
of June, I and my wife followed
Brother Ettwein and met him at the
above-mentioned creek.40 On the 1st
of July Brother Ettwein again went ahead
of us with several others.41 I
also received news that now, to our joy,
even the last travelers from
Tschiqtschiq42 had arrived three miles above Great Island. They had
covered
the whole stretch in eight days
including two days of rest. We also had
seven measles patients today, young and
old, mothers as well as children,
etc.
On the 2d we followed Brother
Ettwein with the second column to the
Mahoanunk, that means, "a salt lick," where we made camp
for the night.43
Here we had plenty of meat to eat, but
there were many biting gnats which
38 Ettwein likewise refers to his Sunday
sermon on June 28, "in English, to
a goodly audience of assembled settlers
from the Bald Eagle Creek" (which empties
into the West Branch at Great Island),
and from "the south shore of the West
Branch." This preaching "in
English" is especially mentioned by both diarists
because they preached to their converts
in Lenape.
39 From Ettwein's account it is known
that this was "Beech Creek," fourteen
miles up Bald Eagle Creek where it
empties into the latter. Jordan, "Ettwein's
Notes of Travel," 212.
40 Apparently Roth himself did not stay
at this night camp during all the time
that it was occupied (June 29-30, July
1-2); evidently he and his wife stayed on
or near Great Island until the 30th of
June, when they met with Ettwein at
Beech Creek.
41 Ettwein does not mention his advance
march, "with several others," on
July 1. That implies that at Beech Creek
Roth supervised the bringing up of the
baggage from Great Island, by way of the
Bald Eagle Creek trail, during July 1
and 2.
42 The abbreviation in the German text, Tschiqtschiq,
no doubt stands for
Schechschequanunk, the Mohican mission on the upper North Branch from
whence
Roth, their missionary, had led his
Indian converts to the West Branch.
43 Although Ettwein states that he had
advanced nine miles, the exact location
of this salt lick cannot be identified;
the camping site may have been somewhere
in the rolling country east of Mann
School, and north of the confluence of Marsh
Creek and Little Marsh Creek. Jordan,
"Ettwein's Notes of Travel," 212. That
can also be inferred from the fact that
they "had to fetch water from a distance
of half a mile and one mile
[respectively]"; it may mean that it was half a mile to one
creek and one mile to another. The camp being at the
salt lick, the only water
available nearby probably was briny. The total distance
of that night camp from
Great Island was about twenty-three miles.
262
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
pestered us terribly. Here was
unparalleled pasture for our cattle, and
everybody was busy churning butter.
Pally, the wife of Thomas, came down
with the measles. We had to fetch water
from a distance of half a mile
and one mile [respectively].
On the 3d Brother Ettwein
advanced and started into the mountains. A
sick boy, when visited by me, expressed
his desire to be washed with the
blood of Jesus. "In my heart I pray
God that he may grant me this," he
said with a soft heart. Hence his ardent
desire was fulfilled when this
afternoon on his sick-bed, in holy
baptism, he received the name of Nathan.
On the 5th we again proceeded,
but no sooner had we met with Brother
Ettwein on a mountain where there was no
water,44 than there came an
express messenger from those that had
stayed behind on the West Branch,
saying that Anna Elisabeth, wife of
Marcus, was breathing her last, and
that Brother Roth should come down at
once, etc. I decided to go imme-
diately; but she had gone to her eternal
home one hour before my arrival.
I found everyone busy making a coffin. A
foolish thing had been done here
by old Josua in that he had called back
Christine and Marie twenty-two
miles of the way to make a burial shirt
for the deceased. Marie had an
accident on the trail when she was
thrown by her horse. She was injured,
as they said, on the side of her head
just above the temple; she, however,
like a man had remounted again, had
ridden at least another two hours
if not longer at a quick pace, first
alone, and then on the same horse with
this writer, holding on to me who sat in
the saddle. At last she said, "I am
feeling sick"; she vomited and spat
bile, could no longer walk or even
stand up; and on the bier which her
brother had made for the body of
Marcus' wife, his own sister was placed
and carried into camp half dead,
and lost consciousness, etc., to my and
everybody else's consternation.
Monday, the 6th of July, the body
of the departed Elisabeth was buried
on the Shawnee burial place (or not far
from it) on the West Branch.
Then I hurriedly rode back, after I had
granted liberty to tarry on
the West Branch to those who preferred
to do so. All others, however,
who were in the least inclined to travel
on, I encouraged to follow us as
soon as possible. Thus, on the 6th, just
when the darkness of night drove
44 This "mountain where there was
no water" was Ettwein's "advance camp."
From Ettwein's account of July 3 it is
known that this mountain is "a summit"
8 miles from the camp at the Salt Lick.
The fact, moreover, that Ettwein from
this summit "saw the bold peaks
between the West Branch [in the north] and
Juniata [in the south]" makes it
reasonably certain that this summit was the
principal elevation in the center of
Boggs County. Jordan, "Ettwein's Notes of
Travel," 212; see U. S. Geological
Survey Map of Pennsylvania, Snow Shoe
Quadrangle.
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 263
out the day, I arrived again at Brother
Ettwein's advance camp,45 etc.
On the 7th Brother Ettwein with
several Brethren again went ahead, and
we followed him to the next night camp
on the 8th.46 On account of all
the wet baggage, we again realized that
it is much easier to travel without
a wallet and bag, etc. etc.
On the 9th those eagerly followed
along who had used the illness of the
departed woman as an excuse for lagging
behind without real necessity.47
On the loth of July we made our
night camp about three miles beyond
Maschhannek Creek.*48 In the night from the 10th to the 11th,
Nathan,
mentioned above as having received
baptism, died in his sleep. For quite
some time he had been ill with an infected
foot, and in consequence of it,
he had been reduced to mere skin and
bones, and had to be carried in a
basket; from one day to the next his
troubles were ended by the dear
Savior's calling him home into the Happy
Kingdom; he was the son of the
late Brother Jonas. His face in death
bore a serene and happy expression;
in lack of a coffin, the body was
wrapped in tree bark and was buried on
the roadside about 30 paces from the
spot where he had lain down to
sleep.49
See today's Daily Word [Lam. 3:19-20],
"Remember mine affliction and
my misery, etc." It well expresses
the inner and outer situation of the de-
parted. On the 12th we advanced
farther away from the swamp in which
there was a fine spring, but still we
were in the Allegheny Mountains. One
of many things that happened in this
night camp was that a cow went to a
kettle suspended over the fire and ate
from it. Brother Ettwein held the
service about the Daily Word [Ps. 5:3],
"O Lord, in the morning shalt
thou hear my voice, etc." Daniel's
family stayed behind today because their
baby came down with dysentery.
45 During July 5 and 6 Roth must have
been in the saddle for about ten hours
each day, with an average of about three
miles an hour, on a rough trail.
46 According to his report, Ettwein
traveled six miles on his advance march
on July 7, which brought him into the
close vicinity of present-day Snow Shoe,
Centre County. Roth does not give the
location of the night camp of July 8.
According to Ettwein, it was on the West
Moshannock, six miles from that of
July 7. Jordan, "Ettwein's Notes of
Travel," 213.
47 The stragglers caught up with Ettwein
and Roth at the camp of July 9,
which, according to Ettwein, was "2
miles" beyond the Moshannock Creek, at
"a run in the swamp." Ibid.
* unusually bad mountain path on account
of stones, etc.
48 Here
is a slight divergence regarding the mileage. See preceding note.
49 On the 11th Ettwein reports an
advance of "eight miles to an old beaver-
dam," after they had lain "in
camp," on the 10th of July, "as some of our horses
had strayed." Ibid. Their
route was most likely by way of Drain Lick and present-
day Kylertown. U. S. Geological Survey
Map of Pennsylvania, Karthaus Quadrangle
and Phillipsburg Quadrangle. The
"old beaver-dam" may have been on either
Flat Run or Alder Run.
264
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
On the 13th one heard nothing in
our camp50 but complaints about in-
sufficient food; hence a collection of
beans and corn was taken, and
the poor gave of their poverty to those
still poorer. We on our part also
contributed our little share, which was
received with a hearty "Annesschik."51
On account of that beautiful spring, one
would have liked to stay here,
because for a long time we had not had
such good water on this mountain;
mountain, indeed, and yet we had to make
camp in swamps all the time.
On the 14th we nevertheless broke
camp, but it was a bad trail for both
man and beast. In the morass of a small
creek my wife's horse got stuck
and she as well as the child were deadly
scared; and since the horse on
its way out of it had to climb up a
steep slope, it burst its surcingle and
breast straps. This caused mother and
child to fall off the horse, but, God
be praised, without injury, only that
the child screamed frightfully, partly
from fear and partly because he was
sick. We made camp52 near a spring
but had nothing to drink but muddy water
because the cattle, too, had
quenched their thirst from the same spring,
etc. Throughout the entire night
nobody could sleep on account of the
gnats. The cattle stuck their behinds
and heads almost into the fire in order
to drive off these biting pests, and
hence there was a continued tussle and
struggle and tinkling of bells
through the entire night; at the same
time all the children screamed and
everybody was anxious to move on, etc.
Hence we broke camp [July 15},53
and again we had a bad path. We had to
descend a mountain which was so
high that as we arrived at its final
proclivity we saw a terrifying abyss
before us. Two miles from there we made
camp for the night near a creek
named Lahallawascutewi Sipung.54
Up to here the women had postponed
their laundering, since for a long
stretch we had met no appropriate creek
in which to do it; and, behold, it
poured as with buckets. On the 16th
50 Roth and his party joined Ettwein at his camp of July 12, which was
"six
miles" from the previous camp, at "a spring,
in a beautiful widely expanded
mountain meadow." Jordan,
"Ettwein's Notes of Travel," 213. This probably was
at Roaring Run.
51 A Lenape exclamation of
thanks.
52 Roth
and his party, who had a terrible time on the stony mountain path (if
such it may be called), spent one more
night in camp (July 13) than did Ettwein.
53 On
July 15 Roth followed Ettwein to Clearfield Creek. Their night camp
was on Clearfield Creek, a few miles
upstream from Schinggiklamisunk, present-
day Clearfield, at the confluence of
Clearfield Creek and the West Branch of the
Susquehanna in Clearfield County. On
account of various disturbances Roth re-
mained in camp during the 16th, while
Ettwein moved onward six miles, having
to wade the West Branch three times. Ibid.,
214-215. After having passed
Schinggiklamisunk on July 17, Roth made night camp three miles west of
it,
evidently at the West Branch.
54 The Lenape name of Clearfield Creek,
"where the river runs in the middle
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 265
Brother Ettwein advanced from here in a
heavy rain. As to our people, the
one came down with the measles, another
began to limp, a third said, "I am
hungry." May God have mercy on us!
On the 17th we moved on again,
and after a time that seemed endless we
at last passed the long-expected
[Indian] village called Schinggiklammisik.55
There we found three houses and about
two or three acres planted to corn
which was in fine condition.* We made
camp for the night three miles
west of it.56 On the 18th, early
in the morning, one of Schebosch's57 colts
was bitten by a rattlesnake, and, on the
19th, even before daybreak, it was
dead in spite of all efforts and
medication. We marched on top of a mountain
which, because of its extreme length,
might well be called endless, and we
caught up with Brother Ettwein and his
party; that mountain was called
Wachtschunglelawi awossijaje.58 Two more became ill. Brother Ettwein held
a meeting about the Daily Word [I Kings
8:57-58], "The Lord our God be
of a wide plain." This name fits
the description of the place given by Ettwein:
"July 14. Reach Clearfield Creek,
where the buffaloes formerly cleared large tracts
of undergrowth, so as to give them the
appearance of cleared fields; hence the
Indians called the creek
Clearfield." Ibid., 214. Obviously, the English name for
both the creek and the settlement,
"Clearfield," is a translation of the Indian
name. The name on Scull's Map (1759),
discussed by Donehoo, "Loyas Skutch-
hanning," is clearly a corruption
of the real one. Indian Place Names, 30.
55 Meaning, "where it barely keeps
its balance." Heckewelder writes: "This
place, [on the] West Branch of the
Susquehanna, derives its name from a certain
short bend where the river turns short,
back again, leaving a narrow strip of land
between its courses which barely can
prevent itself from tumbling down." "Indian
Names," 364.
*Here my wife with the child fell into
the morass.
56 Roth's advance on July 18 and 19 can
only be determined from the report
of Ettwein who traveled ahead of him.
Ettwein had marched eight miles on the
17th to the mouth of Anderson Creek
southwest of Clearfield in Pike Township,
and on the 18th had then followed that
creek three miles up its course, and
ascended a steep proclivity to "a
spring, the first waters of the Ohio [Allegheny],"
probably the source of the north branch
of the Mahoning River in Brady Township,
Clearfield County. Jordan,
"Ettwein's Notes of Travel," 215. Here Roth caught
up with Ettwein on July 19.
57 John Joseph Schebosch, a white man of
Quaker parentage who had married an
Indian woman. Born in 1721 at Skippack,
Pennsylvania, he was baptized into the
Moravian Church in 1742. He devoted his
entire life to the Indian Mission.
Originally his name had been Joseph
Bull; "Schebosch" was the name the Indians
gave him; "John" was his
Moravian baptismal name. In 1782 he lost a son
Joseph in the Gnadenhutten massacre, and
in 1787, his wife. A year later he
himself died at New Salem, Ohio, a few
miles from the mouth of the Huron
River, among the Christian Indians of
that mission. He was survived by a daughter
and her two children, who likewise lived
at New Salem. See de Schweinitz,
Zeisberger, 131, 605.
58 "Place where there is a mountain
halfway on the other side"; or, rather,
"where there is a mountain halfway
between the one side and the other," that is,
"a divide" between two river
systems--in this case, between the Susquehanna and
the Ohio. See above, note 56.
266 Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly
with us, etc.,"
and then he traveled onward, on the 20th.59 This evening we
learned that three
Indian Brethren from Langundo
Utenunk,60 with corn,
had already reached
Brother Ettwein and his party. This caused great joy.
On the 21st little
Elisabeth, daughter of Anton and Juliane, died at the
Lahallawascutewi
Sipung,61 three miles
downstream and east of Sching-
giklammisik.62 In the evening, before
going to sleep, the
Brethren
from Langundo
Utenunk63 together with several others entertained us with a
lovely serenade, as it
were, in that they intoned one little hymn verse after
the other in a very
lovely manner. This happened in the night camp at the
Mahoanunk.*64
On the 22d Brother
Ettwein with his party continued down the first creek,
which one has to cross
four times, and which empties into the Ohio.65
They [we?]66 made
camp for the night in the swamps at a creek67 where
there were many
crawfish, and where the useful medicinal root called
Woapek68 was found. Here five deer and one porcupine69 were
shot. On
59 Ettwein, on
July 20, advanced seven miles "through the swamp." He made
night camp "at a
run" which obviously was another of the Mahoning's head-
waters. Jordan,
"Ettwein's Notes of Travel," 216.
60 Usually written in one word by the Moravian
missionaries, Langundoutenunk
is the Lenape
translation of Friedensstadt, the German name given to that mission
on the upper course of
the Great Beaver River in North Beaver Township, Lawrence
County, for which
Ettwein and Roth were bound. It means, "where there is a
peaceful town."
61 See above, note 54.
62 See above, note
55.
63 See above, note 60.
*Here we had fine fish
to eat, some of which were unknown to us.
64 On the 21st Ettwein
proceeded "six miles to the first creek, and camped."
Jordan,
"Ettwein's Notes of Travel," 216. It was in this camp, "at the Mahoanunk,"
that the entire
traveling party was assembled during the night from July 21 to
22. The camp was made
about three or four miles east of present-day Punxatawney.
65 This stream, no doubt, was the Mahoning River in its
upper course.
66 It is likely that Roth here means to say, "We
[that is, Ettwein and Roth
together with their
two columns] made camp." His observations at that camp site
are clearly those of
an eyewitness.
67 This camp site was either at Elk Run or at Sawmill Run,
both in Young
Township, Jefferson
County.
68 Brinton and
Anthony give "gensi root" as the meaning of woapek. Lenape-
English Dictionary,
166. This may apply to one of two
plants, since "gensi"
(which occurs in none
of the dictionaries consulted) could either be "genson"
(Webster), a popular
form for "gentian," or
"ginseng," both listed in Oxford
Dictionary. According to this dictionary, as well as to information
received
through the courtesy
of Professor Glenn W. Blaydes (Department of Botany,
Ohio State University),
"ginseng" is Panax quinquefolia Linn., which is found
"in Canada and
the eastern United States"; Oxford Dictionary further lists, under
"ginseng,"
"the root of the plant; a preparation of this used as a medicine."
"Gentian" is
Gentiana flavida Gray, "the officinal gentian which yields the
gentian-
root of the
pharmacopoeia." Since Gentiana flavida Gray is likewise found in
Penn-
sylvania (flowering in
August), and since both "ginseng" and "gentian" grow
in damp places, it
cannot be decided which of the two plants is here meant.
69 In the original German the name of the animal here
rendered "porcupine,"
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 267
the 23d of this month the measles
continued and likewise the fever.70 On
the 24th we had our first night
quarters outside of the big swamp which the
Indians call pungs Uteney.*71 Near
a little spring where we refreshed our-
selves with blueberries everybody was
happy, and we white Brethren and
Sisters gratefully acknowledged to the
Savior His gracious help up to now;
and we especially thanked Him because,
so far, no quarrel had arisen yet
among our people, etc. On the 25th we
arrived again at a Mahoanunk, that
is, "a salt lick."** We made
our night camp and celebrated our Sunday
there. Today, on the 26th, at 8
o'clock in the morning, the Brethren and
Sisters from tschiqtschiq72 arrived
in our camp, to our and their own great
joy. We welcomed them with the Kiss of
Love and Peace, which proved
to them a balm for their hearts, as it
were. Afterwards Brother Roth preached
a sermon about the word of Jesus [Matt.
11:28], "Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden,
etc." This sermon, as some said, was a
blessing to them, etc.
On the 27th we again had to
conquer an immense mountain covered with
chestnut,73 with little water
available, and for several miles, none at all.
O, how thirsty and weary we were on the rough path! The body suffered
terribly; although the spirit is
willing, yet the flesh is weak. Our shinbones,
bruised by the rocks, we beheld almost
with tears; our knees, as weak as if
they had been shot through, trembled
like leaves. One would have been
tempted to give up if one had not known
that Christ, our Life, had labored
for us even more, etc. Four deer were
shot. Two big turtles and a small one
of a kind never seen before, were
brought into our camp to everybody's
is "ein Igel," an
insectivorous mammal of the Old World genus, Erinaceus Linn.,
the best known species of which is E.
europaeus Linn., "the hedgehog," the animal
here mentioned. The European settlers in
the American East transferred the popular
name of the animal to the porcupine, Erithizon
dorsatum Cuv., a rodent, which
distantly resembles the hedgehog in that
it is covered with spines.
70 Most likely malaria. These malaria sufferers may have substantially con-
tributed to the epidemic incidence of
the disease at the mission of Schonbrunn in
the Tuscarawas Valley in 1773, since
some of Ettwein's and Roth's converts were
transferred to Schonbrunn, still in
1772, after only a short stay at Friedensstadt
(Langundoutenunk). See August C. Mahr, "Health Conditions in the
Moravian
Indian Mission of Schonbrunn, in the
1770's," Ohio Journal of Science, L (1950),
122 et seq.
*or called "town of the
gnats." Six deer were shot here.
71 Roth gives the exact translation, "town of the gnats," in the
footnote of his
manuscript. See Donehoo, Indian Place
Names, 163. Roth's remark makes it clear
that the Lenape name did not apply to
the settlement of (present-day) Punxatawney,
but to the wide swamps around it, which
were infested with gnats and mos-
quitoes.
**One deer and one turkey cock were
shot.
72 See above, note 42.
73 According to the U. S.
Geological Survey Map of Pennsylvania, Smicksburg
Quadrangle, a mountain range northeast
of Smicksburg, Indiana County.
268 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
amazement; and a special kind of fish
not to be forgotten.*74 Everybody
was well fed, and no one remained empty.
On the 28th again there were
many mountains to be climbed, and it was
the hottest day of all so far;
little water, much thirst, and an
incredible number of trees across the path;
as soon as one stumbled, one knocked his
nose on the next following one.
For two whole days now one had been
seeing the trees broken down by the
storm and shattered, all in the same
direction, and always on our course,
etc.75 Our night camp was
near a Mahoanunk76 where water was very scarce.
On the 29th, before and at
daybreak, some of the Brethren sang all kinds
of nice hymn verses, and we still
arrived in time to join them, and so it
developed into a morning service.
Immediately after, we saddled up and broke
camp, and in this manner we made two
stops in one day. O, you mountains
at the Ohio River,77 how steep
you are; to my distress, on account of the
enormous slipperiness and the many
stones, I must hear my little son cry
who now lies somewhere among the bushes
because his mother has fallen
with the horse. You cause your father
much grief, my child, because he had
to lay you aside. Nobody can stand with
his shoes on, and on horseback
one cannot manage any better; not to
mention the fact that we are still
traveling along that mountain. O mountain,
the like of which I have never
seen before! On account of the steepness
I have to walk with a stick in my
hand on my stockings, and yet I am
slipping. This evening we had a thunder-
storm and some rain. On the 30th it
rained heavily until about 3 o'clock
*One of them had a bill, who knows how
long. It remained uneaten. It had eyes
like a bird, a small head, and a big
body, and to my annoyance, was not fit to eat.
74 The fish here described (in Roth's
footnote) is doubtless Lepidosteus osseus
Rafinesque, the Long-nosed Gar (also
Billfish; Garpike). Zeisberger likewise
mentions and describes it, and states
that "the Indians do not use it for food."
A. B. Hulbert and W. M. Schwarze, eds., David
Zeisberger's History of the
Northern American Indians (Columbus, Ohio, 1910), 73.
75 Ettwein, under July 27,
mentions as that day's destination "Tschachkat," a
place which so far had neither been
located nor its name been explained. Jordan,
"Ettwein's Notes of Travel,"
217. With Roth's present description of the wind-
break that impeded the travelers'
progress on July 28, Tschachkat makes sense,
meaning "something broken down; a
windbreak; breaking of trees by wind."
This storm damage, by the way, must have
occurred some time in the past, for
the Indians seem to have had that name
for the location.
76 As several times before in this
diary, Mahoanunk here simply means "salt
lick."
77 Both Roth and Ettwein call the Allegheny River, "Ohio," as it
was likewise
called on most maps in those days. Since
Ettwein states that they eventually
reached it "eight miles above
Kittanning," their path must have led south of and
roughly parallel with the Mahoning River
whose confluence with the Allegheny
River is ten miles upstream from
Kittanning. Jordan, "Ettwein's Notes of Travel,"
217. Beginning with July 27, they must
have marched successively through Wayne
and Pine townships, Armstrong County.
A Moravian Indian Mission
Migration 269
P.M.; nevertheless, several trees were
cut for making bark canoes. On the
31st everybody was busy making bark canoes, and our dear
Brother Ettwein,
with the Indian Brother Petrus,
meanwhile set out for Langundo-Utenunk
ahead of the rest.
On the 1st of August, after the
early meeting, we broke camp and crossed
the Ohio, which we accomplished very
well. Several of our people went
down the Ohio in bark canoes, and within
one hour they passed an old
Indian town where only two families
still lived; it was called Kawunsch-
hanneek.78 The inhabitants proved very friendly. One of their men
pro-
fessed to be sorry for his bad life,
wished to live like the Brethren, and
said, "I hope to see you soon again
and also to live the way you do," etc. etc.
Here we conquered another mountain, very
steep but not very long, covering
seven miles, at the end of which we made
camp for the night near a spring.
On the 2d, very early in the
morning, we proceeded and made 16 miles
that day. Two deer and one turkey hen
were brought to our night quarters,
which was not far from a Mahoanunk.79
Here we were visited by a hungry
hunter with whom we shared our food.
On the 3d we again traveled on
through thorns and brush, mountains and
morasses. Here, at 8 o'clock in the
morning, to our great joy Brother
Heckewaelder met us with some provisions
from Langundo Utenunk, and
after another seven miles we found a
richly yielding salt spring in the
middle of a creek as wide as the
Monocacy80 near the Bethlehem sawmill;
it presented itself like a sand-bank,
and in it there were five holes emitting
brine. The surrounding rocks were
covered with the most beautiful fine-
grained salt tasting quite strong.
Everybody was filled with amazement
at finding a salt well in the midst of
such fine and sweet-tasting fresh
water. It started near a few red-colored
boulders, etc. etc.; and a hunter
78 This "old Indian town" was
situated at the confluence of Gawunschhanneek
(today Cowanshonnock) Creek with the
Allegheny, about three miles north of
Kittanning. Some of the travelers, in
bark canoes, went down the Allegheny
from here to Fort Pitt, then down the
Ohio and up the Great Beaver to
Langundoutenunk (Friedensstadt) their
destination. The majority,
however,
traveling on foot or horseback and
driving the herd of cattle, followed the west
bank of the Allegheny as far as
Kittanning, where the old trail, after leaving
Armstrong County, led west
through Butler and
Lawrence counties to
Langundoutenunk. That explains why Roth, who evidently traveled by land,
was
able to give his eyewitness account of
the few Indian inhabitants left at
Gawunschhanneek, as well as to record that the canoe travelers, after
only one
hour's journey, passed that settlement.
The entire stretch from Kittanning to
Langundoutenunk was about forty-five miles, which they covered in 41/2
days
(August 1-5, 1772).
79 See above, note 76.
80 The Monocacy empties into the Lehigh
at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
270 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
who camped near there, and presented us
with two deer, said that, higher
up that creek, there were other even
finer salt springs here and there; and
that one could boil there plenty of salt
as white as snow, etc. We made
camp near another salt creek of that
region, where at once another deer was
shot. On the 4th everybody was
already looking forward to the town of
Langundo Utenunk, happy despite the strenuous Anabasis.81
On the 5th, at 11 o'clock, we at
last arrived at Langundo Utenunk,82
glad and grateful, and were most
heartily welcomed by the Brethren and
Sisters. Today's Daily Word [II Chron.
20:12], "We know not what to
do; but our eyes are upon thee,"
fully expressed the condition of our hearts.
81 In the original German version, the
word is Anabatia, obviously erroneous
for Anabasis, alluding to the
famous, and extremely hazardous, march of ten
thousand Greek mercenary soldiers from
the interior of Asia Minor to the coast,
at Pergamon, under the leadership of
Xenophon, after the battle of Kunaxa, in
401 B.C.
Xenophon's famous account of the
expedition bears the title, Anabasis.
82 The whole extent of Roth's
journey, almost exactly one half by water on the
two branches of the Susquehanna and the
other half by land, jointly with
Ettwein, was about 380 miles, which was
covered in fifty-six days (June 11-
August 5, 1772).