The 

Old 

Trail 

and 

the 

New 



[A Tale of the 
Kittatinnies] 




Class I£S_iiiA_ 
Book_iiilOL 



GopyiightK" 19( i3 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSITS 



:i«- 



^ «... 



/*^P 



''To catch dame Fortune's golden smile, 
Assiduous wait upon her; 
And gather gear by evWy wile 
That's justified by honour; 
Not for to hide it in a hedge, 
Nor for a train attendant; 
Bid for the glorious privilege 
Of being independent ' * 

—Robert Burns, 



T63S"I3 



The Old Trail and the New 




Capt. R. H. PRATT...1879 



A Tale of the Kittatinnies 



By 

A. M. GHER 



TO 

JOSEPH BOSLER, ESQ., 

OF CARLISLE, PA., 

One of the early Pioneers of 
the Missouri Valley, this vol- 
ume is respectfully dedicated 
by the aDt)ior. 



AUG 3 t909 




The Old Trail and the New 

INTRODUCTION 

[N COLONIAL DAYS, Car- 
lisle was a frontier military- 
post and figured prominent- 
ly in the warfare against 
the Indians. When the 
Indian wars were ended 
and the government adopted a more gener- 
ous policy, the Carlisle Barracks became a 
School for Indians and the chief exponent 
of the peace doctrine. 

''The peaceful Kitta tinny" is a histori- 
cal fact. In the early Indian wars, few 
Cumberland County residents were massa- 
cred; in Colonial and Revolutionary days, 
no battle was fought upon her soil, and the 
High tide of Rebellion was rolled back at 
Antietam and Gettysburg. Yet her brave 
sons were always foremost in home and 
national defence. 

The conquest of the Sioux in 1876, the 
surrender of Chief Joseph in 1877 and the 



The Old Trail and the New 

rout of Chief Dull-Knife's Northern Chey- 
ennes in 1878, marked the end of the old 
and the beginning of the new era in Indian 
affairs. The government established the 
Indian School at Carlisle, Pa., in 1879. 
Indian fighters such as Gen. Howard, Gen. 
Harney and Captain Pratt, were opposed 
to the slaughter of Indians and protested 
against such barbarous policy. Their pro- 
tests were finally heeded by the govern- 
ment. 

In this narrative the author has en- 
deavored to deal with facts which have^ be- 
come an important part of the history of 
Carlisle. 

The Author. 
Carlisle, Pa., 

April 26, 1909. 



Copyright 1909, by A. M. Gher 




COURT HOUSE. CARI.ISI.E, PA. 
"They lit there a little watch-fire."— P. 24. 



\ 




The Old Trail and the New 

THE EXILES 

f|N THE LAND of the Nez Percez,i 
In a vale among the Rockies, 
Far beyond the pale of cities, 
Where the echoes of the war-whoop 
Lingered 'round the Indian war-dance, 
In a home without a father. 
Without mother, sister, brother, 
In the home the White-man gave her. 
Dwelt the little maid '*Winona," 
Dwelt the little * 'First-born daughter.'' 

Little joy life brought the maiden 

In the home of Mariano, 

Little else than toil and watching 

For the coming of her loved ones, 

Father, mother, sister, brother. 

Lost and wandering where she knew not— 

Some within the land of shadows. 

One upon the Southern prairies, 

Slain in war, or captive taken 

To the Southern Reservation. 



The Old Trail and the New 

In the fleecy clouds at twilight, 

She could see those faces beaming; 

In the winds which swept the Mountains, 

She could hear her loved ones sighing; 

In the roar of distant thunder, 

She could hear her father calling. 

Calling back the lost Nez Percez. 

When her brother had been taken, 
With the fierce Nez Percez Joseph, 
To that Southern Reservation, 
He had promised as they parted 
Just beyond that lonely graveyard, 
He would come again and lead her 
To a better home and people. 
The Great Spirit would watch o'er him, 
Guard him in the stranger's wigwam, 
Help him on his journey homeward, 
Guide his footsteps to Fort Lapwai, 
To the little maid who waited. 




IN NATIVE GARB. 
"Far beyond the pale of cities."— P. 1. 



The Old Trail and the New 

As the maiden watched at nightfall 
For the coming of the captive, 
She heard footsteps in the thicket, 
But it was a stranger's footstep 
And the voice was not Italians. 
He had brought a message to her 
From her absent, wandering brother, 
Dying in a Southern wigwam, 
Dying of a Southern fever. 

As the shadows gathered 'round him. 
He said "Take the beads I'm wearing. 
And go back to old Fort Lapwai; 
There you'll find the maid, Winona; 
Give to her these beads I'm wearing. 
They are her's and she must have them. 
As you count them over to her, 
Tell her that I asked Doanmoe 
To protect the maid Winona, 
Lead her far from Mariano, 
To a better home and people. 



The Old Trail and the New 

Tell her that toward the sunrise, 
In the Kittatinny Valley, ^ 
She will find a better country. 
Tell her that the Spotted Captain^ 
Sees the wrongs of the Nez Percez, 
Calls Chief Joseph from the war-path, 
Calls the children from the sage-brush 
To a better reservation 
Just beyond the Kittatinnies. . 

When a maiden's love has fallen. 
When a maiden's heart is breaking, 
Then there come the gentle whisperings 
Of a faith which never falters. 
*lf,'' said she; *1 leave the wigwam. 
The Great Spirit may desert me, 
And the White-man's Heavenly Father 
May disown the Red-man's daughter. 
So I'll take these beads you brought me, 
Fling them upward in the starlight: 
If they fall toward the wigwam. 
Then I dare not leave my master; 
If they drift toward the sunrise. 



The Old Trail and the New 

Then Fll know that I must follow 

Where my mother's beads would lead me/' 

There are moments in a lifetime 

When one's fate hangs undecided, 

He may turn which way he wishes, 

But the winds and waves seem trembling 

Lest he turn away from duty, 

And all Nature waits the moment 

When, in some unspoken language. 

It may tell him which is his way; 

And the childlike faith which tells us 

That the darkest clouds that lower 

Will bear light to flash about us 

That we may not lose our pathway, 

Is the same which still abideth 

When we tread the fields and forests 

Where there are no beaten pathways; 

And, whene'er we grope uncertain. 

Then we cast our beads before us. 

That some gentle wind may take them, 

Drift them whither we should follow. 



The Old Trail and the New 
THE PIONEERS 



P^ AR away and to the Eastward, 
[^1 Far beyond the peaks and foothills, 
StoI Where Missouri widens, deepens 
As it circles to the Southward, 
Pioneers were pushing Westward. 
In the Big Bend of Missouri, 
Where its yellow waters circle 
'Round a hundred thousand acres. 
Stood the Ranger's lonely cabin^ 
And the Trader's humble tepee, ^ 
Frontier outposts of advancement. 

Pioneers of South Dakota— 
Settler from the Kittatinnies 
And French trader from. St. Louis; 
One the son of Eastern fireside. 
One the child of Western prairies; 
One a bold and sturdy Scotchman, 
One a fearless, French-born squaw-man. 
Two lone cabins on the frontier. 
Small and frail and unprotected. 
Lost amid the boundless prairies 



The Old Trail and the New 

Where privation makes men kindred, 
Homes too frail to be molested 
And too weak to yield resistance— 
These the outposts of advancement, 
First lights on the great Missouri. 

Then the scout of the Missouri, 
Versed in Indian lore and customs. 
Called the ranger from his cabin. 
Pointed to the bluffs which tower 
Far above the river valley. 
Where the warlike Northern Cheyennes 
Followed trails along the highlands 
To the plains of Niobrara. 

Some dark deed had been committed. 
Some great raid or some fierce battle 
Marked the war-path of the savage; 
For the wily, skulking Cheyennes, 
Creeping o'er those red-stone summits. 
Were returning from the war-path 
To seek refuge in the desert. 
On the sandhills of Nebraska. 



T 



The Old Trail and the New 

THE CONFLICT 

HEN a warrior brought first tidings 
Of the Battle of the Big Horn, 
Where the 'vengeful Northern 
Cheyenne 
Swept down on the Yellow-haired Chief, ^ 
Told how Rain-Face and his Cheyennes 
Closed around the gallant Custer, 
And were met with bold defiance 
'Till the last man died a hero. 
Then the Cheyennes closed that carnage 
With the scalping-knife and hatchet, 
Wreaking vengeance on the dying 
And mock- vengeance on the fallen; 
When they found the Yellow-haired Chief, 
They struck not that fallen foeman— 
'Twas the Warrior's mark of honor 
To a champion slain in battle. 

You have read how Crook and Terry 
Forced the Sioux to quit the war-path; 
How the brave Nez Percez Joseph'^ 
Gave his hand and gun to Howard; 




WAR DANCE. 

"Where the echoes of the war-whoop 
lyingered 'ro\incl the Indian war-dance." 



The Old Trail and the New 

How Chief-Dull-Knife lost his Cheyennes^ 
On the sands of Niobrara; 
Yet no harm befell the cabins 
In the Big Bend of Missouri. 

Who shall tell of Custer's battle? 
Twelve score troopers dashing onward 
In the dim, gray mists of morning, 
All alone among the mountains, 
Hemmed in by the cloud-crowned ridges. 
No reserves awaited signal 
To rush down and strike the death-blow, 
No scout stood on distant summit. 
Not a man escaped the slaughter. 
All the Paleface arts and learning 
Could not write the mournful story 
Of the last grand charge by Custer. 
Yet, in distant Land of Flowers,^' 
Where Pratt guarded Indian captives, 
Cheyenne prisoners brought the tidings 
Of the Battle of the Big Horn- 



The Old Trail and the New 

How the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes 
Circled 'round the Yellow-haired Chief, 
How he charged and where he halted, 
Where the final stand was taken, 
Who had led the hostile warriors, 
Where each dusky tribe was stationed. 
Indian scout had brought a message 
From an Indian on the war-path. 
Picture-message, rudely written, 
Such as Indians can interpret, 
But it told the sad, weird story 
Of the Yellow-Chief's last battle. 

Here had met two mighty races: 
One the simple child of Nature, 
One the sole heir of the Ages; 
One race brave but few in number, 
One race like the leaves unnumbered; 
Both laid claim to fields and forests, 
One race claiming as a birthright. 
One race claiming by Divine right. 
Who shall judge, and what the verdict? 



10 



The Old Trail and the New 

Savage deeds of savage natures 
Crouching 'mid the rocks and thickets 
To wreak vengeance on intruders; 
Then came plunder, rapine, murder, 
Homes destroyed and loved ones slaughtered 
Fields laid waste and lands deserted. 
Who will now condone their warfare? 

Racial pride and bold aggression 
Marked the progress of the White-man, 
Claiming all lands as his birthright. 
Using wealth and place and power 
To displace the warlike nomad. 
Drive him to the rocks and sands, where 
Broken health and broken spirit 
Would remove the hated rival. 
Who will now condone such warfare? 



11 



The Old Trail and the New 

'Twas the conflict of two races, 
Strangers they by birth and training, 
With no bond of Faith or Fortune 
To draw one unto the other; 
Centuries passed e'er the Great Spirit 
Touched the hearts of warring leaders, 
Indian Chiefs and Paleface Captains, 
Giving both a clearer vision; 
Then they gazed upon their victims— 
Lo! each man had slain his brother. 



12 



The Old Trail and the New 
CONQUEST OF THE SIOUX 



D 



RIVEN from their native mountains, 
Hunted in Canadian wildness, 
Hunted like a famished Jackal 
Hiding in his chosen quarry, 
Suffering but still defiant, 
Were the last Sioux of Dakota. ^^ 

In the City of the Quakers, 
All lands joined in paying homage 
At the Western Shrine of Freedom, 
But deep gloom overspread the pageant 
And bedimmed the Nation's triumph, 
For in wake of that procession 
Strode a grim and sullen specter. 

Nations gazed and peoples wondered 
That a shackled slave should follow 
And thus mar triumphal progress, 
But a Harney, Pratt and Howard, 
Who had placed the nation's fetters 



13 



The Old Trail and the New 

On the Children of the Forest, 
Pointed to that ghostly figure 
As the ward of a great nation 
By that nation held in bondage. 

Then Columbia sent a courier 
To recall the fleeing Red-men 
From the depths of British forests 
To the plains of the Missouri; 
Promised to deal kindly with them, 
Help them to rebuild their wigwams 
On the hills of the Dakotas. 

Once again the Red-men hearkened, 
Once again the Warriors trusted. 
And returned unto the Black Hills 
To receive the mess of pottage 
Which a victor grants the vanquished, 
Came with care-worn wives and children, 
Came with ponies slowly dragging 
Uncouth freightage of the prairies, 
To the Post on the Missouri, 
To the ending of the war-path. 



14 



The Old Trail and the New 

Twas the darkest trail that ever 
Wound o'er mountains, hills and prairies, 
*Twas the darkest trail that ever 
Marked the conquest of a people- 
Meager remnants of a nation, 
Of a brave and haughty nation, 
Weary of a fruitless warfare. 
Willing to accept a kindness 
From the hands of the oppressor. 
To remove a blotted folio 
From the records of the victor. 




15 



The Old Trail and the New 
AMONG THE KITTATINNIES 



HEN the scouts of old Fort Benton 
Brought word to the Speckled 
Captain^ 

That two wandering young Nez Percez 
Had been found among the mountains. 
He received the little wanderers, 
Led them to the Alleghenies, 
To the Kittatinny Valley, 
To the forts along the Letort. 

Then they climbed the Eastern mountains 
Clad with evergreen and chestnut— 
No frozen peaks to chill the sunlight. 
No barren rocks for eagles* aerie, 
No drifting sands, no bitter waters. 
No dreary wastes, of sage and cactus— 
Cities clinging to the mountains. 
Cities all along the rivers. 
Saw-mills humming in the forest. 
Bellows blowing in the mountains. 
Anvils ringing in the valleys. 



16 



The Old Trail and the New 

Long those fires had been burning 
In the land of Teedyuscung;^^ 
For the White-man will not, dare not 
Let the snows drift o'er his hearthstone: 
If the furnace should be darkened 
And the anvil cease its ringing, 
Then the Spirit which now wanders 
Through the Susquehanna Valley 
Would desert it for another. 

Wood-nymph of the Susquehanna, 
She it is who clears the waters 
After every summer shower, 
Sweetens every lake that glistens 
From St. Lawrence to Potomac, 
Keeps the mountains clad with verdure 
Shields the wild-flower from the north- wind 
Calls the robin north in springtime. 



17 



The Old Trail and the New 

That is why the Kittatinny » 

Is a lovely, fertile valley ^ 

Where the fires have been blazing 
And the anvils have been ringing 
Through successive generations, 
Where the school-house decks the valley, 
Where the church-spire crowns the hill-top. 
Where an exiled youth and maiden 
Find a Christian home and people. 




18 




STATK NORMAI. SCHOOI., AT SHIPPENSBURG. 

as it was in 1879. 
"Where the school-house decks the valley.'— P. IS. 




ATJJSON MEMORIAIv M. E. CHUl 
at Dickinson College. 
"Where the church-spire crowns the hill-top.'"— P. IS. 



The Old Trail and the New 
ALONG THE SHAWNEE 



•fAT HERE the river leaves the mountains, 
JL2L Just below the Juniata, 
^^1 There the Kittatinny Valley, 

Widening as it circles southward, 

Leads the way to the Potomac. 

Here the sharply- winding Shawnee^^ 

Brightest of the Eastern waters, 

Gathering its crystal current 

From the hills and groves and meadows 

Of the Kittatinny Valley, 

Circles to the Susqehanna. 

On the banks of this fair river 
Was the home of the Suwanese 
Who long roamed its wooded hillsides 
From the Paxtang to the Letort, 
'Till the Paleface felled the oak-trees, 
Built a fortress of their timbers. 

Where the Shawnee circles northward, 
Are the ruins of the forges 
And the ruins of the smithy. * 

19 



The Old Trail and the New 

Where the crystal, winding Shawnee 
Laves the base of the South Mountains, 
Stands the mighty sandstone boulder/^ 
Deep- worn by the rude stone-hatchets 
Of the frightened, fleeing Shawnees 
Who have left their native forests 
And found homes within the Southland. 

Where the sharply-winding Shawnee 
Lingers e'er it joins the river 
Are the graves of their forefathers, ^^ 
And its waters move more slowly. 
As they pass the Wizard's workshop, 
To receive a secret message^^ 
From the sturdy, old inventor 
Who unlocked the mighty secrets 
Nature hid from their forefathers 
Sleeping on the hill above him. 



20 



9% X 
I ^ 




The Old Trail and the New 

He, the Wizard of the Shawnee, 

Chained the lightning, tamed it, trained it, 

Had it bear a message westward 

To the plains of the Missouri, 

To the Red-men fleeing westward, 

To the settlers on the frontier, 

That they might renew allegiance 

To the land of their forefathers. 




21 



The Old Trail and the New 
ALONG THE NORTHERN TRAIL 



UST beyond the Kittatinnies 

Is another little valley 

Where the Sherman slowly wanders 
Through the Tuscarora foothills, 
Where the early Scottish settler 
Kept a little hearth-fire glowing. 

But the Delawares and Mingoes 
Burst upon the little homestead, 
Slew the lonely widowed mother, 
Took her youngest son a captive^^ 
That he might renounce his kindred 
And the faith which still would lead him 
Back unto that ruined hearth-stone. 

Then the Delawares and Mingoes 
Fled across the Tuscaroras, 
Took the youthful captive with them^^ 
To the Indian town Kittanning 
Where the hostile horde still revelled, 
Taught him how to aim the arrow, 
How to hurl the Indian hatchet. 

22 



The Old Trail and the New 

Broken treaties, wanton slaughter 
Called aloud for retribution; 
Armstrong left the Letort fortress, 
Marched across the Alleghenies, 
Slew the savage in his stronghold. 
Freed the captive youth and brought him 
Back unto his home and people. 

Thus does swift, sure vengence ever 
Follow him who wrongs his brother. 
E^en the Red-man of the forest, 
'Though he cannot read the Bible, 
Knows the Law and must obey it; 
And whene'er the Indian hatchet 
Is flung past the stained lintels^'' 
Of a Christian's humble threshold, 
Then the armies of the Letort 
Will lay waste the Indian Village. 



23 




The Old Trail and the New 

FORTS ALONG THE LETORT 

N the country of the Shawnee s 
The lone Frenchman built his 
cabin^^ 

Where the great trail of the Mingoes^^ 
Crossed the trail to the Potomac ;2o 
Where the fountains gushed and sparkled, 
Where the beavers built their houses. 

When the Scotchmen, pressing westward, 
Reached the west-bank of the Letort, 
Saw its crystal waters welling. 
Saw the beauty of its sunsets, 
They lit there a little watch fire— 
Beacon-light within the forest. 
Then the settler's ax re-echoed 
Through the Kittatinny Valley, 
And, 'mid fallen oaks, five cabins 
Reared their thatches to the sunlight. 
While the palisades of Louther, 
Standing four-square on the hill-top, 
Bade defiance to the savage. 



24 



The Old Trail and the New 

Oft the Delawares and Mingoes 
Lit their fires upon the mountains, 
Danced their war-dance 'round the fortress, 
But they never passed the sentries; 
And when Bouquet forced surrender 
Of all children they held captive, 
Here was heard the plaintive folk-song 
Which united maid and mother. 22 

When the Indian wars had ended 
And the palisades had fallen, 
And the Calumet was handed 
By the Savage sire to children. 
Then the Delawares fled westward 
To the banks of the Ohio, 
Disappeared beyond the mountains. 
Left their hunting-grounds forever. 

When Columbia's bugles sounded 
From Penobscot to Scioto, 
And the long reveille summoned 
Troops from fireside, field and mountain, 



25 



The Old Trail and the New 

Then a new fort crowned the Letort— 
Hessians from their midnight revel 
Came and built the grey stone fortress, ^^ 
Built a monument to Freedom. 

Wars have come and Peace has followed, 
And, although those warHke surges 
Rolled from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, 
Bearing on their crest the tocsin 
Sounding Freedom to all Peoples, 
E'en its floodtide never darkened 
Lights which gleamed along the Letort. 

When Lee swept up from the Southland, 
When the high-tide of Rebellion 
Reached the crest of Little Round Top, 
Then the fierce death-struggle followed; 
Pickett reeled and Longstreet faltered, 
Valor mourned for heroes fallen, 
Lee turned back to Appomattox, 
There to sheathe his sword forever. 



26 



>x ^^ 





SOIvDIBRS' MONUMENT, CARI^ISIyE, PA. 
"Valor mourned for heroes fallen."— P. 26. 



The Old Trail and the New 

When the last great war was ended 
And the signal gun was silent, ^^ 
When Chief Joseph had surrendered 
And peace reigned among the Rockies, 
Then the Father sent the Captain^^ 
To rebuild the Letort fortress 
And to call the Red-man's children 
From the western plains and mountains, 
To a better home and country 
In the Valley of the Shawnee. 



27 




The Old Trail and the New 
THE NEW RESERVATION 

N the fortress on the Letort, 
In the Kittatinny Valley, 
In the Land of Teedyuscung, 
In the Haven of the Wanderers, 
Dwelt the Indian youth and maiden. 

Here they laid aside their blankets 

To adopt the blue regalia, 

Learned the language and the customs, 

Learned the White-man's '^Heavenly 

Father,'' 
Is the Warriors' ''Great Spirit," 
And He rules in cot and temple 
As He does in the Sierras. 

Here came Indian chiefs and warriors, 
Indian statesmen, Indian sages— 
Came and saw the White-man's country. 
Learned to follow in his footsteps, 
'Though they knew that they can never 



28 



is oo 




The Old Trail and the New 

Find the new trail o'er the mountains, 
Leading to the Happy Prairies, 
But must trail through Western passes 
To the Land of the Great Spirit. 

Here was held the great Peace CounciP^ 
When, amid resounding plaudits, 
Haughty, old Nez Percez Joseph 
Took the hand of General Howard, 
As he did at Bear Paw mountains, 
When he promised while the sun shines 
He would not war with the White-man 
But would live in peace as brothers. 

Here they saw another fortress, 
Rich in honor, old in story. 
With its schools and courts and temple 
Half -hid by its grove of maples. ^^ 
With a monument erected^^ 
To the pioneer who traversed 
Untrod plains of the Missouri, 
But returned to home and kindred 
To repose along the Letort. 

29 



The Old Trail and the New 

Then one sturdy, old Sioux warrior, ^^ 
Father of a younger Chieftain, ^<^ 
Turned aside to meet another 
Pioneer of South Dakota, ^^ 
One who often had found shelter 
In his wigwam on the frontier, 
But returned to home and kindred 
In the Kittatinny Valley. 

When these warriors saw their children 
Toiling in the fields and workshops, 
Safe and happy and contented 
In the strangers' home and country. 
Then they told the Great White Father 
That their bow-string had been broken, 
That their hand had lost its cunning. 



30 













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The Old Trail and the New 

ON GUARD 

N that western land Doanmoe 
Died as dies a youth in springtime; 
In that lonely land, Winona 
Guards the outpost of advancement, 
Keeps the little watch-fire burning 
And sends greetings to the people 
Of the Kittatinny Valley. 

For the Red-man still is fleeing 

From the White-man's blazing altars— 

Now the western mountains hide him 

From the gaze of his pursuers; 

But the tide that sweeps on westward, 

Soon will pass beyond the mountains, 

Soon will reach the western ocean. 

Justice mocks our boasted conquests. 

And the Mystic Hand has written 

On the nation's marble palace 

* *Thou art weighed and art found wanting. ' ' 



31 



The Old Trail and the New 

For the Red-man is the human 
Left to grope in medieval twilight, 
With no hand or faith to guide him; 
Child of Nature, Nature's pupil, 
Slow to learn, forgetting nothing; 
Warrior brave but unrelenting. 
Fierce in war but ever loyal. 
True to friends and race and kindred, 
Truer than his Pale-face brother. 

If the sentries on the frontier 

Can recall the fleeing warriors 

To the homes which now await them. 

Then a remnant of this people 

May escape the White-man's conquest; 

But, unless some one deals kindly 

With the proud, resentful brother, 

He will boldly fling defiance 

In the face of his pursuers, 

And a mighty Race of Wanderers 

Will be lost among his mountains. 



32 




TYPICAI^ NEZ PERCEZ L.llll, l^KADUATK 

in year 190S. 

"Thus a Race will be uplifted."— P. 33. 



The Old Trail and the New 

Lo! the Hand that marks the time-chart 

Of the Destiny of Nations 

And the Destiny of Races, 

Follows laws engraved on granite, 

Deeper still on Heart of mankind. 

Lo! the Voice that rules the Ages 

Says the nation that endureth 

Shall be one which grants existence 

To deserving Faiths and Peoples. 

These shall not be lost nor vanquished; 

For, where'er a young heart beateth, 

In the Rockies, on the prairies. 

There is found a young heart's longing 

To be happier and better 

And to cast aside the fetters 

Which by birth were placed upon it; 

These will leave the forest shadows 

And walk forth into the sunlight. 

They will clasp hands with the White-man, 

They will delve in field and wood-land, 

They will strike the rock-bound fountain 

Of Industrial resources, 



33 



The Old Trail and the New 

They will seek the founts of Learning, 
They will guard the Flag which shelters: 
Thus a Race will be uplifted 
And a nation will be strengthened. 




34 



The Old Trail and the New 
NOTES 

1. The Nez Percez Reservation is at Fort Lapwai 
Idaho. This tribe formerly inhabited the fertile 
Wallowa valley. The government wanted to open 
those lands to settlement. Chief Joseph protested 
and finally resisted. When Generals Miles and 
Howard were sent to forcibly drive them upon the 
proposed reservation, Chief Joseph and his band 
started north to escape into Canada. Gen. Howard 
followed. The thousand mile chase was a remark- 
able Indian campaign, in which Chief Joseph ex- 
hibited great military skill and strategy. He was 
brought to bay in a mountain valley, Gen. Miles 
having cut off the advance northward and Gen. 
Howard following from the south. After a num- 
ber of battles, Chief Joseph surrendered. The 
prisoners were taken to a reservation in Indian ter- 
ritory. They pined for their northern home. The 
government finally relented and the captives were 
permitted to return north, although Joseph and his 
followers were not allowed to join the portion of 
the tribe at Fort Lapwai, but were given a separate 
reservation. Chief Joseph was not the fierce sav- 
age that he was reputed to have been, but was 
peaceable and only fought as a last resort to save 
the homes and lives of his people. He was one of 

35 



The Old Trail and the New 

the greatest and noblest of all Indian leaders and 
the Nez Percez have been among the most peace- 
able and progressive of Indian tribes. 

"Winona," "Italia" and "Doanmoe" are not 
Nez Percez names, and the author has used them 
to conceal the identity of the Carlisle Indian Grad- 
uates referred to in this narrative. 

2. The "Kittatinny Valley" is the Cumberland 
Valley, bounded on the north by the Kittatinny or 
North mountain. 

3. Captain Richard Henry Pratt, later promoted 
to Brigadier General, U. S. A., was in his earlier 
years an Indian fighter. He was known among 
the Indians as "The Speckle-faced Captain," as 
his face bore the scars of small-pox. In 1875 he 
was ordered to take 74 Indians as prisoners in irons, 
to Fort Marion, St. Augustine. Fla. There he re- 
moved their irons, used some of their own number 
as guards and taught them in schools and work- 
shops. The experiment was so satisfactory that at 
the end of their three years imprisonment, 22 of 
their number asked to remain east three years 
longer. This was the beginning of modern Indian 
Education. One year later the government granted 
the use of the Carlisle Barracks and Capt. Pratt 
founded the Carlisle Indian School. For more than 
a quarter of a century he was superintendent of 
the institution and made it the greatest of Indian 

36 



The Old Trail and the New 

schools. He was succeeded as Superintendent by 
Maj. W. A. Mercer and in 1908 Moses Friedman 
became head of the scl^ool. Mr. Friedman greatly 
advanced the industrial features of the institution. 
August Kensler, for many years a prominent 
official at the Carlisle school, met Pratt for the first 
time, at Cinnamon River, Indian Territory, in 
March, 1873, and describes him as being then ''Tall 
and spare and with his face badly marked by small- 
pox scars." Pratt was th^nlst Lieutenant of the 
Tenth Cavalry and Kensler was Sergeant of the 
Sixth Cavalry. 

4. The cabin of Joseph Bosler, situated in the 
Big Bend. James W. and Joseph Bosler, brothers, 
of Carlisle, Pa., were the first white pioneers in 
South Dakota. They owned and managed a cattle 
ranch along the Missouri, and for many years 
Joseph Bosler's home was the little cabin in the 
Big Bend. 

5. St. John, a French squaw-man, whose cabin 
was near that of Joseph Bosler. For years, these 
two cabins were the only habitations within a 
radius of fifty miles. St. John was a St. Louis lad 
who ran away from home while a mere boy and 
went among the Indian traders. He was twice 
married, both wives being Indians. He was the 
agent of Pierre Choteau, of St. Louis, who was 
then the richest man west of the Mississippi. St. 

37 



The Old Trail and the New 

John continued to live in his old cabin and died 
there in 1904, a quarter of a century after the in- 
cidents referred to in the text. 

6. The Indians named Gen, George A. Custer 
''The Chief with the Yellow Hair", on account of 
his long golden hair. After the massacre it was 
learned that all the bodies except that of Custer 
had been mutilated by the Indians. 

Capt. George Yates, of CarHsle, was among 
those killed in that battle. 

Jonathan Williams Biddle, in whose honor the 
Biddle Memorial chapel, Carlisle, Pa., is so named, 
was killed in battle with the Indians in 1877. 

7. Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Percez sur- 
rendered to Generals Nelson A. Miles and O. 0. 
Howard, at Bear Paw mountain, in 1877. 

8. Chief Dull Knife and his Northern Cheyennes. 
after a fierce and bloody campaign, were driven to 
the sand-hills of the Niobrara. It is the only 
Indian campaign which resulted in the complete 
destruction of a tribe. 

9. Capt. Pratt was then at Fort Marion, Fla. 
The first news of Custer's battle was brought by 
one of his prisoners, a Northern Cheyenne who 
had received a picture-letter from a Cheyenne in 
the Northwest. The pictures were scrawled upon 
the back of a government document, but the Indian 



The Old Trail and the New 

deciphered the news and all the details of the bat- 
tle. Capt. Pratt gave the letter to Gen. Phil Sher- 
iden, then in command of that department and it 
was placed among the archives at Washington. 

10. The Sioux had escaped into British territory. 
That was in 1876, when the Centennial anniversary 
of the Declaration of Independence was being cel- 
ebrated in Philadelphia. The government induced 
the Sioux to return and occupy a reservation. The 
Surrender of Sitting Bull is described by an eye- 
witness as extremely sad. Here were Indians with 
their squaws and papooses, their ponies, rude carts 
with block wheels, drags made of saplings bound 
together with thongs, harness made of raw-hide, 
wigwams and camp equipment all of the rudest. 
It was the ingenuity of the native, in strong con- 
trast with the products of Civilization as exhibited 
in Philadelphia. 

10. Teedyuscung, Chief of the Delawares, the 
friendly Indian of the days of Penn, He was the 
Chief Joseph of his time. 

11. Another name for the Callapassinck or 
Yellow Breeches creek. The Shawnee reservation 
was in the eastern end of Cumberland county and 
their early village was where the Yellow Breeches 
empties into the Susquehanna River, now the sites 
of -New Cumberland and Bella Vista. J. Zeamer, 



39 



The Old Trail and the New 

a local historian, regrets that the original name, 
* 'Shawnee Creek," has not been retained. 

The white farm buildings on the summit of the 
Kittatinnies near Sterretts Gap, are said to be near 
the site of an early Shawnee village. The farm is 
now the summer residence of Ex-Collector R. E. 
Shearer. 

*One of the early forges was located several hun- 
dred yards below the Lisburn Bridge. In 1865 all 
that marked the site were the sills in the creek and 
the cinder along the banks. The smithy, the black- 
smith shop of Joshua Gher, then occupied the site 
and a new forge, owned and managed by Henry G., 
Moser and Israel L. Boyer, had been located a mile 
further down the stream. Now the smithy and the 
second forge have disappeared. 

13. The Indian Rock, on which the Indians sharp- 
ened their tomahawks, is on Lantz's Mountain, 
along the Yellow Breeches, near Lisburn. The 
mountain is owned by Harry B. McCormick, Esq., 
of Harrisburg, and has become the site of his fine 
country residence. 

14. The Indian graveyard near Eberly's Mills. 
Along the bank of the creek is the workshop of 
Daniel Drawbaugh, inventor of the Telephone and 
chief contestant against the claims of Prof. Alex- 
ander Graham Bell for the patent on that invention. 
See the booklet entitled "The Calla-pa Scink" by 

40 



The Old Trail and the New 

John R. Miller, Esq., and Dr. Wm. B. Bigler's 
poem bearing the same title. 

Drawbaugh conducted experiments in wireless 
telegraphy using the waters of the creek as a me- 
dium. From the time when the Shawnee Indians 
roamed these hills, to the time when Drawbaugh 
began his experiments was but little more than a 
century. 

16. Hugh Gibson, great-grandfather of Rev. 
George Norcross, D. D., for forty-years pastor of 
the Second Presbyterian church, Carlisle. As Dr. 
Norcross* mother was left an orphan, at an early 
age, most of her youth was spent in the home of 
Hugh Gibson, her grandfather. 

17 Exodus 12-13. 

18 James LeTort, the first settler at Carlisle, 
built his cabin at Beaver Pond now Bonny Brook, 
about the year 1720. 

19 The trail from the north, across the mountains 
at Sterrett's Gap and through the South Mountains 
at Holly Gap. 

20 The trail from the Susquehanna to the Poto- 
mac, the "King's Highway", later the Harrisburg 
and Carlisle turnpike. 

21 Five houses which comprised the early settle- 
ment at Fort Louther, now Carlisle, Pa. 

22. History says a mother sang "Alone, yet not 



41 



The Old Trail and the New 

alone am I" and her long lost daughter who, as a 
child, had heard that hymn as a lull-a-bye, rushed 
into the mother's arms. 

23. The Guard-house at the Carlisle Barracks, 
formerly a military magazine, tradition says was 
built by the Hessians whom Washington captured 
at Trenton. "See Carlisle Old and New" pages 13 
and 14. 

24. It was a custom at the Carlisle Barracks to 
fire a cannon as a sunset signal. 

25. The Indians call the President the "Great 
Father". 

26. An incident which occurred at one of the 
Indian School commencements. 

27. Dickinson College. Some Indian School grad- 
uates became students at Dickinson. 

28. James W. Bosler Memorial Hall at Dickinson 
College. 

29. Chief American Horse. 

30. Young American Horse, one of the Indian 
School's prominent graduates. 

31. When on the frontier, Joseph Bosler fre- 
quently slept in the wigwam of the elder American 
Horse and when the old chief came to visit his son 
at the Carlisle school, he called upon Mr. Bosler, 
as an old time friend. 

While Gettysburg is termed the "High Tide of 
the Rebellion" because of the decisive battle fought 
42 



The Old Trail and the New 

there, the ''High Water Mark of the Rebellion" 
was Oyster's Point near Camp Hill. See address of 
C. S. Brinton, Esq., at Camp Hill, 1909. 

In a general way it may be said that the war 
against the Sioux was conducted chiefly by Gen. 
Alfred Sully, who had been sent west for that pur- 
pose. He led three campaigns against the Sioux : in 
1863, 1864 and 1865, and these did much toward 
bringing those nine warlike tribes into submission. 
During these three campaigns the Bosler Brothers 
had the contract for furnishing supplies to Sully's 
army and Joseph Bosler was required to distribute 
the supplies. He followed the troops for thous- 
ands of miles. 

It was during Sully's war against the Sioux that 
a great drouth devastated the Sioux country. There 
was no rain for six months, the Indians' corn crop 
in the Missouri bottom lands was drying up and 
water was so scarce that on one occasion Sully's 
troops, dug a shallow well, struck water and sold 
the water for fifty cents a tin-full. Mr. Bosler was 
one who gladly paid a half dollar for a half -tin of 
muddy water from the well. 

When Gen. Sully reached Fort Berthold, a num- 
ber of old Sioux chiefs visited him, complained 
that the drought was killing their corn and that 
their families were threatened with starvation. 
They asked him to send them rain. Sully had dealt 
43 



The Old Trail and the New 

with Indians in his earlier years and knew how to 
answer the superstitious natives. He promised to 
do the very best for them he could and they left 
his tent encouraged. That night a heavy rain 
visited that section, the Indians' corn-crop was 
saved and Sully received the credit. That tribe at 
once sent out couriers to recall their young warriors 
who had gone to join another tribe which was on 
the war-path, and the argument used with the 
young braves was that **It was useless to fight 
against a man who could bring rain." All the 
young warriors returned. 

The surrender of the Sioux in 1876 took place at 
the Cheyenne agency and was witnessed by Joseph 
Bosler. 

Choteau Avenue, St. Louis, is named after Pierre 
Choteau; Fort Sully is so named in honor of General 
Sully, and Pierre, the capital of South Dakota, has 
its Bosler, Herman and Lemon streets, named by 
Mr. Bosler when the city was laid out, the names 
being those of himself, his mother and his wife. 



Due acknowledgment is made of courtesies ex- 
tended by E. K. Miller and E. E. Strong, of the 
Carlisle Indian School, by County Commissioners 
J. E. Hertzler, S. L. Eppley and William Martin 
and by F. C. McKee and C. T. Smith, of the Amer- 
ican Volunteer. 

44 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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