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This Mr. Drumond was a sober Scotch gentleman of good repute with whome I had not a particular acquaintance, nor do I know the cause of that rancour his hono'r had against him other than his pretentions in conton for the publick but meeting him by accident the morning I left the town, I advis'd him to be very wary, for he saw the Govern'r had put a brand upon him, he gravely expressing my name] answered “ I am in over shoes, I will be over boots," which I was sorry to beare & left him.

The last account of Mr. Laurence was from an uppermost plantation, where he and flour others desperado's with horses pistolls &c. march'd away in a snow ancle deep, who were thought to have cast themselves into a branch of some river, rather than to be treated like Drum'ond.

Bacons body was so made away, as his bones were never found to be exposed on a gibbet as was purpos'd, stones being laid on his coffin, supposed to be done by Laurence,

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Near this time arrived a small fleet with a r from England Sr John Berry admirall, Col: Herbert Jefferies comander of the land forces and Collo: Morrison who had one year been a former Govern'r there, all three jored in a com'ission with or to S'r William Barclay, soon after when a generall court, and also an asseinbly were held, where some of our former assembly [with so many others] were put to death, diverse whereof were persons of honest reputations & handsome estates, as that the Assembly petitioned the Govern'r to spill no more bloud, and Mr. Presly at his coming home told me, he believed the Govern'r would have hang'd half the country, if they had let him aloue, the first was Mr. Bland whose friends in England had procured his pardon to be sent over with the fleet, which he plead ed at his tryall, was in the Govern'rs pocket [tho' whe'her 'twas so, or how it came there, I know not, yet did At hear 'twas openly contradicted] but he was answer

by Collo. Morrison that he pleaded his pardon at

swords point, which was look'd upon an odd sort of reply, and he was executed; [as was talked] by private instructions from England the Duke of York having sworn "by god, Bacon & Bland shoud dye.

The Govern'r went in the fleet to London [whether by com'and from his Majesty or spontaneous I did not hear] leaving Col: Jefferyes in his place, and by next shipping came back a person who waited on his hono'r in his voyage, and untill his death, from whom a report was whisper'd about, that the king did say "that old fool had hang'd more men in that naked country, "than he had done for the murther of his father, "whereof the Govern'r hearing dyed soon after without having having seen his majesty; which shuts up this tragedy.

Appendix.

To avoid incumbering the body of the foregoing little discourse, I have not therein mentioned the received opinion in Virginia, which very much attributed the promoting these perturbac'ions to Mr. Laurence, & Mr. Bacon with his other adherents, were esteemed, as but wheels agitated by the weight of his former & present resentments, after their choler was raised up to a very high pitch, at having been [so long & often] trifled with on their humble supplications to the Govern'r for his im'ediate taking in hand the most speedy meanes towards stopping the continued effusions of so much English bloud, from time to time by the Indians; which com'on sentim'ts I have the more reason to believe not altogether groundlesse, because my self have heat him [in his familiar discourse] insinuate as if his fan gave him prospect of finding (at one time or other expedient not only to repair his great losse, but the with to see those abuses rectified that the country v oppressed with through (as he said) the forwardn avarice & french despotick methods of the Govern'r likewise I know him to be a thinking man, and nicely honest, affable, & without blemish, in his com sation and dealings, yet did he manifest abundan

uneasiness in the sense of his hard usages, which might prompt him to improve that Indian quarrel to the service of his animosities, and for this the more fair & frequent opportunities offered themselves to him by his dwelling at James town where was the concourse from all parts to the Govern'r and besides that he had married a wealthy widow who kept a large house of public entertainm't unto which resorted those of the best quality and such others as businesse called to that town, and his parts with his even temper made his converse coveted by persons of all ranks; so that being subtile, and having these advantages he right with lesse difficulty discover mens inclinations, and instill his notions where he found those woud be imbib'd with greatest satisfaction.

As for Mr. Bacon fame did lay to his charge the having run cut his patrimony in England except what he brought to Virginia, and for that the most part to be exhausted, which together made him suspecting of casting an eye to search for retrievinent in the troubled waters of popular discontents, wanting patience to wait the death of his oppulent cousin, old Collo. Bacon, whose cstate he expected to inherit.

But he was too young, too much a stranger there, and of a disposition too precipitate, to manage things to that length those were carried, had not thoughtfull Mr. Laurence been at the bottom.

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HISTORY OF THE VALLEY.

CHAPTER L

Indian Wars.

FROM the best evidence the author has been able to obtain, and to this end he has devoted much time and research, the settlement of our fine and beautiful valley commenced in the year 1732, about one hundred and twenty-five years from the first settlement in Virginia. Before going into a detail of the first immigration to and improvement of the valley, the author believes it will not be uninteresting to the general reader, to have a brief history of the long and bloody wars carried on between contending tribes of Indians. Tradition relates that the Delaware and Catawba tribes were engaged in war at the time the valley was first known by the white people, and that that war was continued for many years after our section of country became pretty numerously inhabited by the white settlers.

I shall commence with a narrative of Indian battles fought on the Cohongoruton.* At the mouth of Antietam, a small creek on the Maryland side of the river, a most bloody affair took place between parties of the

*Cohongoruton is the ancient Indian name of the Potomac, from its junction with the river Shenandoah to the Allegany mountain. Lord Fairfax, in his grants for land on this water course, designated it Potomac; by which means it gradually lost its ancient name, and now is generally known by no other name. Maj. H. Bedinger writes the name of this river Cohongoluta. It is, however, written in the act laying off the county of Frederick in 1738, Cobongoruton.

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Catawba and Delaware tribes. This was probably about the year 1736. The Delawares had penetrated pretty far to the south, committed some acts of outrage on the Catawbas and on their retreat were overtaken at the mouth of this creek, when a desperate conflict ensued. Every man of the Delaware party was put to death, with the exception of one who escaped after the battle was over, and every Catawba held up a scalp but one. This was a disgrace not to be borne; and he instantly gave chase to the fugitive, overtook him at the Susquehanna river, (a distance little short of one hundred miles,) killed and scalped him, and returning, showed his scalp to several white people, and exulted in what he had done.*

Another most bloody battle was fought at the mouth of Conococheague,† on Friend's land, in which but one Delaware escaped death, and he ran in to Friend's house, when the family shut the door, and kept the Catawbas out, by which means the poor fugitive was saved.‡

There is also a tradition, and there are evident signs of the fact, of another furious battle fought at what is called the Slim bottom, on the Wappatomaka, (the ancient Indian name of the Great South Branch of the Potomac,) about one and a half miles from its mouth. At this place there are several large Indian graves, near what is called the Painted Rock. On this rock is exhibited the shape of a man with a large blotch, intended probably to represent a man bleeding to death. The stain, it appeared to the author, was made with human blood. The top of the rock projects over the painted part so as to protect it from the washings of the rains,

* This tradition was related to the author by Capt. James Glenn, of Jesserson county, now upwards of 73 years of age, and confirmed by the venerable John Tomlinson, near Cumberland, Maryland, now 92 years of age.

Mr. Tomlinson is of opinion this affair took place at the mouth of the Opequon.

of batuje.

Capt, James Glean, confirmed by Mc. Tomlinson, except as to the place The name of this water count b Fairfax's ancient grants is written Wappatomac; but Mr. Heath, sud. Mr. Fuel stated that the proper nam is Wappatomaka.

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