Enoch Brown Memorial.

INTRODUCTORY SKETCH.

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FEW years after the French and Indian Wars came the Pontiac War of 1763-4, when the great chieftain of the Ottawas marshaled the tribes between the great lakes and the Alleghenies into hostile camps against the English and their colonial subjects. His avowed purpose was to drive the red coats and pale faces into the sea. No less than ten forts between Detroit and Fort Pitt were captured, and most of their garrisons massacred. Detroit, Fort Pitt and Ligonier were closely besieged for months by the savages.

Col. Henry Bouquet with a force of about five hundred men, mostly Scotch highlanders, broke the eastern wing of Pontiac's conspiracy by defeating his confederates under Guyasutha, &c., after a desperate two days battle at Edge Hill or Bushy Run, Aug. 5 and 6, 1763. The gallant commander begged for a few hundred more troops with which to penetrate to the haunts of the Indians in central Ohio and thus bring the war to a decisive close. But the Quaker provincial authorities disregarded his appeals for the much needed reinforcements. As a consequence, prowling bands of savages made frequent raids into the settlements, killing and scalping the pioneer settlers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia regardless of age, sex or condition. In one of these forays into the Cumberland Valley on the twentysixth day of July, 1764, there was perpetrated, what Parkman, the historian of Colonial times, pronounces “an out

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rage unmatched in fiendish atrocity through all the annals of the war."

This was the cold-blooded massacre of Enoch Brown, a worthy Christian school-master, and eleven scholars, at a little log school-house in Antrim township, three miles north of where Greencastle now stands.

Eight years before to the very day (July 26, 1756,) John McCullough, eight years old, and his little brother had been carried away captive by five Delaware Indians and a Frenchman, from their home, a few miles southwest of the school house, and at this time John was living as an adopted son, among the Delaware Indians on the banks of the Muskingum. In his narrative, as published in Border Life, &c., it is stated that the massacre of the school-master and scholars was perpetrated by three young warriors from that locality, who brought the scalps of master and scholars back as bloody trophies of their trip into the settlements. paugh-weese, Night Walker, an old chief or half king, and other old Indians denounced them for killing so many children and called them cowards, the greatest affront that could be offered them.

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The original MSS. of the McCullough narrative, now in the possession of John McCullough, a grandson of the captive lad, contains no reference to the massacre, but the family are confident that their ancestor furnished the account as given in Border Life, &c.

Others have claimed that the massacre was perpetrated by a squad of Seneca Indians from western New York. Richard Bard in his narrative states that his father was at work near the place of massacre on the 26th of July, 1764, and owing to the strange movements of his dog he concluded that Indians were skulking in the thicket near by. He retreated to the house and in about an hour saw a party commanded by Capt. Potter (afterwards Gen. Potter of the Revolution) who were in pursuit of a party of Indians, who had on that morning murdered a school-master named Brown with ten small children, and had scalped and left for dead one by the name of Archibald McCullough, who recovered. * * According to the story of the boy, two old Indians and a young Indian rushed up to the door soon after

the opening of the morning session. The master, surmising their object, prayed them only to take his life and spare the children, but all were brutally knocked in the head with an Indian maul and scalped. Some of the traditions represent the Indians as shooting the master down when they approached the door, and that on his knees he begged them to spare the lives of the little ones.

Parkman, in his "Conspiracy of Pontiac," Vol. 2, says: "In the centre lay the master, scalped and lifeless, with a Bible clasped in his hand; while around the room were strewn the bodies of his pupils, miserably mangled, though one of them still retained a spark of life. The deed was committed by three or four warriors from an Indian village near the Ohio."

The savage fiends made good their escape, and the horrorstricken settlers buried the master and ten scholars in a large box, placed alternately head and feet in opposite directions in a common grave a few rods from the scene of slaughter. Seventy-nine years afterwards (Aug. 4. 1843) the traditional account of the burial was verified by excavations made by about twenty citizens of Antrim township, including Geo. W. Ziegler, Esq., Dr. Jas. K. Davison and Gen. David Detrich who still remain with us in a hale old age. Christian Koser, the owner of the land, planted four locust trees at the corners of the grave; two of these grew for thirty odd years, when, strange to tell, they were cut down for posts. There was danger that the sacred spot would pass into oblivion. Col. B. F. Winger, Gen. David Detrich and Rev. Cyrus Cort visited the location in the spring of 1883, (April 11), and a month later, May 14, laid the matter before a meeting of the citizens of Greencastle, at which Geo. W. Ziegler, Esq., presided. Steps were taken looking to the purchase of the land and the erection of a monument, but nothing definite was done until the attention of the Franklin County Centennial Convention of April 22, 1884, was called to the subject.

This convention, composed of representative men from all parts of the county, appointed a committee, consisting of Rev. Cyrus Cort, Wm. G. Davison, Col. G. B. Wiestling,

Dr. A. H. Strickler and Benj. Chambers, to devise plans for raising funds to erect a monument, &c.

At the afternoon session of the Convention the committee reported as follows:

Your committee appointed to prepare a proper plan for securing permanent results from the Centennial Celebration in the shape of a Monument to the memory of Schoolmaster Enoch Brown and the ten school children massacred by merciless savages, July 26th 1764, respectfully report the following for the consideration of this Convention :

Resolved, That the sum of at least two thousand dollars be raised for the purpose of securing a suitable amount of land on the farm of Capt. Jacob Diehl, in Antrim township, including the spot where Schoolmaster Brown and his ten children were massacred by the Indians, July 26th, 1764, and where they are now buried; and of enclosing the same with a suitable fence and likewise of erecting an appropriate monument to their memory and keeping the same in permanent repair.

Resolved, That the aforesaid fund shall be raised in the name of the teachers and scholars of all the schools in the county, including common schools, select schools and Sunday schools.

Resolved, That all the teachers and scholars of the schools aforesaid be earnestly requested to contribute at least one dime each toward the fund on or before Sept. 9, 1884, and the names of all teachers and scholars so contributing or collecting at least one dime shall be recorded in a suitable book to be preserved in the archives of the Historical Society of Franklin County.

Resolved, That the committee of the respective townships be directed to take immediate steps to have the foregoing school collections taken up, either by the teachers at present or lately in charge of the schools, or by some suitable person in each school district.

Resolved, That in aid of this fund we recommend that a collection be taken at all the memorial religious services held on the Sunday preceding the Centennial Anniversary, viz: September 7th, 1884.

Resolved, That in further aid of this fund we recommend that the Executive Centennial Committee be directed to request the various railroads in the county to contribute a generous rebate on all excursion tickets issued on account of the Centennial Celebration.

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to receive the funds and carry into effect the action proposed in the foregoing resolution in regard to the purchase of land, erection of monument, &c.

Resolved, That the above committee be directed to request the Court of Franklin County, or other competent authority, to appoint three trustees to invest not less than five hundred dollars of the funds in securities approved by the court, the annual proceeds to be devoted to keeping the grounds, monument and fences in good condition and repair.

Resolved, That the newspapers of the county be earnestly requested to urge the importance of this memorial feature of the Centennial upon the attention of the people of Franklin county.

The report was unanimously adopted by the Convention, and on the motion of Col. Wiestling, the committee called for in the seventh resolution was appointed as follows: Rev. Cyrus Cort, (chairman); Dr. A. H. Strickler (treasurer); Hon. D. W. Rowe, Capt. R. J. Boyd and Col. W. D. Dixon.

On the following day, April 23d, the committee contracted with Capt. Diehl, through Col. B. F. Winger, for the enclosed tract or field which contains the site of the school house, the grave of Enoch Brown, and scholars, together with the spring adjacent.

April 29th, the land was surveyed under the supervision of Col. Winger, along with Rev. Cort, Dr. Strickler and Col. Dixon of the committee. Capt. Diehl obligated himself in writing to give a deed for the land as soon as the surveyor had completed his plot and estimates. The com

mittee pay at the rate of twenty-five dollars per acre.

The committee bought more land than was at first contemplated, for the reason that it was cheaper to purchase the entire field of a fraction less than twenty acres at $25 per acre, than to buy four or five acres in the heart of the field for $30 per acre, fence it in with a strong and durable fence and give bonds to keep the same in good repair for all time to come, which was the alternative presented by the owner of the tract.

The surplus land can be sold and the cost of outside fencing saved, together with the expense and liability of a bond binding through all time and necessitating an investment as large as the cost of the entire field. A public road has been laid out along the north side of the Enoch Brown Park as the tract is now called. It required a great deal of work to reclaim the historic spring and clear off the ground between it and the grave. For several weeks during the hottest weather the chairman of the committee, assisted by other public spirited citizens, "worked with head, heart, hand and horse" to accomplish this praiseworthy undertak