The poetry and history of Wyoming : containing Campbell's Gertrude, and the history of Wyoming, from its discovery to the beginning of the present century

Preface

The “ Happy Valley ” to which the illustrious author of Rasselas introduces his reader in the opening of that charming fiction, was not much more secluded from the world than is the Valley of Wyoming. Situated in the interior of the country, remote from the great thorough-fares of travel, either for business, or in the idle chase of pleasure, and walled on every liand by mountains lofty and wild, and over which long and rugged roads must be travelled to reach it, Wyoming is rarely visited, except from stern necessity. And yet the imagination of Johnson has not pictured so lovely a spot in the vale of Amhara as Wyoming.

Much has been said and sung of the beauty of Wyoming ; yet but comparatively little is actually knov/n to the public of its history. That a horrible massacre was once perpetrated there, and that the fearful tragedy has been commemorated in the undying numbers of Campbell, every body knows. But beyond this, it is believed that even what is called the reading public is but inadequately informed ; and there are thousands, doubtless, who would be surprised on being told that, independently of the event from which the poet has woven his thrilling tale of Gertrude, Wyoming has been the theatre of more historical action, and is invested with more historical interest, than any other inland district of the United States of equal extent. The revolutionary occurrence, supplying the Muse’s theme in the beautiful tale just referred to, forms but a single incident in a course of fifty years of various and arduous conflict between belligerent parties of the same race and nation, each contending for the exclusive possession of that fair valley, and for the expulsion of the rival claimr

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PREFACE.

ants. Added to which is its antecedent Indian history, extending back more than fifty years prior to the intrusion of the white man, and perhaps a hundred. The dusky Indians were engaged in bloody strife with each other there, hand to hand and foot to foot. All that is fierce and brutal, selfish and unrelenting, bitter and vindictive, in the passions of men embroiled in civil strife, has been displayed there. All that is lofty in patriotism, — all that is generous, noble, and self-devoted in the cause of country and liberty, has been proudly called into action there. All that is true, confiding, self-denying, constant, heroic, virtuous, and enduring, in woman, has been sweetly illustrated there.

Nevertheless the remark may be repeated that but comparatively little of the actual history of this secluded district, —-a history marked by peculiar interest, and a district upon which nature has bestowed beauty, with a lavish hand, — is known to the general reader. True, indeed, Wyoming is mentioned in almost every book of American history written since the Revolution, as the scene of the massacre; but for the most part, that is the only occurrence spoken of ; the only fact that has been rescued from the rich mine of its historic lore. The reader of poetry has probably dreamed of Wyoming as an Elysian field, among the groves of which the fair Gertrude was wont to stray while listening to the music of the birds and gathering wild-flowers ; and the superficial reader of every thing has regarded it as a place existing somewhere, in which the Indians once tomahawked a number of people.

And yet Wyoming has had its own historian. More than twenty years ago a gentleman resident there, Mr. Isaac Chapman, undertook the preparation of a history, but he died before his work was completed. His manuscripts, however, were edited and published some years after his death ; but the work was very incomplete. The preliminary Indian history was merely glanced at, while that of the revolutionary war was hurried over in the most imperfect and unsatisfactory manner possible. It was not written in a popular style.

PREFACE.

V nor published in an attractive form. The author, moreover, in regard to the protracted controversy between the Connecticut settlers and the Pennsylvanians, was governed by strong partialities in favor of the former. Proud’s History of Pennsylvania comes down no later than 1770 ; and from this it could scarcely be gathered that there was any such spot as Wyoming known. Gordon’s late History only comes down to the Declaration of American Independence. He has, indeed, devoted some twenty or thirty pages to the early stages of the civil'contest in Wyoming, but he writes as though he had been a paid counsellor of the old Ogden Land Company, which so long and vainly strove to dispossess the Connecticut settlers. An impartial history, therefore, was a desideratum, and such I have attempted to supply, written in the style of popular narrative, confined to facts without speculation, and divested entirely of documentary citations.

My own attention was directed to W’’yoming as a field of historical investigation only about three years ago, when en-^ gaged in preparing for the press the Border Wars of the Revolution, as connected with the Life of the Mohawk chieftain, Brant. It became necessary, in executing the plan of that work, to examine the history of Wyoming, so far at least as it had been connected, — most erroneously, — with the name of that distinguished warrior of the woods ; and I soon discovered so much of interest in the tales and traditions of the valley — its history, written and unwritten, — indepen* dently of the war of the revolution, — that I resolved upon the institution of farther investigations at some more conve* nient season.

Keeping this object uppermost in my mind, 1 made a visit of relaxation and pleasure to Wyoming in the summer of 1839, the result of which, through the kind assistance of my friend Charles Miner, and also of his nephew. Doctor Miner,

. was a collection of authentic materials sufficient for a small volume appertaining to the history of that valley alone.

The name of Mr. Miner will frequently appear in the notes and references of the present volume. He is an able man, a

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PREFACE.

native of Norwich, Connecticut, and emigrated to the Valley of Wyoming in the year 1799, — being then nineteen years of age. He first engaged in school teaching. Having a brother, a year or two older than himself, who was a practical printer, he invited him to join him in his sylvan retreat, and

establish a newspaper. The brother did so ; and the twain conjointly established the “ Luzerne Federalist.” This paper was subsequently superseded by “ The Gleaner,^’ but under the same editorial conduct, — that of Charles Miner. It was through the columns of the Gleaner that Mr. Miner, for a lon o- series of months, instructed and amused the American people by those celebrated essays of morals and wit, of fact and fancy, and delicate humor, purporting to come ‘‘From the Desk of Poor Robert the Scribe,” and wdiich were very generally republished in the newspapers. The Gleaner and its editor became so popular, that the latter was invited to Philadelphia, as associate editor of the “Political and Commercial Register,” so long and favorably known under the conduct of the late Major Jackson.

Not liking the metropolis as well as he did the country, Mr. Miner soon retired to the pleasant town of Westchester, eighteen miles from Philadelphia, wdiere, in connexion with his brother Asher, who had also removed from Wilkesbarre, he established the Village Record, — a paper which became as popular for its good taste, and the delicacy of its humor, as the Gleaner had been aforetime. Poor Robert here wrote again under the signature of “ John Harwood.” While a resident of Westchester, Mr. Miner was twice successively elected to Congress, in a double district, as a colleague of the present Senator Buchanan.

While in Congress Mr. Miner showed himself not only a uselul, but an able member. In the subject of slavery he ' took a deep interest, laboring diligently in behalf of those rational measures for its melioration which were doing great good before a different feeling was infused into the minds of many benevolent men, and a different impulse imparted to their action on this subject. There is another act for

PREFACE.

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Vll

which Mr. Miner deserves all praise. It was he who awakened the attention of the country to the silk-growing business. He drew and introduced the first resolution upon the subject, and wrote the able report which was introduced by the late General Stephen Van Rensselaer, as chairman of the committee on agriculture, to whom that resolution had been referred.

It is now about eight years since Mr. Miner relinquished business in Westchester, and, with his brother, returned to Wyoming, where both have every promise of spending the evening of their days most happily.

But to return from this digression : A farther illustration of the history of Wyoming having been determined on, the next question presented was the manner in which it should be brought out. The idea occurred to me, when about to commence the composition of the historical portion of the present volume, six weeks ago, to prefix to the history^ the poetry of Campbell, — thus comprising, in a single portable volume, the Poetry and History of Wyoming. This suggestion was approved by Messrs. Wiley and Putnam, who are to be the publishers; and in addition to all, Mr. Washington Irving has kindly furnished a biographical sketch of the author of Gertrude.

W. L. B,

New-York, Dec. 25th, 1840,

Preface To The Second Edition

The author of this little volume — or rather of that portion of it which is offered to the public as original — was induced to believe that neither the poem and notes of Campbell, nor the brief and imperfect notices to be found in works of general history, were capable of affording that information respecting the murderous assault upon Wyoming, with which readers would rest satisfied ; that the melancholy story possessed interest enough to demand a more complete and faithful narrative. Favoring circumstances had enabled him to collect the materials for this purpose ; and he thought them worthy of being presented to the American people.

The result proved that his opinion was not fallacious. The first edition was speedily taken up, and the continued inquiry for the work has made it his duty to publish a second. The publication of the volume has been the means of bringing to his knowledge additional facts of value, and some few corrections, all of which have been incorporated in this new, enlarged and revised edition.

W. L. S.

Nkw-York, October, 1843.

N

A

OF

THOMAS CAMPBELL,

BY

WASHINGTON IRVING.

It has long been admitted as a lamentable truth, that authors seldom receive impartial justice fi’om the world, while living. The graves seem to be the ordeal to which in a manner their names must be subjected, and from wlience, if worthy of immortality, they rise with pure and imperishable lustre. Here many, who through the caprice of fashion, the influence of rank and fortune, or the panegyrics of friends, have enjoyed an undeserved notoriety, descend into oblivion, and it may literally be said ‘‘ they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.” Here likewise many an ill-starred author, after struggling with penury and neglect, and starving through a world he has enriched by his talents, sinks to rest, and becomes an object of universal admiration and regret. The sneers of the cynical, the detractions of the envious, the scoflings of the ignorant, are silenced at the hallowed precincts of the tomb ; and the world awakens to a sense of his value, wh'fen he is removed beyond its patronage for ever. Monuments are erected to his memory, books are written in his praise, and mankind will devour with avidity the biography of a man, whose life was passed unheeded before their eyes. He is like some canonized saint, at whose shrine

X treasures are lavished and clouds of incense offered up, though while living the slow hand of charity withheld the pittance that would have relieved his necessities.

But this tardiness in awarding merit its due, this preference continually shown to departed authors, over living ones of perhaps superior excellence, may be ascribed to more charitable motives than those of envy and ill-nature. Of the former we judge almost exclusively by their works. We form our opinion of the whole flow of their minds and the tenor of their dispositions from the volumes they have left behind; without considering that these are like so many masterly portraits, presenting their genius in its most auspicious moments, and noblest attitudes, when its powers were collected by solitude and reflection, assisted by study, stimulated by arnbiton and elevated by inspiration. We witness nothing of the mental exhaustion and languor which follow these gushes of genius. We behold the stream only in the spring-tide of its current, and conclude that it has always been equally profound in its depth, pure in its wave, and majestic in its course.

Living authors, on the contrary, are continually in public view, and exposed to the full glare of scrutinizing familiarity. Though we may occasionally wonder at their eagle soarings, yet we soon behold them descend to our own level, and often sink below it. Their habits of seclusion make them less easj7 and engaging in society than the mere man of fashion, whose only study is to please. Their ignorance of the common topics of the day, and of matters of business, frequently makes them inferior in conversation to men of ordinary capacities, while the constitutional delicacy of their minds and irritability of their feelings, make them prone to more than ordinary caprices. At one time solitary and unsocial, at another listless and petulant, often trifling among the frivolousj and not unfrequently the dullest among the dull. All these circumstances tend to diminish our respect and admiration of their mental excellence, and show clearly, that authors, like actors, to be impartially critized, should never be known behind the scenes.

OF THOMAS CAMPBELL.

XI

Such are a few of the causes that operate in Europe to defraud an, author of the candid judgment of his countrymen, but their influence does not extend to this side of the Atlantic. We are placed, in some degree, in the situation of posterity. The vast ocean that rolls between us, like a space of time, removes us beyond the sphere of personal favor, personal prejudice, or personal familiarity. An European work, therefore, appears before us depending simply on its intrinsic merits. We have no private friendship nor party purpose to serve by magnifying the author’s merits, and in sober sadness the humble state of our national literature places us far below any feeling of national rivalship.

But while our local situation thus enables us to exercise the enviable impartiality of posterity, it is evident we must share likewise in one of its disadvantages. We are in as complete ignorance respecting the biography of most living’ authors of celebrity, as though they had existed ages before our time, and indeed are better informed concerning the character and lives of authors who have long since passed away, than of those who are actually adding to the stores of European literature. Few think of writing the anecdotes of a distinguished character while living. His intimates, who of course are most capable, are prevented by their very intimacy, little thinking that those domestic habits and peculiarities, which an every day’s acquaintance has made so trite and familiar to themselves, can be objects of curiosity to all the world besides. Thus then we who are too distant to gather those particulars concerning foreign authors, that are circulated from mouth to mouth in their native countries, must content ourselves to remain in almost utter ignorance ; unless perchance some friendly magazine now and then gives us a meagre and apocryphal account of them, which rather provokes than satisfies our curiosity. A proof of these assertions will be furnished in the following sketch, which, unsatisfactory as it is, contains all the information we can collect, concerning a British poet of rare and exquisite endowments. Thomas Campbell was born at Glasgow on the 27th Sep-

XU tember, 1777. He was the youngest son of Mr. Alexander Campbell, a merchant of that city, highly spoken of for his amiable manners and unblemished integrity; who united the scholar and the man of business, and amidst the enof-rossinocares and sordid pursuits of business, cherished an enthusiastic love of literature.

It may not be uninteresting to the American reader to know that Mr. Campbell, the poet, had near connexions in this country. His father passed several years of his youth at Falmouth, in Virginia, but returned to Europe before the revolutionary war. His uncle, who had accompanied his father across the Atlantic, remained in Virginia, where his family uniformly maintained a highly respectable station in society. One of hi's sons was district attorney under the administration of Washington, and was celebrated for his demeanor. He died in J795. Robert Campbell, a brother of the poet, settled in Virginia, where he married a daughter of the celebrated Patrick Henry. Pie died about 1807.

The genius of Mr. Campbell showed itself almost in his infancy. At the age of seven he displayed a vivacity of imagination and a vigor of mind surprising in such early youth. He now commenced the study of Latin under the care of the Rev. David Alison, a teacher of distinguished reputation. A strong inclination for poetry was already discernible in him, and it was not more than two years after this, that, as we are told, “ he began to try his wings.” None of the first flutterings of his muse, however, have been preserved, but they had their effect in rendering him an object of favor and attention, aided no doubt by his personal beauty, his generous sensibility, and the gentleness and modesty of his deportment. At twelve he entered the university of Glasgow, and in the following year gained a bursary on Bishop Leighton^s foundation, for a translation of one of the comedies of Aristophanes, which he executed in verse. This triumph was the more honorable from being gained after a hard contest over a rival candidate of nearly twice his age, who was considered one of the best scholars in the university. His second

OF THOMAS CAMPBELL.

Xlll prize-exercise was the translation of a tragedy of iEschylus, likewise in verse, which he gained without opposition, as none of the students would enter the lists with him. He continued seven years in the university, during which time his talents and application were testified by yearly academical prizes. He was particularly successful in his translations from the Greek, in which language betook great delight; and on receiving his last prize /for one of these performances, the Greek professor publicly pronounced it the best that had ever been produced in the university.

He made equal proficiency in other branches of study especially in Moral Philosophy; he attended likewise the academical course of Law and Physic, but pursued none of these studies with a view to a profession. On the contrary, the literary passion, we are told, was already so strong with him, that he could not endure the idea of devoting himself to any of the dull and sordid pursuits of busy life. His father influenced by his own love of literature, indulged those wayward fancies in his son, buildifig fond hopes on his early display of talent. At one time, it is true, a part of the family expressed a wish that he should be fitted for the Church, but this was overruled by the rest, and he was left without further opposition to the impulses of his genius, and the seductions of the muse.

After leaving the university he passed some time among the mountains of Argylesliire, at the seat of Colonel Napier, a descendant of Napier Baron Merchester, the celebrated inventor of logarithims. It is suggested that he may have imbibed from this gentleman his taste and knowledge of the military arts, traces of which are to be seen throughout his poems. From Argjleshire he went to Edinburgh, wdiere the reputation he had acquired at the university gained him a favorable reception into the literary and scientific circles of that intellectual city. Among others he was particularly noticed by professors Stewart and Playfair. To' the ardor and elevation of mind awakened by such associates may we ascribe, in a great measure, the philosophical spirit and moral xiy sublimity displayed in his first production, “ The Pleasures of Hope,” written during his residence in Edinburgh, when he was but twenty years of age.

Inexperienced in authorship, and doubtful of success, he disposed of the copy-right of his poem for an inconsiderable sum. It was received by the public with acclamation, and ran through two editions in the course of a few months, when his bookseller permitted him to publish a splendid edition for himself, by which means he was enabled in some measure, to participate in the golden harvest of his talent. His great reward, however, was the bright and enduring reputation v/hich he instantly acquired, as one of the legitimate line of British poets.

The passion for German literature which prevailed at this time in Great Britian, awakened a desire in Mr. Campbell to study it at the fountain head. This, added to a curiosity to visit foreign parts, induced him to embark for Germany in the year 1800. He had originally fixed upon the college of Jena for his first place of residence, but on arriving at Hamburgh he found, by the public prints, that a victory had been gained by the French near Ulm, and that Munich and the heart of Bavaria were the theatre of an interesting war. “ One moment’s sensation,” he observes in a letter to a relation in this country, “ the single hope of seeing human nature exhibited in its most dreadful attitude, overturned my past decisions.' I got down to the seat of war some weeks before the summer armistice of 1800, and indulged in what you will call the criminal curiosity of witnessing blood and desolation. Never shall time efface from my memory the recollection of that hour of astonishment and suspended breath, when I stood with the good monks of St. Jacob, to overlook a charge of Klenaw’s cavalry upon the French under Grennier, encamped below us. We saw the fire given and returned,' and heard distinctly the sound of the French ^^5 de charge^ collecting the lines to attack in close column. After three hours’ awaiting the issue of a severe action, a park of artil-* lery was opened just beneath the walls of the monastery, and

OF THOMAS CAMPBELL.

XV several wagoners that were stationed to convey the wounded in spring wagons, were killed in our sight. My love of novelty now gave way to personal fears I took a carriage in company with an Austrian surgeon back to Landshut,” &:c. This awful spectacle he has described with all the poet’s fire, in his Battle of Hohenlinden } a poem wliich perhaps contains more grandeur and martial sublimity, than is to be found any where else in the same compass of^English poetry.

From Landshut Mr. Campbell proceeded to Ratisbon, where he was at the time it v/as taken possession of by the French and expected as an Englishman to be made prisoner, but he observes “ Moreau’s army was under such excellent discipline, and the behavior both of officers and men so civil, that I soon mixed among them without hesitation, and formed many agreeable acquaintances at the messes of their brigade stationed in town, to which their chef tie brigade often invited me. This worthy man. Colonel Le Fort, whose kindness I shall ever remember with gratitude, gave me a protection to pass through the whole army of Moreau.”

After this he visited different parts of Germany, in the course of which he paid one of the casual taxes on travelling, being plundered among the Tyrolese mountains, by a scoundrel Croat, of his clothes, his books^ and thirty ducats in gold. About midwinter he returned to Flamburgh, where he remained four months, in the expectation of accompanying a young gentleman of Edinburgh in a tour to Constantinople. His unceasing thirst for knowledge, and his habits of industrious application, prevented these months from passing heavily or unprofitably. “My time at Hamburgh,” he observes, in one of his letters, “ was chiefly employed in reading German, and, I am almost ashamed to confess it, for twelve successive weeks in the study of Kant’s Philosophy, I had heard so much of it in Germany, its language was so new to me, and the possibility of its application to so many purposes in the different theories of science and belles-lettres was so constantly maintained, that I began to suspect Kant might be another Bacon, and blamed myself for not perceiving

XVI his merit. Distrusting my own imperfect acquaintance with the German, I took a Disciple of Kant’s for a guide through his philosophy, but found, even with all this /ai?- nothing to reward my labor. His metaphysics are mere innovations upon the received meaning of words, and the coinage of new ones convey no more instruction than the distinctions of Dun Scotus and Thomas Aquinas. In belles-lettres, the German language opens a richer field than in their philosophy. 1 cannot conceive a more perfect poet than their favorite Wieland.”

While in Germany an edition of his Pleasures of Hope was proposed for publication in Vienna, but was forbidden by the .court, in consequence of those passages which relate to Kosciusko, and the partition of Poland. Being disappointed in his projected visit to Constantinople, he returned to England in 1801, after nearly a year’s absence, which had been passed much to his satisfaction and improvement, and had stored his mind with grand and awful images. “ I remember,” says he, “ how little I valued the art of painting before I got into the heart of such impressive scenes ; but in Germany, I would have given anything to have possessed an art capable of conveying ideas inaccessible to speech and writing. Some particular scenes were indeed rather overcharged with that degree of the terrific which oversteps the sublime, and 1 own my flesh yet creeps at the recollection of spring wagons and hospitals — but the siglit of Jngolstadt in ruins, or Hohenlinden covered with fire, seven miles in circumference, were spectacles never to be forgotten.”

On returninar to Eno-land, he visited London for the first time, where, though unprovided with a single letter of introduction, the celebrity of his writings procured him the immediate notice and attentions of the best society. The following brief sketch which he gives of a literary club in London, will be gratifying to those who have felt an interest in the anecdotes of Addison and his knot of beaux espritsa.t Button’s coffee house, and Johnson and his learned fraternity at the Turk’s head.— “ Mackintosh, the Vindiciee Gallicaa was par-

OF THOMAS CAMPBELL.

XVll ticularly attentive to me, and took me with him to his convivial parties at the King of Clubs, a place dedicated to the meetings of the reigning wits of London, and, in fact, a lineal descendant of the Johnson, Burke, and Goldsmith society ,constituted for literary conversations. The dining table of these knights of literature was an arena of very keen conversational rivalship, maintained, to be sure, with perfect good nature, but in which the gladiators contended as hardly as ever the French and Austrians in the scenes I had just witnessed. Much, however, as the wit and erudition of these men pleases an auditor of the first or second visit, this trial of minds becomes at last fatiguing, because it is unnatural and unsatisfactory. Every one of these brilliants goes their to shine j for conversational powers are so much the rage in London, that no reputation is higher than his who exhibits them. Where every one tries to instruct, there is in fact but little instruction : wit, paradox, eccentricity, even absurdity, if delivered rapidly and facetiously, takes priority in these societies of sound reasonings and delicate taste. I have watched sometimes the devious tide of conversation., guided by accidental associations, turning from topic to topic and satisfactory upon none. What has one learned ? has been my general question. The mind, it is true, is electrified and quickened, and the spirits finely exhilarated, but one grand fault pervades the whole institution ; their inquiries are desultory, and all improvements to be reaped must be accidental.”

The friendship of Mrs. Siddons was another acquisition, of which Mr. Campbell spoke with great pleasure } and what rendered it more gratifying was its being unsought for. it was the means of introducing him to much excellent society in J^ondon. “ The character of that great woman,” he observes, “ is but little understood, and more misrepresented than any living character I know, by those who envy her reputation, or by those of the aristocracy, whom her irresistible dignity obliges to pay their homage at a respectable distance. The reserve of her demeanor is banished toward those who

2* xvni show neither meanness in flatterincr lier, nor forwardness in approaching her too familiarly. The friends of her fireside are only such as she talks to • and talks of with affection and respect.

The recent visit of Mr. Campbell to the continent had increased rather tha.n gratified his desire to travel. He now contemplated another tour, for the purpose of improving himself in the knowledge of foreign languages and foreign manners in the course of which he intended to visit Italy and pass some time at Rome. From this plan he was diverted, most probably by an attachment he formed to a Miss Sinclair, a distant relation, whom he married in 1803. This change in his situation naturally put an end to all his wandering propensities, and he established himself at Sydenham in Kent, near London, where he devoted himself to literature. Not long afterward he received a solid and flattering token of the royal approbation of his poem of the Pleasures of'Hope in a pension of200Z. What made this mark of royal favor the more gratifying was, that it was granted for no political services rendered or expected. Mr. Campbell was not of the court party, but of the constitutional whigs. He has uniformly, both before and since, been independent in his opinions and writings ; a sincere and enthusiastic lover of liberty, and advocate for popular rights.