Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers about 1680

Excerpts from the book, “A History Between the Rivers; The Susquehanna, the Juniata and the Potomac 1609-1958 by C. Arnold McClure.

Page 47 – 1675/76 “…the destruction of the Susquehannocks, a once-powerful group of Indians who had stablished themselves on the lower Susquehanna River and who seem to have served as middlemen in the exchange of beaver skins and European trade goods through  the region between the upper Ohio and the Delaware Chesapeake coastal area…destruction caused  by epidemic and hostile attacks by Iroquois and whites…” (1)

Page 48 – June 18, 1676 – “They (the Iroquois) are bringing 50 captives (other Indians) from a distance of 200 leagues from here (Onondaga, NY), to whom they have granted their lives because they destine them to work in their fields.”  (2)

Page 48 – 1677 – Southern Delaware Indians move into Susquehanna River area and take over trade activities.  “Delawares were generally identified as a ‘woman nation’.”  Northern Delaware known to be more aggressive.  (3)

Page 48 – circa 1677 – Old Susquehanna town near present Conestoga new Indian community formed composed originally of Senecas and Susquehannock captives, then attracting bands of roving Shawnees, Conoys from Maryland and Delawares from further East.  (4)

1. William A. Hunter, “Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier,” 1999 page 5
2. Letter from Jesuit Priest, Jean de Lamberville, per Charles A. Hanna in “The Wilderness Trail,” 1910
3. William A. Hunter, “Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier,” 1999 page 4
4. William A. Hunter, “Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier,” 1999 page 10