Indians Defrauded by Deceptive Walking Land Measure, September 19, 1737

From the time of William Penn’s arrival, in 1682, while he was a lowly Christian himself, he had followers who did not have the same fear of God in their hearts, and who did not hesitate to excite the cupidity of the unsophisticated children of the forest, and by any and all means take advantage of them.

William Penn formed many treaties with the Indians and concluded many purchases, no one of which was well and accurately defined as to its actual boundary.

649Penn and his agents were ignorant of the topography of the wilderness in the interior of “Penn’s Woods,” and in their earlier purchases had been in the habit of defining the boundaries of land by well-known streams or highlands, or well-known natural objects.

They often indicated their extension into the unknown region by such vague terms as: “To run two days’ journey with a horse up into the country as the river doth go,” or “Northeasterly back into the woods to make up two full days’ journey,” or “far as a man can go in two days from said station,” etc.

The first purchase of land from the Indians above the Neshaminy, in Bucks County, made by William Markham, the agent of William Penn, was in 1682. This purchase was to be bounded by the River Delaware on the northeast, and the Neshaminy on the northwest, and was to extend as far back as a man could walk in three days.

It is stated that Penn and the Indians began to walk out this land, commencing at the mouth of the Neshaminy, and walking up the Delaware; in one day and a half they got to a spruce tree, near Baker’s Creek, when Penn concluded this would be as much land as he would want at present. A line was drawn and marked from the spruce tree to the Neshaminy.

This was the only boundary which was ever settled by Penn in person, and Penn wrote of this trip, saying that they frequently halted to converse, smoke and eat.

Lines measured in that manner would often have extended far beyond the expectations of the contracting parties, so more definite terms were soon employed to define limits of land grants. But about 1718 the settlers, maintaining the authority of the original lines, pushed their improvements beyond the designated lines, much to the dissatisfaction of the Indians.

That act nearly precipitated war, had not wiser counsels prevailed, but encroachments continued until a general meeting of the Iroquois was held and their chiefs determined to put an end to the bickerings, and sent their chief sachems to Philadelphia. There they renewed old treaties, by the signatures of twenty-three of their chiefs, and deed to Penn’s heirs “all the said river Susquehanna, with lands lying on both sides thereof, to extend eastward as far as the heads of the branch or springs which run into the said Susquehanna, and all lands lying on the west side of the said river, northward, up the same to the hills or mountains.”

That did not even stop the unscrupulous land seeker and much additional land was taken from the natives, which in consequence provoked trouble.

After the death of William Penn a copy of one of those walk-deeds was found by Thomas and John Penn, who, at a council in 1733, fifty years after it had been executed, presented it to the Indians and received 650from them an acknowledgment of its validity, and under that an arrangement was made for a walk of one day and a half to settle the boundaries.

The Penns, although strict Quakers, did not shrink from using means about the honesty of which there could be some question, and they advertised far and wide for the fastest walkers, offering five hundred acres of land and five pounds in money to the man who would walk the greatest distance in the allotted time.

Every facility was furnished them, a direct line was run, underbrush was cleared away, refreshments were placed at convenient distances, all arranged so that there might be little or no delay. Indeed, the preparations for a modern marathon race could hardly be more carefully made.

The persons selected by the Governor were Edward Marshall, James Yeates and Solomon Jennings. One of the Indians was called Combush, another Neepaheilomon, also known as Joe Tuneam, and his brother-in-law, Tom.

The time appointed for the walk was the morning of September 19, 1737, when the days and nights were equal. The walk was to commence at a chestnut tree just above the present site of Wrightstown Meeting House, under the supervision of Timothy Smith, sheriff of Bucks County, and Benjamin Eastburn, surveyor general.

Marshall was a noted hunter, chain carrier, etc.; Yeates was a tall, slim fellow, very agile and fleet of foot; Jennings was remarkable for his strength, but was of very stout build.

A great crowd of spectators gathered at the starting point. The walkers were accompanied by a number of persons who carried refreshments and otherwise encouraged the walkers to greater efforts.

They walked moderately at first, but soon quickened their pace, so that the Indians frequently called to them to walk and not to run. Those remonstrances produced no effect, and most of the Indians left them in anger, saying they were being cheated. A number of persons had collected about twenty miles from the starting point to see them pass.

First came Yeates, stepping as lightly as a feather. After him, but yet out of sight came Jennings, with a strong steady step, then far behind him came Marshall, apparently careless, swinging a hatchet and eating a biscuit. Bets ran in favor of Yeates.

In two and a half hours they arrived at Red Hill, in Bedminister, but the pace by this time was too hot for Jennings and two of the Indians and they gave up the contest. The other Indian, Combush, continued with Marshall and Yeates, and when they arrived at the fork of the road, near what is now Bethlehem, Combush laid down to rest a moment, but on attempting to rise was unable to proceed farther.

Marshall and Yeates continued alone and by sunset arrived on the 651north of Blue Mountain. At sunrise the next morning they started again, but when crossing a stream at the foot of the mountain near Lehigh Water Gap, Yeates became faint and fell. Marshall turned back and supported him until some of the attendants came up, and then continued to walk on by himself. At noon, the hour when the walk was to terminate, he had reached a spur on the Second or Broad Mountain, estimated to be eighty-six miles from the starting point.

Having thus reached the fartherest possible point to the northwestward, a line was drawn from the end of the “walk” to the Delaware River.

Not being described in the deed of purchase, the agent of the Proprietaries, instead of running by the nearest course to the river, ran northeastward across the country about sixty-six miles, so as to strike the Delaware near the mouth of the Lackawaxen, thus extending far up the river, taking in all the Minisink territory, and many thousand acres more than they should have included had the line been run by the direct course to the Delaware.

This walk gained for the Penn’s territory which now constitutes the northern part of Bucks, virtually the whole of Northampton and a portion of Pike, Carbon and Monroe counties.