and commenced their return. After proceeding some distance, a dog belonging to one of the party showed signs of uneasiness, and ran back. Bridges and Thornton desired the others to wait whilst they would go back for him. They went back, and had proceeded but 200 or 300 yards, when a body of Indians, who had been lying in wait on each side of the way, but who had been afraid to fire on account of the numbers of the whites, suddenly rose up and surrounded them and took them prisoners. The others, not knowing what detained their companions, went back after them; when they arrived near the spot, the Indians fired on them, but without doing any injury. The whites instantly turned and fled, excepting Samuel Adams, who took a tree and began to fight in the Indian style. In a few minutes, however, he was killed, but not without doing the same fearful service for his adversary. He and one of the Indians shot at and killed each other at the same moment. When the news reached the fort, a party volunteered to visit the ground. When they reached it, although the snow had fallen ankle deep, they readily found the bodies of Adams and the Indian; the face of the latter having been covered by his companions with Adams's hunting shirt.

A singular circumstance also occurred about that time in the neighborhood of the Allegheny mountain. A man named Wells had made a very considerable improvement, and was esteemed rather wealthy for that region. He, like others, had been forced with his family from his home, and had gone for protection to the fort. In the fall of the year, he concluded to return to his place and dig his crop of potatoes. For that purpose he took with him six or seven men, an Irish servant girl to cook, and an old plough-horse. After they had finished their job, they made preparations to return to the fort next day. During the night Wells dreamed that on his way to his family he had been attacked and gored by a bull; and so strong an impression did the dream make, that he mentioned it to his companions, and told them that he was sure some danger awaited them. He slept again, and dreamed that he was about to shoot a deer, and when cock. ing his gun the main-spring broke. In his dream he thought he heard distinctly the crack of the spring when it broke. He again awoke, and his fears were confirmed; and he immediately urged his friends to rise and get ready to start. Directly after he arose he went to his gun to examine if it was all right, and in cocking it the main-spring snapped off. This circumstance alarmed them, and they soon had breakfast and were ready to leave. To prevent delay, the girl was put on the horse and started off, and as soon as it was light enough, the rest followed. Be. fore they had gone far, a young dog belonging to Wells manifested much alarm, and ran back to the house. Wells called him; but after coming a short distance, he invariably ran back. Not wishing to leave him, as he was valuable, he went after him, but had gone but a short distance towards the house, when five Indians rose from behind a large tree that had fallen, and approached him with extended hands. The men who were with him fled instantly, and he would have followed, but the Indians were so close he thought it useless. As they approached him, however, he fancied the looks of a very powerful Indian who was nearest him boded no good; and being a very swift runner, and thinking it "neck or nothing" at any rate, determined to attempt an escape. As the Indian approached, he threw at him his useless rifle, and dashed off towards the woods in the direction his companions had gone. Instead of firing, the Indians commenced a pursuit for the purpose of making him a prisoner, but he outran them. After running some distance, and when they thought he would escape, they all stopped and fired at once, and every bullet struck him, but without doing him much injury or retarding his flight. Soon after this he saw where his companions had concealed themselves; and as he passed, begged them to fire on the Indians and save him; but they were afraid and kept quiet. He continued his flight, and after a short time overtook the girl with the horse. She quickly understood his danger and dis. mounted instantly, urging him to take her place, while she would save herself by concealment. He mounted, but without a whip, and for want of one could not get the old horse out of a trot. This delay brought the Indians upon him again directly, and as soon as they were near enough they fired; and this time with more effect, as one of the balls struck him in the hip and lodged in his groin. But this saved his life-it frightened the horse into a gallop, and he escaped, although he suffered severely for several months afterwards.

The Indians were afterwards pursued and surprised at their morning meal; and when fired on four of them were killed, but the other, though wounded, made his escape. Bridges, who was taken prisoner near Johnstown when Adams was murdered, saw him come in to his people, and describes him as having been shot through the chest, with leaves stuffed in the bullet holes to stop the bleeding.

The Indians were most troublesome during their predatory ineursions, which were frequent after the commencement of the revolution. They cut off a party of whites under command of Capt. Dorsey, at "the Harbor," a deep cove formed by Ray's hill, and a spur from it.

John Lane, to whom I have before referred, was out at one time as a spy and scout, under the command of a Capt. Philips. He left the scout once for two days, on a visit home, and when he returned to the fort the scout had been out some time. Fears were entertained for their safety. A party went in search; and within a mile or two of the fort, found Capt. Philips and the whole of his men, 15 in number, killed and scalped. When found they were all tied to saplings; and, to

use the language of the narrator, who was an eye-witness, "their bodies were completely riddled with arrows."

The oldest native of the county living [in 1843] is Wm. Fraser. His father left Fort Cumberland about 1758, and came to the fort at Bedford. He built the first house outside the fort, and Wm. was the first white child born outside the fort. He was born in 1759, and is now about 84 years of age. He was in my office a few days since. He had come about 14 miles that morning, and intended returning home the same day; this he frequently does.

Several distinguished men of the olden time have been mentioned by Mr. Burd above. Hon. Mr. Walker, lately a U. S. Senator from Mississippi, was a native of Bedford county. The following is abridged from a Connecticut newspaper, under the head of "Letters from Luzerne."

Yankee talent and virtue are appreciated and rewarded in Pennsylvania. John Todd, some years since deceased, was a native of Suffield, Connecticut. Having finished his law studies, he took his pack, literally, on his back, and came out to Bedford co., seeking his fortune. A close student, he was pale; but a bright eye animated his countenance. Of middle size, he seemed formed rather for activity than strength. When he first entered the Pennsylvania senate, then at Lancaster, at about 27 or 28 years of age, Senator Palmer remarked, "My life on't that fellow is a fool, or possesses uncommon talents; I suspect the latter-mark my word-you will hear from him." We did. Awkward beyond conception, he would grasp a pen in his hand, bite and twist and chew it, as he rose to speak-his head a little on one side-but presently the house would be startled by some bold proposition. He would shake the bitten quill, and pour forth a torrent-not of words-but of correct principles and sound argument, with a spirit and power most effective. In two or three sessions behold him speaker of the house, presiding with great and just popularity. On the floor of Congress next, chairman of the committee on manufac tures, he sustains a judicious protective tariff. Attacked by Gov. Hamilton of S. Carolina, that hotspur of the south, he prepared to reply. "You'll get it, Hamilton-Todd won't spare you." Willing to escape, Mr. H. said, in the lobby, next morning, "he meant nothing personal, no offence," &c. "I took it as a political attack, not a personal affront, although extremely personal in its bearing; but say on the floor what you say here, and I will omit my reply." "Can't do that." "Then you shall have it." And Todd gave him one of the cleverest retorts known in congressional story. An associate on the bench of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, Mr. Todd next holds a seat, and no one commanded more confidence and respect. But disease brought him to a too early grave-27th March, 1830, aged 51 years-in the midst of honor and usefulness. He was in his day the Brougham of Pennsylvania. Long will she cherish, with pride and affection, the memory of the pale Yankee.

It would appear from Rev. Mr. Doddridge's statement that Bedford, as compared with the more remote settlements, had during the revolution become in a degree civilized. His description of the primeval furniture of a cabin related to the new settlements in the Monongahela country, but, as the almanac-makers say, will answer nearly as well for other places in the same latitude:

The furniture for the table, for several years after the settlement of this country, consisted of a few pewter dishes, plates, and spoons; but mostly of wooden bowls, trenchers, and noggins. If these last were scarce, gourds and hard-shelled squashes made up the deficiency. The iron pots, knives, and forks, were brought from the east side of the mountains, along with the salt and iron, on pack-horses.

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These articles of furniture corresponded very well with the articles of diet on which they were employed. Hog and hominy" were proverbial for the dish of which they were the component parts. Jonny cake and pone were, at the outset of the settlements of the country, the only forms of bread in use for breakfast and dinner. At supper, milk and mush were the standard dish. In our whole display of furniture, the delft, china, and silver were unknown. It did not then, as now, require contributions from the four quarters of the globe to furnish the breakfast table viz., the silver from Mexico, the coffee from the West Indies, the tea from China, and the delft and porcelain from Europe or Asia ;-yet our homely fare, and unsightly cabins, and furniture, produced a hardy veteran race, who planted the first footsteps of society and civilization in the immense regions of the west.

I well recollect the first time I ever saw a tea-cup and saucer, and tasted coffee. My mother died when I was about six or seven years of age. My father then sent me to Maryland with a brother of my grandfather, Mr. Alexander Wells, to school.

At Col. Brown's in the mountains, at Stoney creek glades, I for the first time saw tame geese; and by bantering a pet gander, I got a severe biting by his bill and beating by his wings. i

wondered very much that birds so large and strong should be so much tamer than the wild turkeys; at this place, however, all was right, excepting the large birds which they called geese. The cabin and its furniture were such as I had been accustomed to see in the backwoods, as my country was then called.

At Bedford every thing was changed. The tavern at which my uncle put up was a stone house, and to make the change still more complete, it was plastered on the inside, both as to the walls and ceiling. On going into the dining room, I was struck with astonishment at the appearance of the house. I had no idea that there was any house in the world which was not built of logs; but here I looked round the house and could see no logs, and above I could see no joists. Whether such a thing had been made by the hands of man, or had grown so of itself, I could not conjecture. I had not the courage to inquire any thing about it. When supper came on, "my confusion was worse confounded. A little cup stood in a bigger one with some brownish looking stuff in it, which was neither milk, hominy, nor broth: what to do with these little cups, and the little spoon belonging to them, I could not tell; and I was afraid to ask any thing concerning the use of them.

It was in the time of the war, and the company were giving accounts of catching, whipping, and hanging the tories. The word jail frequently occurred: this word I had never heard before, but I soon discovered, and was much terrified at its meaning, and supposed that we were in much danger of the fate of the tories; for I thought, as we had come from the backwoods, it was altogether likely that we must be tories too. For fear of being discovered, I durst not utter a single word. I therefore watched attentively to see what the big folks would do with their little cups and spoons. I imitated them, and found the taste of the coffee nauseous beyond any thing I ever had tasted in my life. I continued to drink, as the rest of the company did, with the tears streaming from my eyes; but when it was to end I was at a loss to know, as the little cups were filled immediately after being emptied. This circumstance distressed me very much, as I durst not say I had enough. Looking attentively at the grown persons, I saw one man turn his little cup bottom upwards and put his little spoon across it. I observed that after this his cup was not filled again. I followed his example, and to my great satisfaction, the result as to my cup

was the same.

The introduction of delft ware, was considered by many of the backwoods people as a culpable innovation. It was too easily broken, and the plates of that ware dulled their scalping and clasp knives. Tea ware was too small for men ;-it might do for women and children. Tea and cof fee were only slops which, in the adage of the day, "did not stick by the ribs." The idea was, they were designed only for people of quality, who do not labor, or the sick. A genuine back. woodsman would have thought himself disgraced by showing a fondness for those slops. Indeed, many of them have to this day very little respect for them.

There are three incorporated boroughs in Bedford co. besides the county seat,-MARTINSBURG, MCCONNELLSTOWN, and SCHELLSBURG,-each taking its name from the person who laid it out and sold the lots. Besides these, there are WARFORDSBURG, RAINSBURG, ST. CLAIR, and BLOODY RUN. The latter takes its name from a run which flows through it. Some traditions state that the Indians had here murdered a party of whites, with their cattle, and the mingling of the blood with the water had suggested the name; but see a different version in Capt. Smith's adventure, above.

MCCONNELLSTOWN is pleasantly situated in a luxuriant limestone valley, between Cove mountain and Scrub ridge, on the turnpike, 28 miles east of Bedford, and 19 west of Chambersburg. A turnpike also runs from here to Mercersburg. There are at this place two Presbyterian churches. Population in 1840, 486. It was incorporated 26th March, 1814.

MARTINSBURG is a large flourishing borough, about 23 miles north of Bedford. It is situated in a broad and fertile limestone valley, called Morrison's Cove, bounded by Dunning's and Lock mountains on the west, and Tussey's mountain on the east. The valley abounds in iron ore of excellent quality, and the manufacture of iron is extensively carried on. Population in 1840, 422. A considerable number of Quakers settled in this region about the year 1793.

Morrison's Cove was settled at a very early date by a Mr. Morris from Washington county, Maryland. From him the valley took its proper name of Morris's Cove. Afterwards several settlers came in from the Conococheague settlements, among whom was John Martin, from whom

Martinsburg took its name although the place was laid out by Jacob Entriken, who bought it from John Brumbach. Jacob Nave built the first grist-mill in Morris's Cove. At that time the fort was at Holliday's, where most of the neighboring pioneers were in the habit of forting. While all were gone to the fort but himself, he had been delayed for some cause about his mill, and on leaving it he espied a large Indian and a small one just emerging from the bushes, each with a rifle they pointed their rifles at him several times, and he at them; but neither fired. At length he shot the big Indian through the heart, and ran. The young Indian gave chase, but Nave found time to load, and fired at him; but the fellow fell to the ground, and missed the ball. This farce was repeated several times, when Nave waited until he had fallen before he fired, and then killed him. He threw their bodies into the creek, and escaped to the fort. The next day the Indians burnt his mill and his dwelling.

BERKS COUNTY.

BERKS COUNTY was formed from Philadelphia, Chester, and Lancaster, on the 11th March, 1752. A portion was set off to Northumberland in 1772, and in 1811 another portion to Schuylkill co. Average length 32 m., breadth 28; area about 927 sq. m. The population in 1790 was 30,179; in 1800, 32,497; in 1810, 43,046; in 1820, (then without Schuylkill co.,) 46,275; in 1830, 53,152; and in 1840, 64,569.

The South mountain range, here broken into irregular spurs, crosses the county in a southwesterly direction; passing the Schuylkill near Reading, where one of its lofty spurs takes the name of Penn's mountain, which overlooks the borough. This range divides the primitive and "middle secondary" formations, in the southeast part of the county, from the broad limestone and slate belts of the Kittatinny valley, which occupies the greater portion of the county between the South mountain and the Kittatinny, or Blue mountain. The surface of this valley is undulating, the hills of the slate lands which lie next the Blue mountain being generally higher than those of the limestone. Both formations present an agricultural region of exceeding beauty and fertility; the slates being better watered by streams on the surface than the limestone, where the waters are absorbed beneath the surface. There are rich deposits of iron ore both in the limestone and sandstone formations, generally most abundant along the northwestern base of the South mountain. In 1832, there were in the county 11 furnaces and 22 forges. Many of the beautiful stoves of Dr. Nott's invention were cast in Reading; and it is said that one of these stoves was presented, some ten years since, to the convent of San Bernard, on the summit of the Alps-whether from this furnace or from Albany, N. Y., is not certainly stated.

The leading stream is the Schuylkill, which passes nearly through the centre of the county-watering in its course one of the loveliest and most picturesque valleys in the state-with its tributaries, Maiden creek on the northeast, Manataway and Monocasy creeks on the southeast, and the Tulpehocken and its branches on the west. The Little Swatara rises in the northwest corner of the county.

The Union canal follows the course of the Tulpehocken, joining the Schuylkill Navigation Co. canal just below Reading. The works of the Schuylkill Navigation Co., consisting of alternate canals and slackwater pools, occupy the valley of the Schuylkill, extending into the coal region.

The Pottsville and Philadelphia railroad passes along the Schuylkill valley, directly through the borough of Reading. Good roads intersect the county in all directions, among which are the turnpikes from Reading to Harrisburg, to Philadelphia, and to Pottsville. The main business of the county is agriculture: a business sure and profitable, and especially adapted to the habits and feelings of the German population, which almost exclusively occupies the soil. The iron business is also a prominent one in the county. The German language prevails over the whole county; in many districts and families, to the entire exclusion of the English. A change, however, is just commencing, and has shown itself most conspicuously in the recent determination of the younger members of the Lutheran congregation in Reading to hear preaching in the English language.

The county has a large almshouse on the Angelica farm of 480 acres, three miles southwest of Reading. The whole cost of the establishment was $33,000. This farm was formerly in the possession of Gov. Mifflin. At an early day after the establishment of his colony, William Penn was careful to proclaim to the persecuted religious sects throughout Europe, that in Pennsylvania they might find an asylum from persecution; and not only obtain ample sustenance from a fresh and fertile soil, but likewise enjoy unlimited freedom of worship according to the dictates of their own consciences. Many such sects of Protestants had wandered, in little communities, from one German principality to another, seeking protection from the persecutions of the Romish church, until at last the news of William Penn's new colony reached them, about the years 1700 to 1711; when many, "partly for conscience' sake, partly for their temporal interest, removed thither, where they say they found their expectation fully answered, enjoying liberty of conscience, with the benefits of a plentiful country. With this they acquainted their friends in Germany, in consequence of which many of them, in the years 1717, &c., removed to Pennsylvania." These first emigrants were generally the Mennonists and Dunkards, who settled in Lancaster co. between 1718 and 1734; and the Moravians, who settled in Northampton co. in 1739 and 1740. Another sect, the Schwenckfelders, from Nether Silesia, settled in the corners of Montgomery, Bucks, and Berks, about the years 1733-34, and subsequently. Thomas Penn purchased the lands on the Tulpehocken from the Indians, in 1732-33. The door of immigration thus being opened, the new colony became extensively known throughout all Germany. Those already here sent for their kindred, and they in turn enticed others; until thousands arrived annually, of all ranks, sects, and persuasions, from the haughty baron to the poor redemptioner who was sold into temporary slavery to pay for his passage. They scattered themselves, according to their various preferences, throughout the counties from Northampton to York inclusive; Berks no doubt receiving her share. The settlers in Berks were principally of the Lutheran, or of the German Reformed denomination; although as late as the year 1745 there was no Lutheran church nearer than the Swamp, (Hanover,) in Montgomery co. After Reading had been laid out and the county organized, in 1752, population increased more rapidly. Great alarm was spread among the settlers in 1755, by rumors that the French and Delaware and Shawanees Indians had made murderous incursions upon the towns in Cumberland valley,