Early History of Western Pennsylvania Author:Israel Daniel Rupp Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Bnt as great as these difficulties were, the first settlers of Indiana had others to encounter of a still more serious nature. The savage and hostile Indians gav... more »e them much trouble. Several of the inhabitants were killed and scalped; others were forced to leave their homes and seek a place of safety on the eastern side of the mountains. Kelly and Moorhead had many narrow escapes from the Indians. But they finally caught Moorhead, together with a setller by the name of Simpson. Simpson was killed and Moorhead was carried through the woods to Quebec, where he was confined 11 months. He was afterwards exchanged and sent to New York, and from thence made his way to his family. His wife and three children had fled to a place of safety, in a fort in Westmoreland county, and from thence to Franklin. Settlements were gradually extended through the northwestern part of Pennsylvania, as far as Erie county, between 1790 and 1795. Among the early settlers in this county, were Miles, King, Martin, Connelly , Reed, Reese, Cochran, Foster, Brown, Dobbins, Kelso, Wilson, Dun- bar. In 1795 the town of Erie was laid out by Gen. William Irvine, and Andrew Ellicott. In relation to the manners and customs of the early pioneers of the wilderness, we cannot do better than to insert extracts from an able and observing writer. The following is abridged from the writings of the Rev. Dr. Dod- dridge: t uThe task of making new establishments in a remote wilderness, in a time of profound peace is sufficiently difficult; but when in addition to all the unavoidable hardships attendant on this business, those resulting from an extensive and furious warfare with savages are superadded, toil, privations and sufferings, are then carried to the full extent of men to endure them. " Such was the wretche...« less