there are also hundreds and hundreds of articles on newspapers archives reporting artifacts found and sent to the smithsonian. Campers have access to a marina, shopping, restaurants and cultural attractions within a short drive. Kettle Creek Monster / West Branch Dugong / Susquehanna Seal (Lock Haven, Clinton County). Constructed of field stone, it would have been covered in stucco and it still retains its slate roof. Dick Shovel Sign up now for timely, relevant - local, regional, state and national news. Smith only traveled up the Susquehanna a few miles, where he met a delegation of Susquehannock representatives just north of the rivers mouth. 100% of your contribution to NorthcentralPa.com goes directly to helping us cover news and events in the region. When they died and were buried on the farm, it marked the end of the once powerful Susquehannock Indians. The Great Island Path Ohio History A friend of Maurers who had also seen the creature described it as a small submarine about to surface. We work hard to deliver timely, relevant news, for free. When we read Smiths account, its easy to picture seven-foot-tall Native Americans roaming the forests surrounding the Susquehanna River, especially when many of you reading this are six feet tall yourself. TheSusquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by the English, werean important Iroquoian-speaking tribe that formerly lived on Susquehanna River and its branches, from the north end of the Chesapeake Bay inMarylandacrossPennsylvaniainto southernNew York. Epidemics steadily reduced their number (estimated to have been about 5,000 in 1600), and in 1763 many of the remaining Susquehannock were massacred by whites inflamed by accounts of an Indian war on the Pennsylvania frontier, several hundred miles away. References: PA Wilds (Lou Bernard), Mysterious Universe (Jason Offutt), by Henry Shoemaker, CryptoZoo News (Loren Coleman), Alana Jajko is the Director of Communications and Outreach for the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership. Seen as recently as the 2000s, the Susquehannas Mystery Thing was publicized by outdoor guide and writer Ken Maurer of Sunburys The Daily Item. If you journey to this section of the Greenway in search of the Water Witch, think twice. By the Treaty of St. Marys, Ohio, in October 1818, the Lenape ceded their lands in Indiana for lands west of the Mississippi River for an annual annuity of $4,000. Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated January 2023. Deer was the most common protein but bear, elk, and fish were also popular. The Lenape supported the British in the French and Indian Wars (1688-1763). There are, however, known descendants among the Iroquois and Lenape today. SUSQUEHANNOCK HISTORY [Note: This is a single part of what will be, by my classification, about 240 compact tribal histories (contact to 1900). , a fantasy field guide published in 1910 by William T. Cox. Another marine mystery is said to lurk in Susquehanna waters near the rivers confluence in Northumberland County. On Maurers own sighting, he says, It pushed a wake that made waves that lapped up on the shoreline. Nutrient Deficiencies Becker conducted a forensic analysis of 13 complete Susquehannock skeletons plus long bones from 18 other individuals. Little is known about Pennsylvanias first human occupants. By modern standards, this is not exceptionally tall. The woman was able to flee, but, stricken by grief, drowned herself in the quicksand. Chance of rain 60%. Tread carefully next time you paddle your way through this section of the Greenway. A husband and wife known only as Michael and Mary are the only Susquehannocks known to have escaped the massacres. , They say, that is the old mountaineers, that the Water Witch was an Indian girl who suddenly changed her mind towards her lover. Capt. Listen carefully for its sad sniffles and think twice before you step in any puddles. There was an error processing your request. 1672, the Iroquois are defeated by a war party of Susquehannock. The signers for the Maryland colonial government were Richard Bennett, Thomas March, William Fuller, Leo Strong and Edward Lloyd. Upon opening the sack, he finds nothing left but a wet spot. As nutrients in the soil were depleted, productivity decreased forcing the Susquehannock to move their towns about every two decades. The name Susquehannock is thought to have been an Algonquin word meaning the "people of the Muddy River." The Susquehannock was a confederacy of up to 20 smaller tribes, who occupied fortified villages along the Susquehanna River.They traded with other tribes along the Erie River in northern Ohio and the Huron and NeutralOhio and the Huron and During the next several years, theSusquehannock repelled several attacks by Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga warriors of the western Iroquois. The Susquehannock lived in large fortified towns, the largest of which may have had a population of nearly 3,000 people. Click the bio link in the profile to read the history of Conestoga Township as recorded in the 1875 Atlas of Lancaster County. Most of these tunnels and culverts are completely hidden from view. Around 1550 AD, the people we know as the Susquehannock moved from higher up the river to the Lower Susquehanna Valley. Wild plants, fruits, and nuts supplemented their diets. The Lenape claimed to be the "parent" from which numerous . They called the area Drumore after Dromore, a place in Ireland where many Scotch-Irish families emigrated from, including the Long and Neel families. Reports of the creature became less and less frequent in the later 1800s, many believing it to have died or escaped to the ocean through underground caverns. Sign up today! Some Susquehannock are believed to have joined the Meherrin (North Carolina) during the 1670s. Alana can be reached at ajajko@susquehannagreenway.org. The men hunted and fished. But that's the proud history of white man's domination in the western country. Meanwhile, members of the tribe that had migrated into Texas had grown and, by 1828, numbered between 150 and 200 families living in the eastern part of the state. Susquehannock Indians reportedly painted images that match the description of these creatures on their war shields, and the Algonquin also told of small hairy hominid creatures, which they called Megumoowesoos. The Iroquois Indians Around 1500 they migrated from the area between Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Binghamton, New York to what is the modern day Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. So, grab your monster repellent and get ready to learn all about the spooky specters of the Susquehanna Greenway! Next, click the bio link for more information about Wagner and how to purchase an 18" x 24" matte print. Smith wasespecially impressed with their size, deep voices, the variety of their weapons, and was awed by their size, describing them as giants. Susquehanna River, New York by the Detroit Photographic Co, 1900. Susquehannock war parties routinely attacked the Lenape tribes along the Delaware River and traveled down the Susquehanna River where they also raided the Nanticoke, Conoy, and Powhatan living on Chesapeake Bay. It would be the late 1880s before machines like the McCormicks Reaper would replace the sickle and scythe on the farm. At this time, many of the Lenape began to migrate to Texas. That mindset paid off for him Monday night. Click here to read learn how the Susquehannocks became known as the Conestoga. The Kettle Creek Monster, West Branch Dugong, or Susquehanna Seal is a marine creature that dates back over a century. He was born on February 26, 1863, in Conestoga. Five Susquehannock chiefs went to negotiate and were murdered. Over the next year or two, I saw it several times and it always sank out of sight before it got close enough to be seen clearly.. Kettle Creek Monster/ West Branch Dugong/ Susquehanna Seal (Lock Haven, Clinton County). Thats around 5 feet, 9 inches tall. Drastically weakened by their losses, they were overwhelmed by their long-time enemies of the Iroquois Confederacy by 1678. If you set out on a picnic in the Greenway reaches of York or Lancaster Counties, hold on to your apples or maybe opt for a banana! Next time you find yourself in a pickle, just make your way along the West Branch section of the Greenway to Clinton County, and see if the Swamp Angel can help you out! Susquehannas Mystery Thing (Northumberland County). According to legend, escaped slaves captured a Native American brave and maiden, and killed the man. In the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, General Anthony Wayne defeated the Lenape and other Ohio-American Indian peoples. It is limited to the lower 48 states of the U.S. but also includes those First Nations from Canada and Mexico that had important roles (Huron, Micmac, Assiniboine, etc. Since that fateful day, she would appear over the swamp in a glowing orb. Others supported the British, fearing they would be driven from their lands if the Americans were victorious. Tensions between tribes over the fur trade were fierce throughout the 17th century. Known as the Paxtang Boys, the group was upset by the Indian incursions of Pontiacs Rebellion. Send your story to. Never miss a new post or article by signing up for email updates below and following Uncharted Lancaster onFacebookorInstagram. Is the Kettle Creek Monster / West Branch Dugong / Susquehanna Seal really gone? In 1675, approximately 500 survivors fled to an abandoned Piscataway fort along the Potomac River. For more information about the Paxtang Boys Massacre of 1763 check out Jack Brubakers Massacre of the Conestogasand Peter SilversOur Savage Neighbors: How Indian War Transformed Early America. Is the Kettle Creek Monster / West Branch Dugong / Susquehanna Seal really gone? According to Henry Shoemakers Susquehanna Legends, They say, that is the old mountaineers, that the Water Witch was an Indian girl who suddenly changed her mind towards her lover. During the Beaver Wars, 1649 to 1656, the Susquehannocks formed an alliance with Maryland to acquire rifles and successfully fought the much larger Iroquois Confederacy. The woman was able to flee, but, stricken by grief, drowned herself in the quicksand. The people lived in villages of longhouses containing several hundred people, but in the summer, they were nomadic for hunting and gathering and built temporary camps of birch bark wigwams. In 1634, the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannock went to war with the Lenape over access to trade with the Dutch at New Amsterdam. Instead of front paws, it had bird claws, and instead of back feet, it had horse hooves, which confused trackers trying to follow it. An article in the Daily Democratfrom February 27, 1897, describes the travels of a creature that existed before the valley was settled, making its way up the river and settling in the area between present-day Lock Haven and Kettle Creek. All rights reserved Susquehanna National Heritage Area. The Lenape fought the act in the courts but lost in 1907. Having influence with the Gods, the deserted one had her made into unchanging water; and in her helpless state, she mocks the petty aspirations of mankind., Know of any other Greenway ghouls and legends? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Historians and archaeologists have spent generations learning and understanding this formidable tribe and their important relationship to the river, the fur trade, and European settlement. A tragic end came to the Conestoga, when two weeks before Christmas, in 1763, they were attacked by a group of vigilantes from the Harrisburg area. Get the latest Job listings in your email! It is very elusive, preferring to hide out of sight in the hemlock woods; however, the legend says that if you do happen to catch a Squonk, it wont be long before you find yourself with a puddle of tears in place of the beast. So the question is, were the Susquehannocks true giants? 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