Getting Started Pig-like with a saggy skin covered in warts and blemishes, the Squonk spends much of its life weeping. Get a weekly list of events happening in North Central Pa.! Native Americans in the Susquehanna River Valley, Past and Present, The Stature of the Susquehannock Population of the Mid-16th Century Based on Skeletal Remains from 46HM73, Aiden Lair Lodge and Theodore Roosevelts Midnight Ride to the Presidency, How the Susquehannocks became known as the Conestoga Uncharted Lancaster, https://www.facebook.com/dennis.wallace.353250/photos_albums, Native American Shaft Polisher from Stamans Run in Washington Boro Uncharted Lancaster, In the News: Live from the CodeBar Podcast featuring Uncharted Lancaster, 4,000-year-old emoji discovered on Susquehanna River island. Susquehannas Mystery Thing (Northumberland County). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. All rights reserved Susquehanna National Heritage Area. Smith described the Susquehannocks as great and well-proportioned men who seemed like Giants to the English. Based on archaeological evidence, they were no taller than the average modern day American but more robust than Smiths explorers. They soon became the most heavily armed of all the Eastern Indian tribes. Before you get started, you'll need to decide what type of vegetables you want to grow. The Susquehannock were first described by Capt. So the question is, were the Susquehannocks true giants? So, grab your monster repellent and get ready to learn all about the spooky specters of the Susquehanna Greenway! Seen as recently as the 2000s, the Susquehannas Mystery Thing was publicized by outdoor guide and writer Ken Maurer of Sunburys, The story of this strange creature is thought to have its roots in Pennsylvanias lumber history. A husband and wife known only as Michael and Mary are the only Susquehannocks known to have escaped the massacres. The Curtis Act of 1898 dissolved all tribal governments in Oklahoma and ordered the allotment of communal tribal lands by giving 160-acre tracts to individual households. The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes [2] were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern part of what is now New York (near the lands of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy ), As part of his inheritance, James chose a piece of his fathers land to farm and build a home for his wife Catherine and six children. It was about six feet tall, shaped like a wolf, and stood on its back legs. Once a dominant power, disease brought about through contact with Europeans decimated their population by 1675. The Susquehannock were estimated to number about 5,000 in 1600, but epidemics of smallpox and other disease brought by Europeans steadily reduced their population. Wild plants, fruits, and nuts supplemented their diets. They were an independent people and werenot part of any confederacy into the 1600s. Did you know the swamps of northern Clinton County once contained quicksand? By modern standards, this is not exceptionally tall. Her work is focused on promoting trails and communities within our vibrant and connected Susquehanna Greenway, so that people like you can enjoy opportunities to engage with the outdoors. Kettle Creek Monster / West Branch Dugong / Susquehanna Seal (Lock Haven, Clinton County). Upon opening the sack, he finds nothing left but a wet spot. Often scores of people pass over them every day without ever knowing. Evidence of these mischievous beings has even been found in local Native American culture. Over the next few years, they settled on the James River in Missouri, eventually occupying about 40,000 acres. For years, before Europeans arrived, they werebitter enemies of theIroquois Confederacy and were also thought to have warred with the Mahican from the central Hudson Valley. 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. The only account of a person catching a Squonk comes from the book Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, a fantasy field guide published in 1910 by William T. Cox. Thought to live mostly in the trees, Albatwitches prefer to keep to the shadows, and are said to make their presence known by a sound like a cracking whip (perhaps branch-breaking). Most simply described as a mishmash of animals, the Giwoggle was called upon by local witches to wreak havoc and mayhem on farmers who offended them. It might have been a Squonk! The Susquehannocks established their towns along the branches of the Susquehanna because the waters facilitated travel and trade in the region and provided the Indians with a constant supply of water and fish. Chance of rain 60%. Instead of front paws, it had bird claws, and instead of back feet, it had horse hooves, which confused trackers trying to follow it. Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Thought to live mostly in the trees, Albatwitches prefer to keep to the shadows, and are said to make their presence known by a sound like a cracking whip (perhaps branch-breaking). When John Smith arrived in 1608 he described the Susquehannocks as wearing bear and wolf skins, and carrying bows, arrows and clubs. The curator of the North Museum, Dr. John Price, and State anthropologist, W. Fred Kinsey, as well as other experts on the Susquehannocks supervised the dig. Get the latest Job listings in your email! John Smith, who explored the upper Chesapeake Bay area in 1608. Despite the Treaty with the Lenape, peaceable relations between Revolutionary America and the American Indian peoples of the Ohio Country did not last. On Maurers own sighting, he says, It pushed a wake that made waves that lapped up on the shoreline. Today in the United States, the average height of a male is 69.1 inches. In 1634, the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannock went to war with the Lenape over access to trade with the Dutch at New Amsterdam. On the opposite side of the house is a small chimney for a parlor stove. Around 1550 AD, the people we know as the Susquehannock moved from higher up the river to the Lower Susquehanna Valley. Today, there exists no descendant Susquehannock community. 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.. By 1700 there were only 300 Susquehannock remaining and their rapid decline continued until the last 20 were massacred by a mob of colonists in 1763. As this trade expanded, native made items were replaced with European equivalents like the brass kettle. Click the link to read more about Urban and his life. A friend of Maurers who had also seen the creature described it as a small submarine about to surface. The Lenape had a matrilineal clan system, meaning their bloodlines were traced through the women, and childrens social positions were inherited from the mothers side of the family. As the Dutch grew more demanding and encroached on more Native American lands, the Lenape fought against them in Kiefts War (16431645), in which they were subjected to the Pavonia Massacre and the Esopus Wars (1659-1663). Mulching and Watering At this time, they are estimated to have numbered5000-7000 people. These firearms were carefully not traded to Iroquois or Lenape tribes. 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., They say, that is the old mountaineers, that the Water Witch was an Indian girl who suddenly changed her mind towards her lover. Is the Kettle Creek Monster / West Branch Dugong / Susquehanna Seal really gone? Many of them temporarily moved south tothe Chesapeake Bay in the summer to fish and gather shellfish returning, before returning in the fall to harvest their crops and hunt. A creature with many names, this elusive legend has been said to lurk in the waters of the Susquehanna River near Lock Haven in Clinton County. The Iroquois Confederacy established Shamokin in 1724 and by 1763 the Andastes were extinct. Like many Native Americans, the Susquehannock social organization was centered almost entirely about female ancestry. It is probable that the Susquehannock moved south in order to better control the fur trade. Conestoga Area Historical Society Museum Search Adventure, Governor Dick Adventure: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Around 1500 they migrated from the area between Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Binghamton, New York to what is the modern day Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. Like other Iroquoian tribes, they were semisedentary agriculturalists. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In 1763 the few remaining Susquehannock were massacred by whites angered by accounts of an Indian war on the Pennsylvania frontier, several hundred miles away. During 1763, the remaining Susquehannocks at Conestoga lived under the protection of the commonwealth. 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. By the 1860s, the scythe was the standard reaping tool. In 1758, the Treaty of Easton between the Lenape and the colonists required the Lenape to move westward, out of present-day New York and New Jersey, and into Ohio; however, not everyone went. Described as a 4-foot-tall hairy ape-man fond of apples, the Albatwitch is thought to live around the Susquehanna River, most notably in the Chickies Rock area. It is Beckers belief that the Susquehannocks high protein, maize-based diet was responsible for their greater height. Traditionally they were divided into the Munsee, Unami, and Unalachtigo, three social divisions determined by language and location. Then at some point before the turn of the century, according to an 1899 township map, it came to be owned by David H. Hess. William Penn and Quaker colonists created the English colony of Pennsylvania along the Delaware River in 1682, and a peace treaty was signed with the Lenape in that area. The governor condemned the killings and forbid further violence. Alana Jajko is the director of communications and outreach for the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership. The Ancient Lost Treasures Forum is Dedicated to the Discovery of Legends, the Discussion of Lost Treasures, Artifacts, and Anci, I was reading about Spanish Hill & Susquehannocks Indians. Large scale battles took place with the Seneca in Washington Boro and across the river in York County. However, they quickly trapped out the Susquehanna valley and became a middle-man for furs from Native groups in the areas of New York, Ohio, and Canada. It would be the late 1880s before machines like the McCormicks Reaper would replace the sickle and scythe on the farm. In response to Pontiacs War, begun in the western part of the state, the Paxton Boys, a group of anti-Indian vigilantes, slaughtered six Indians at Conestoga. 1763, the Susquehannock moved from higher up the river in Missouri, eventually occupying susquehannock legends 40,000 acres armed all... 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