The first outbreak was at Penn’s Creek, in the present Snyder County, where on October 16, they swooped down upon the industrious German settlers of that neighborhood and cruelly massacred fifteen and carried away ten others into captivity.
The news of the massacre struck terror in the hearts of the settlers and all, excepting a very few, fled down the river to the older settlements.
Only two days after the Penn’s Creek massacre another occurred only a short distance to the eastward, at the mouth of Mahanoy Creek, about five miles south of the present city of Sunbury.
On this eventful day, October 18, 1755, twenty-five of the inhabitants were killed or carried away into captivity, often worse than death. Every building of the little settlement was burned, and all the improvements destroyed.
The difference in the two massacres lies in the fact that one escaped from the murderous savages at Penn’s Creek, who was able to make his way to George Gabriel’s at the mouth of the creek, where he told the awful story in detail. It also happened that two sons of Conrad Weiser were there at the time, and they hastened to their home in Berks County.
Soon the old provincial interpreter had messengers on the way to inform Governor Morris of the massacre and the threatened invasion of the Forks of the Susquehanna by the French and their Indian allies, who were approaching in great force.
Immediately the news of the massacre at Penn’s Creek reached Harris’ Ferry, and without waiting for advice from the provincial authorities, John Harris, with forty-six inhabitants of the neighborhood, hastened to the scene of the disaster, where they found and buried a number of the mangled bodies of the victims. From this place they proceeded to Shamokin to see the Indians and prevail upon them, if possible, to remain neutral.
Their reception at the Indian village was civil but not cordial, and they remained there only till the next morning.
During the night they heard the Indians talking about the English in unfavorable terms, and soon after they sang a war song and four Indians went away in the darkness in two canoes. They were well armed. One canoe went down stream, the other across the river.
In the morning they made a few presents to the Indians. Before their departure they were privately warned by Andrew Montour not to take a certain road on the western side of the river, but to continue down the eastern side.