His first letter, published in the Colonial Records, is dated "May ye 26th, 1747," and is directed to Richard Peters. It was accompanied by a letter from the Six Nations, some wampum, and a French scalp, taken somewhere on Lake Erie.
In a letter from Governor Hamilton to Governor Hardy, dated 5th July, 1756, in speaking of Crogan, who was at one time suspected of being a spy in the pay of the French, Hamilton says:—"There were many Indian traders with Braddock—Crogan among others, who acted as a captain of the Indians under a warrant from General Braddock, and I never heard of any objections to his conduct in that capacity. For many years he had been very largely concerned in the Ohio trade, was upon that river frequently, and had a considerable influence among the Indians, speaking the language of several nations, and being very liberal, or rather profuse, in his gifts to them, which, with the losses he sustained by the French, who seized great quantities of his goods, and by not getting the debts due to him from the Indians, he became bankrupt, and since has lived at a place called Aughwick, in the back parts of this province, where he generally had a number of Indians with him, for the maintenance of whom the province allowed him sums of money from time to time, but not to his satisfaction. After this he went, by my order, with these Indians, and joined General Braddock, who gave the warrant I have mentioned. Since Braddock's defeat, he returned to Aughwick, where he remained till an act of assembly was passed here granting him a freedom from arrest for ten years. This was done that the province might have the benefit of his knowledge of the woods and his influence among the Indians; and immediately thereupon, while I was last at York, a captain's commission was given to him, and he was ordered to raise men for the defence of the western frontier, which he did in a very expeditious manner, but not so frugally as the commissioners for disposing of the public money thought he might have done. He continued in the command of one of the companies he had raised, and of Fort Shirley, on the western frontier, about three months; during which time he sent, by my direction, Indian messengers to the Ohio for intelligence, but never produced me any that was very material; and, having a dispute with the commissioners about some accounts between them, in which he thought himself ill-used, he resigned his commission, and about a month ago informed me that he had not received pay upon General Braddock's warrant, and desired my recommendation to General Shirley; which I gave him, and he set off directly for Albany; and I hear he is now at Onondago with Sir William Johnston."
Crogan settled permanently in Aughwick in 1754, and built a stockade fort, and must have been some kind of an agent among the Indians, disbursing presents to them for the government. In December of that year he wrote to Secretary Peters, stating the wants of his Indians, and at the same time wrote to Governor Morris as follows:—
"May it please your honor:—
"I am Obligd to advertize the Inhabitance of Cumberland county in yr honour's Name, nott to barter or Sell Spiretus Liquers to the Indians or any person to bring amongst them, to prevent ye Indians from Spending there Cloase, tho' I am obligd to give them a kag Now and then my self for a frolick, but that is Atended with no Expence to ye Government, nor no bad consequences to ye Indians as I do itt butt onst a Month. I hope your honour will approve of this Proceeding, as I have Don itt to Prevent ill consequences atending ye Indians if they should be Kept always Infleamd with Liquors."
In September, 1754, notwithstanding the precautions taken by the government to conciliate the Indians by profuse presents, and immediately after Conrad Weiser, the Indian interpreter, and Crogan, had held a conference at Aughwick, which it was supposed had terminated satisfactorily to all parties concerned, an Indian, named Israel, of the Six Nations, after leaving the conference, perpetrated a brutal murder in Tuscarora Valley. The following is Crogan's report of it to government:—
Aughwick, September 17, 1754.
May it please Your Honor:—
Since Mr. Weiser left this, an Indian of the Six Nations, named Israel, killed one Joseph Cample, an Indian trader, at the house of one Anthony Thompson, at the foot of the Tuscarora Valley, near Parnall's Knob. As soon as I heard it I went down to Thompson's, and took several of the chiefs of the Indians with me, when I met William Maxwell, Esq. The Indian made his escape before I got there. I took the qualification of the persons who were present at the murder, and delivered them to Mr. Maxwell, to be sent to your honor, with the speech made by the chiefs of the Indians on that occasion, which I suppose your honor has received.
I have heard many accounts from Ohio since Mr. Weiser left this, all of which agree that the French have received a reinforcement of men and provision from Canada to the fort. An Indian returned yesterday to this place whom I had sent to the fort for intelligence; he confirms the above accounts, and further says there were about sixty French Indians had come while he stayed there, and that they expected better than two hundred more every day. He says that the French design to send those Indians with some French, in several parties, to annoy the back settlements, which the French say will put a stop to any English forces marching out this fall to attack them. This Indian likewise says that the French will do their endeavor to have the half-king Scarrayooday, Captain Montour, and myself, killed this fall. This Indian, I think, is to be believed, if there can be any credit given to what an Indian says. He presses me strongly to leave this place, and not live in any of the back parts. The scheme of sending several parties to annoy the back settlements seems so much like French policy that I can't help thinking it true.