This Line remained thus unsettled, until after the conclusion of the American war. Mr. Rittenhouse and Captain Holland having previously established the North-Eastern Corner of Pennsylvania, on that boundary, by ascertaining and marking thereon the beginning of the 43° of North latitude, the Pennsylvania Legislature, on the 31st of March, 1785, enacted a law, authorizing the Executive of the State to appoint a Commissioner, in conjunction with one or more on the part of New-York, to run and complete the Line. The person selected for this service by Pennsylvania, in addition to Mr. Rittenhouse, was Andrew Ellicott, Esq. an able Mathematician and Astronomer, and well qualified also, by his practical knowledge of Surveying or Land-Mensuration: this gentleman was accordingly commissioned[[174]] by the hon. Charles Biddle, Esquire, then Vice-President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, on the 16th of June, 1786.[[175]] The Commissioners on the part of New-York, were James Clinton and Simeon De Witt, Esquires: And by these gentlemen, appointed on behalf of their respective governments, this business was prosecuted; but it was not then completed.[[176]]
The following letter, addressed by Mr. Rittenhouse to his wife, while he was engaged in this service, will not only furnish the reader with some idea of the manner in which the commissioners, with their attendants, were obliged to live in the wilderness, and the nature of their accommodations; but it will also present him with an interesting little story, illustrative of the manners and condition, in our day, of some of that unfortunate race of men, who were once the independent lords of that vast territory, over which the descendants of a grant transatlantic people now exercise all the rights of sovereignty and ownership. This letter is dated the 6th of August, 1786.
“It is,” says Mr. Rittenhouse, “six long weeks since I have had the happiness of seeing you or hearing from you; and this is the first opportunity I have had of conveying a letter to you, since I left Wyoming. As I cannot hope to receive a line from you until we approach nearer to the habitable world, my next greatest pleasure is to inform you of the favourable state of my health: this pleasure is indeed damped in some degree, by my fears that you will not give full credit to what I say, though I mean to abide strictly by the truth. The head-ach has been unknown to me, almost ever since I left you; my cough, though much better, is not quite removed; and I have no other complaint, except, that which will never leave me in this world: this, however, far from being worse than usual, is certainly something less troublesome; which I attribute to my being more at liberty to use moderate exercise, and less exposed to summer heats than I should be at home. This seems to be a different climate from that you are in; the weather is constantly cool, but not cold. We are at present situated on a pleasant bank of the Susquehanna, about fifteen miles above the mouth of the Chenango, one of the principal branches of this river. From this place to Middletown in Lancaster county, is, by estimation, 270 miles along the river: much of the road is very bad, so that we had a tedious journey.
“At Chenango, there are a few Indian families settled, amounting to forty souls. Some of these people frequently visit us, and bring us fish and venison; in return for which, they are very desirous to have flour or salted provisions: and we live in the greatest harmony with them. Five or six days ago, one of the Onondago Sachems with his family came up in three canoes, and encamped in the evening, just below us. Next morning, we received a message from them, requesting an audience for two young ladies of the family. To this, a proper answer was returned, (General Clinton having prudently brought an interpreter with him,) and at the time appointed they were introduced to us in our tent, unattended by any other Indians. After a draught of punch, and a decent silence, our visitors were told that we were ready to hear what they had to say. The eldest of the two, a fine girl of about twenty, and extremely well dressed, with a becoming modesty made a short speech; concluding with an handsome apology for acquitting herself no better, on account of her youth and sex. The purport of her speech was, that thinking it would not be disagreeable to us, they were come to spend a few days in our company: that they were poor, and in want of provisions, especially flour; and hoped we would furnish them with a small portion of our stores,—at least for present use, whilst they staid with us. We encouraged them to bring us fish and other fresh provision; in return for which, they should have salt meat and some bread. Business being over, some cheerful conversation ensued: and we had reason to think our interpreter went much further than he was warranted to do; for he made some proposition which the young lady negatived strongly, though we are ignorant of what it was. He was then bid to assure them, that no insult should be offered, and that they might visit us at our tents whenever they pleased: to this one gentleman added, that we would treat them as we would our own country women.
“It seems the old interpreter mistook the word treat, and construed it, the giving them victual and drink: in consequence of this mistake, the ladies expected to dine with us every day. They then departed, seeming well satisfied; but in the afternoon we received a message from them, complaining that we had already broken the treaty, in not sending for them to dinner. To this we sent a verbal answer, with an apology, and letting the ladies know we should expect them to tea. To my great surprise, we then received a written note, thanking us for our kindness and promising to drink tea with us,—signed, Jacowe and Sally: it was in the Indian language, and written by Miss Sally herself. We now thought it our duty to return a written compliment likewise; and this intercourse ended with a verbal message from Miss Sally, assuring us, that she thought herself honoured by our letter and would carefully preserve it. The ladies did not fail to come; and have drank tea every day, and sometimes dined with us. They are cheerful and agreeable; but cannot, or will not, speak one word of English. Mr. De Witt draws prettily, and is taking a very good picture of the young princess, which I hope to have the pleasure of shewing you in a few weeks. I have mentioned their writing, which you will be surprised at: but these Indians are in some measure civilized; many of them have learned to read;—they have the Common Prayer Book of the Church, printed in their own language, which is the Mohawk.[[177]] The family now with us have several books with them; likewise paper, pens and ink. Every evening, the females jointly sing several religious hymns, and their music is at least equal to any of this kind I have heard: the old mistress is very devout, and sometimes says her prayers with great fervency. They are, nevertheless, still but Indians; and Miss Sally will sit, with all her finery about her, flat on the ground for hours together, under a miserable bark shed, making buckskin shoes, until her eyes are almost smoked blind; then, by way of relaxation, she and her cousin will step into a little tottering canoe, where, standing upright, they row away with incredible swiftness.
“You will excuse me for entertaining you so long with an account of these poor wretches. But your news, and your politics, are almost forgotten. Still, my principal happiness is, that not only waking but frequently in my dreams, I feel all that esteem and affection for you, which I hope will never end. My companions are agreeable enough; but as every one has his own humours, it is by no means a desirable thing to be cooped up in a little tent, night and day, for weeks together, with any one. I want something to employ my leisure hours. This I could do by writing, but here is no privacy: I am at present obliged to write badly and in a small hand, to prevent its being overlooked. I cannot think of taking my departure for Philadelphia, until we approach nearer the inhabited country: our next station, but one, will be at or near Tioga, and from thence I shall return.”
* * * * * * * * * *
“God grant you health and spirits,” &c.
In 1787, Mr. Ellicott’s associates, in completing this line, were Col. Andrew Porter of Pennsylvania, and Abraham Hardenberg and William Morris, Esquires, of New York; Mr. Rittenhouse, who was engaged the same year in a similar occupation, being unable to attend the finishing of this boundary. It was then finally run and marked, by the other commissioners here named; and, in conformity to the return of these commissioners, their proceedings were ratified by a confirmatory law of Pennsylvania, passed on the 29th of September, 1789.