^58 



MONTODK 



[b. a. b. 



Montour, who, he states, was "a French 

 woman by liirth, of a good family, but 

 now in mode of life a complete Indian." 

 In 1744, at the great treaty of Lancaster 

 between the Six Nations and the prov- 

 inces of Virginia, Maryland, and Penn- 

 sylvania, Madam Montour was present 

 with two of her daughters, on which oc- 

 casion she related to Marshe the story of 

 her life. He represented her as genteel, 

 of polished address, and as having been 

 attractive in her jirime; he also learned 

 that her two sons-in-law and her only 

 son were then absent, at war with the 

 Catawba. In 1745 Madam Montour was 

 living on an island in the Susquehanna, 

 at Shamokin, having left Ostonwackin 

 permanently. Prior to 1754 she became 

 blind, but she was still vigorous enough 

 to make a horsel)ack trip from Logstown, 

 on the Ohio, to Venango, a distance of 

 60 m., in two days, her son Andrew, on 

 foot, leading the horse all the way. 



When Count Zinzendorf visited Sha- 

 mokin in 1742 he was welcomed by 

 Madam Montour and her son Andrew. 

 Seeing the Count and hearing that he 

 came to preach the gospel, the truths of 

 which she had almost forgotten, she 

 burst int(j tears. It was learned that she 

 believed that Bethlehem, the birthplace 

 of Christ, was situated in France, and 

 that it was Englishmen who crucified 

 him — a silly perversion of the truth that 

 originated with French religious teachers. 



In view of the fact that there is no 

 record of a governor of Canada named 

 Montour, the belief that she was the 

 daughter of such a personage seems 

 groundless, notwithstanding her own 

 statement to this effect to Marshe. 

 Equally doubtful is the assertion that she 

 was alive during the American Revolu- 

 tion, a statement possibly arising from 

 the fact that she was confounded with 

 her reputed granddaughter, Catherine of 

 Catherine's Town, situated near the head 

 of Seneca lake and destroyed by Sulli- 

 van's army in 1779. Being more than 

 60 years of age in 1744, it is not probable 

 that she could have been an active par- 

 ticipant in the Wyoming massacre, 34 

 years later, and there is no authentic 

 evidence connecting Madam Montour 

 with the shedding of blood, white or 

 Indian. 



Esther Montot'r, justly infamous as 

 the "fiend of Wyoming," a daughter of 

 French IMargaret, hence a granddaughter 

 of Madam Montour and a sister of 

 French Catherine and Mary, and the 

 wife of Eghohowin, a ruling chief of the 

 Munsee, was living in 1772 at Sheshequin, 

 6 m. below Tioga Point; but in this 

 year she removed 6 m. above, to a 

 place where she founded a new settle- 

 ment, later known as Queen Esther's 



Town, which was destroyed by Col. 

 Hartley in 1778. Thence she removed, 

 probably to Chemung. It is known that 

 there were Montours at the battle of 

 Wyoming, for "Stuttering John" and 

 Roland admitted it some years afterward. 

 John and Catrina were always relentless 

 enemies of the English colonies. That 

 John, Roland, Esther, and Catherine and 

 Mary were half-breeds is quite probable. 

 But Esther's bloody work at Wyoming, 

 July 3, 1778, has made her name execra- 

 ted wherever known. Toward the end of 

 June of the year named the Tory Colonel, 

 John Butler, with al)out 400 British and 

 Tories and al)Out 700 Indians, chiefly 

 Seneca, under Sagaiengwaraton, de- 

 scended the Susquehanna on his way to 

 attack the settlements in Wyoming val- 

 ley. Pa. To defend the valley against 

 this force there were 40 or 50 men under 

 Capt. Detrick Hewitt, and the militia — 

 about 400 men and boys, the residue of 

 the three companies that had been en- 

 listed in the Continental army. Col. 

 Zebulon Butler, happening to be in the 

 valley, took command of the little army, 

 aided by Maj. Garret, Col. Dennison, and 

 Lieut. Col. Dorrance. 



The 400 undisciplined militia were soon 

 outflanked and broken in the ensuing 

 l)attle. After the enemy had gained the 

 rear, an ofhcer said to Hewitt: "See! the 

 enemy has gained the rear in force. 



Shall we retreat?" "I'll be d ^d if I 



do," was Hewitt's reply, and, like the 

 other officers killed in action, he fell at 

 the head of his men. The battle was 

 lost. Then followed a most dreadful 

 slaughter of the brave but overpowered 

 soldiers of AVyoming. Without mercy 

 and with the most fearful tortures, they 

 were ruthlessly butchered, chiefly in the 

 flight, and after havingsurrendered them- 

 selves prisoners of war. Placed around 

 a huge rock and held by stout Indians, 

 16 men were killed one by one by the 

 knife or tomahawk in the hands of 

 "Queen Esther." In a similar circle 9 

 others were killed in the same l)rutal 

 manner. From these two circles alone 

 only one, a strong man named Hammond, 

 escaped by almost superhuman effort. 

 This slaughter, which made 150 widows 

 and 600 orphans in the valley, gave Esther 

 her bloody title. 



Catherine Montour, a noted character 

 in the colonial history of Pennsylvania, 

 and wlio gave tlie name of Catherine's 

 Town to Sheoquaga, was another daugh- 

 ter of French Margaret, hence a grand- 

 daughter of JNIadam Montour. She be- 

 came the wife of Telelennit, a noted 

 Seneca chief, named Thomas Hudson by 

 the English, by whom she had a son 

 named Amochol ('Canoe'), or Andrew^ 

 and two daughters. The statement that 



