History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley (ePub)

"This history was in main prepared from statements from the original settlers of the Juniata Valley." -The News (Newport), Nov. 22, 1889

"The most interesting account of the early settlement of the Juniata Valley...massacres and abductions by the Indians." -Everett Press, Mar. 21, 1941

"Jones states that among the first settlers...was Captain Jack, certainly one of the most noted characters of his day." -Public Weekly (Chambersburg), Jan. 31, 1885

What sparked the deadly raids in Pennsylvania's Juniata Valley that killed 3000 settlers? What unique historical characters would be forged by these years of violent upheaval?

In 1854, Pennsylvania newspaperman and author Uriah James Jones (1818-1864) answers these questions and more in his 1856 book, "History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley."

In describing the sources for his book, Jones writes:

"These were all old settlers, whose memories dated back to the struggle of the infant colonies for freedom; and most vividly did they recollect the Indian butcheries when brave Old England paid a stipulated price for rebel scalps. The reunion of these veterans was an epoch in their lives, for they had been children together, had travelled the same rugged path, and, with stalwart frames, sinewy arms, and willing hearts, had earned for themselves names, reputation, and earthly competence. Well may we conjecture that, in fighting the battle of life over again in story, some interesting incidents were related."

In 1854, Jones began to gather materials for a History Juniata Valley, Pennsylvania, which he had been urged by B Frank Bell Esq of Bell's Mills Blair county to write. For one or two years he collected facts concerning the early settlement of the valley gathering many narratives from the lips of old settlers who entered the valley when the Native American still claimed and disputed to the death the advance of civilization. In 1856 he published the history but while it only added to fame it did not add materially to his bank account.

In describing one notable character, Captain Jack, also known as the "Black Rifle," "Black Hunter," "Wild Hunter of the Juniata," Jones writes:

"It appears that in the summer of 1752 Captain Jack and his companions were on a fishing excursion. Returning late in the evening, Jack found his cabin in ruins and his wife and two children murdered. From that moment he became an altered man, quit the haunts of men, and roamed the woods alone, sleeping in caves, hollow logs, or wherever he could find a shelter. The loss of his family, no doubt, crazed him for a time, as he did not appear among the settlers until the fall of 1753. In the interim, however, he was frequently seen, and, we may add, frequently , by the savages..."