fund for sinking the same by a tax of 6d. per pound, and 10s. per head yearly for 4 years on all estates. the Governor not to be cast down, but take time and enter into the consideration of what could be done, in which he would give his assistance heartily. Message of Assembly pretty full on the money Bill. Nov. 14. Scarooyady to the Interpreters-appeared not to have lost his affection for us, though he spoke with great contempt of our measures, and after long consultation gave it as his opinion that intelligence should be got of the further designs of the Delawares, and their conduct laid before the Six Nations and Sir W. Johnson. "The Governor after hearing the bill was under a great concern of mind at the ill temper of the Assembly in raising a dispute about the proprietary tax at such a dangerous time as this, and having received at the Bast Council the unanimous opinion of the members that he ought not to pass such a bill, and those present adhering to their opinion, he drew a message to the Assembly, and whilst it was considering the Indians, viz. Scarpoyady, Andrew Montour, Iagrea, and Scarooyady's son with Mr. Weiser, came into Council. Scarooyady spoke-informing that the French had sent two Delawares messengers to the Indians on the Susquehannah desiring them to remove to Ohio; stating that the Delawares of Ohio had declared war against the English.-had passed the Blue Mountains; broke into the county That the French had a numerous alliance of Indians besides the Delawares. That they had been blamed for the defeat of Washington. They would not be blamed without a cause. That there were three parties of them, one would go against Carlisle, one down the Susquehanna, one against Tulpehocken to Conrad Weiser, and would be followed by 1000 French and Indians. Governor sends back the money bill. November 8. Scarooyady addressed the Governor and Council and members of Assembly, Magistrates, &c. at the State-house. He said he had been among the Indians on the Susquehanna, and they were willing to fight against the French-but wished to know whether the English would fight or no-if they would not, they would go somewhere else. Denied their having been concerned in any of the late attacks on the whites-and for proof produced a scalp taken from a French Indian killed in a late encounter; which he would not have taken if he had been of the number of our friends.Which the Governor answered-referring them to the ultimate decision of the Assembly. November 9. Governor sends a message to the Assembly, that after the speech of the Indians in public they came to him in Council, and informed him by Mr. Weiser, that they and their brethren living upon the Susquehanna (about 300 fighting men) were now the only Indians in this part of the continent, besides the Six Nations, that remained firm to the English. The French having at a great expense and by a variety of artifices, gained to their alliance not only the Delawares and Shawanese, but other very numerous nations to the westward. That the French and those allies were com ing down against the English, and had given them notice to go out of the way. That the body of the Six Nations were employed in protecting their own country and assisting the English to the northward, and could not therefore afford them any help at so great a distance. Wherefore they declared that they and their brethren were willing to act against the French and their allies, but could not take the weight of the war on themselves. What they desire from us at present is, that we would put the hatchet into their hands, that we would send a number of our young men to act in conjunction with their warriors; furnish the necessary arms, ammunition, and provisions, and would build strong houses. They insist on an explicit answer without delay. They have assured us that this is the last application they intend to make. Wednesday, Nov. 12. Message from Assembly to Governor, requesting him to give his assent to the mo. pey Bill. The Governor informed Scarooyady that the Assembly not having agreed to raise money in such manner that it could be accepted of, he was under the necessity of acquainting him with it; and as their concurrence was necessary in raising money, and he had none at his own disposal, he did not know what to do. Scarooyady received the answer with amazement, saying it would occasion the absolute defection of the Delawares, who by proper encouragement might now be secured in our interest. But he still offered his services, and desired Scarooyady offered to go to the Six Nations, and the Governor gave him instructions, and wrote also to Sir W. Johnson. Nov. 17. Account of 16th November that the Indians of Berks, and murdered and scalped at Tulpehockenwhich occasioned great alarm at Reading. "The people exclaim against the Quakers, and some are scarce restrained from burning the houses of those few there are in this town." Governor called on Assembly to pass a law granting money, and for governing the forces not acting with regulars. Accounts also of fresh murders in the neighborhood of Paxton. Nov. 22. The gentlemen appointed by the Governor to inquire whether any cause of disgust had been given to the Delawares and Shawanese in the transactions of the proprietaries with them, made a long report concluding that there was none-which was sent to the Assembly. Nov. 24. Letter from William Moore, dated yester day, to the Governor, advising him of 2000 inhabitants preparing to come to Philadelphia, from Chester county, to compel the Governor and Assembly to agree to pass laws to defend the country and oppose the enemy. Also a letter from Conrad Weiser of another considerable number in Berks county. These were sent to the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Magistrates, in and near the city, and Sheriff, to inform them of the said commotion, and take measures to preserve the peace. Message to Assembly. A number of French neutrals arrived sent by Gov. Lawrence in Nova Scotia-recommending supplies and a guard for them. Nov. 24. Proprietaries by letter, dated London, Oct. 1, 1755, make a free gift of £5000 to the public use, Remonstrance of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council to the Assembly, on their wasting time in dispute, and omitting to provide for the safety and defence of the lives and property of the people. A bill for ordering and regulating such as are willing and desirous to be united for military purposes passed. Nov. 26. A bill entitled "an act for raising £60000 to the King's use, &c. (wherein the Proprietary estate is exempted from taxation towards raising the said sum in consideration of their granting £5000 in lieu thereof,) was passed by Assembly and presented to the Governor. Accounts received of the Moravian settlement at Gna denhutten being attacked and burnt by the Indians and all the brethren destroyed except two. Bill for raising £60,000 passed. Letter Nov. 22, from Gov. Morris to Thomas Penn, Esq. Proprietary. This offer (in my message of the 15th inst. that the tax should be laid by commissioners,) has had a good effect here, and I hope will enable you to set the matter in a proper light at home. If you are to be taxed, I wish for your sake it may be by act of Par liament, when you may meet with justice; but if that power is ever given into the hands of the people here, they will use it without mercy. A very good argument against your being taxed at all, is the expense you are at in administering the government-especially since the Assembly have refused the Governor's salary, which you will be obliged to pay. Since Mr. Franklin has put himself at the head of the Assembly they have gone 1830.] RECORDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 267 would attend to the conduct of the subordinate ones, Dec. 3. From Conrad Weiser, Reading, December 13-"This country is in a dismal condition. It can't hold out long. Consternation, poverty, confusion, every where." Dec. 25. Accounts from C. Weiser, who had been sent to Harris' ferry, that he had gone up the west branch of the Susquehanna; and the Delawares at Nescopec had given that place to the French for a rendezvous. That the Paxton people had taken an Indian and shot and scalped him in the midst of them, and threw his body into the river. Accounts from Easton, Dec. 25-Of the whole country up the river being deserted from that to Broadheads, who with his sons and others defended himself stoutly till the Indians retired. Dec. 29. Several officers were appointed for companies formed under the militia law. Then was read a natrative made by the Secretary, of the invasions and ravages made by the French and Indians to this day, which was ordered to be entered.A brief narrative of the incursions of the French and Indians in the province of Pennsylvania. greater lengths than ever; and have not only discover ed the warmth of their resentment against your family, but are using every means in their power, even while their country is invaded, to wrest the government out of your hands, and to take the whole powers of it into their own. To which end Mr. Franklin and others have sent arms and ammunition into the several counties and distributed them to such people as they thought proper without my knowledge or consent. This I esteem a very extraordinary measure, as the people will be thereby taught to depend upon an Assembly for what they should only receive from this government-and if it is not criminal, I am sure it ought to be so. They have also given presents to the Indians without my privity or consent, and by a bill they have sent me this session under pretence of regulating the Indian trade, they propose not only to take that whole trade into their own hands and manage it by a Committee, but to take the Indians entirely out of the hands of the government, and least the trade itself should not give them all the influence they may have occasion for, the profits of it are to be given by the Assembly in presents to the Indians. I sent you, by way of Ireland, copies of the Quaker's address, and the representation of the inhabitants of Philadelphia to the Assembly, upon which I need not make many observations. I think that of the Quakers a very rash thing, & a dangerous use of their influence at such a time as this; when it becomes every good subject and Dec. 27. Governor returned from attending a Countrue lover of his country to further his Majesty's mea-cil of War at New York, in pursuance of Gen. Shirley's sures, rather than obstruct them. But this their address summons. The plan of operations was to be kept se will show whatever their pretences or professions have cret. [Not entered.] been, that they never intended to do any thing in defence of their country, and that the bill they now propose and insist on, is intended only to save appearances as they have put it in such a shape that it is not possible for me to consent to it, and have refused to agree to the method proposed by me for taxing your estate upon the idle pretence of not suffering the money bill to be amended. Upon my word, sir, I am much at a loss what to do in the present situation of affairs, or what to ad-itants of Mahanyahy creek, that runs into the river Susvise you to do. It is very apparent to me that if some measures be not taken at home for regulating matters here, that this province will be either overrun by the Indians and French or thrown into internal and civil commotions, the end of which no one can venture to foretell. The people have lost all sense of obedience October 23. 46 of the inhabitants on the Susquehan to government, and are countenanced by the Assembly na went to Shamokin, to inquire of the Indians there; who have their own schemes in view and make use of who they were who had so cruelly fallen upon and ruinthe people to gain their points. The Quakers indeeded the settlements on Mahanahy creek; but as they were do not wish you to part with the government because re-passing Mahanahy creek, on their return from Shathey will have much less power under the crown but mokin, they were fired upon by some Indians who lay in would willingly throw as much weight as possible into ambush, and 4 were killed, 4 drowned, and the rest put the Assembly. Franklin has views that they know noth- to flight-on which all the settlements between Shamoing of, and though they submit to him in the Assem-kin and Hunter's mill, for the space of 50 miles along bly, the more sensible part of them are not heartily satisfied of his attachment to them. The truth I believe is, that he is courting them in order to destroy you; and at the same time leading them into measures that will in the end deprive them of any share in the administration. You will observe by one of the Assembly's messages they mean to throw the odium of the present Indian war upon you, by insinuating that you have not paid the Indians for their lands; and though nothing can be more false and wicked, yet such is the present temper of the people that it will be too generally believed. I must think that the government at home have too long neglected the internal conduct of these colonies, and have suffered assemblies to go to such unwarrantable lengths in almost every one of them, that they have for some time thought themselves without superiors, and if they do not by some means or other give a check to that factious spirit that too generally reigns in these provinces they will soon find it more difficult to keep their own colonies in order than they at present imagine. I never can think it right to punish a whole country or to lay it under peculiar disadvantages, nor indeed is it necessary, for if the supreme government Oct. 18. A party of the Indians fell upon the inhabquehanna, about five miles lower than the Great Fork made by the junction of the two main branches of that river; and carried off 25 persons, and burnt and destroyed their buildings and improvements, and the whole settlement was deserted. the river Susquehanna, were deserted. Oct. 31. Án Indian trader and two other men in the Tuscarora valley were killed by Indians, and their houses, &c. burnt, on which most of the settlers fled and abandoned their plantations. Nov. 2. The settlements in the Great Cove attacked; their houses burnt, six persons murdered and 17 carried away, and the whole broke up and destroyed. Nov. 3. Two women are carried away from Conegochegue by the Indians, and the same day the Canalaways and Little Cove, two other considerable settlements, were attacked by them, their houses burnt, and the whole settlements deserted. Nov. 16. A party of Indians crossed the Susquehanna and tell upon the county of Berks, murdered 13 per sons, burnt a great number of houses, destroyed vast quantities of cattle, grain, and fodder, and laid waste a large extent of country. Nov. 21. A fine settlement of Moravians called Gnadenhutten, situate in Northampton county, on the west branch of the river Delaware, was attacked, 6 of them killed, and their dwelling-houses, meeting-houses, and all their out-houses burnt to ashes, with all the grain, hay, horses, and upwards of 40 head of fat cattle that were under cover. December. During all this month the Indians have been burning and destroying all before them in the county of Northampton, and have already burnt 53 houses there, murdered above 100 persons, and are still continuing their ravages, murders, and devastations, and have actually overrun and laid waste a great part of that country even as far as within 20 miles of Easton, its chief town. And a large body of Indians under the direction of French officers have fixed their head quarters within the borders of that county for the better security of their prisoners and plunder. | In my last of the 25th of February by the Beaver, inclosing an agreement made with Lord Baltimore for the quieting the people of both province's in their settlements on the borders, I wrote my sentiThis is a brief account of the progress of these sava- ments freely in some points relating to thyself and the ges since the 18th day of October, on which day was government. Since which, I have, with the principal committed the first inroad ever made by Indians upon of the Trustees and other Friends, considered more this province, since its first settlement-and in conse- closely of the province and our interest there, which quence hereof all our frontier country which extends seems of late to be under some discouragements, and to from the river Potowmac to the river Delaware, not have suffered by irregularities which it is high time less than 150 miles in length and between 20 and 30 in should be remedied; and it may be worthy of thy own breadth, but not fully settled, has been entirely desert-reflection to consider whether much of thy late conduct, ed; the houses and improvements reduced to ashes; the together with so apparent a neglect of us, might not cattle, horses, grain, goods, and effects of the inhabi- give us too much reason to doubt whether thou did'st tants either destroyed, burned, or carried off, by the In- look upon thyself to be any longer accountable to us, dians. Whilst the poor planters, with their wives, chil- or whether thou hast not entertained an opinion that dren, and servants, who could get away, being without since my husband's decease the circumstances of the arms or any kind of defence, have been obliged in this family has put it out of our power to take any new severe season of the year, to abandon their habitations, measures with that government; but I may take this opnaked, and without any support, and to throw them-portunity to let thee know that we could long e'er this selves on the charity of the other inhabitants within the have found means to convince thee to the contrary, had interior parts of the province, upon whom they are a it not been for our tender regard to thy family, and the very heavy burthen. hopes we had conceived that thou would'st have made the best application of thy known abilities to the interest of thy constituents; and to the intent that thy future management may be more satisfactory to us, I shall now give thee some further instructions which I shall expect thou wilt punctually observe, together with those formerly given thee with thy commission; and in the first place. As I have together with the trustees made a further nomination and appointment of persons to manage our proprietary affairs there by the name of agents or commisssioners, thou art to assist those commissioners with the powers of government in all cases where necessary or requisite for advancing our just interest; and especially to see the authority of the Courts and Laws exerted against those, who on any pretence, invade or detain our rights from us; and if in any case there should be occasion to use the power of Legislation, thou art to apply thy best endeavours to procure the assistance of the Assembly to join with thee in passing such further laws as may on such occasion be wanted: and here I cannot but take notice of thy imprudence and great mistake in a point of this nature, as mentioned in thy last letter to me. Such shocking descriptions are given by those who have escaped, of the horrid cruelties and indecencies committed by these merciless savages on the bodies of the unhappy wretches who fell into their barbarous hands, especially the women, without regard to sex or age, far exceeds those related of the most abandoned pirates! Which has occasioned a general consternation, and has struck so great a panic and damp upon the spirits of the people, that hitherto they have not been able to make any considerable resistance or stand against the Indians. All our accounts agree in this, that the French since the defeat of Gen. Braddock, have gained over to their interest the Delawares, Shawnese, and many other Indian nations, formerly in our alliance, and on whom, through fear and their large promises of rewards for scalps, and assurances of reinstating them in the possession of the lands they have sold to the English, they have prevailed to take up arms against us, and to join heartily with them in executing the grand scheme they have been long meditating of taking possession of all the country between the river Ohio and the river Susquehanna, and to secure that possession by building a strong fort at Shamokin, which by its advantageous situation at the conflux of the two main branches of Susquehanna, (one whereof interlocks with the waters of the Ohio, and the other heads in the centre of the country of the Six Nations,) will command and make the French entire masters of all that extensive, rich, and fertile country, and of all the trade with the Indians; and from whence they can at pleasure enter and annoy our territories, and put an effectual stop to the future extension of our settlements in that quarter, not to mention the other obvious mischiefs and fatal consequences that must attend their having a fort at Shamokin. (To be continued) A gentleman who arrived last evening from Mount Carbon, states that dreadful devastation is made by fire in the woods in Schuylkill county. The ravages of the flames extended over many miles, and some of the new ly founded collier villages were saved with difficulty. Serious fears were at one time entertained for the safety of Pottsville.-Philadelphia Gazette. As in all the changes of the governors there, the dependence of the proprietor and his family has been chiefly on their friends in the Council whose recommendations to the place thou enjoyest was, (as thou must needs remember) the first and chief step to thy advancement; and we must still rely on their advice and assistance as our principal security, and more especially upon such of them as were confided in by my honored husband, but as thy measures with the councill (as I have been assured by divers hands) have been new and singular; it is now absolutely required that thou reform them as follows, viz: That no person be called to that board and admitted a member of it without being first proposed and approved of in a Councill impartially and equally convened, consisting of at least two thirds of the whole number of acting members, after which he may be admitted at the next sitting; but as that country was first principally settled by those of our profession called Quakers, 'tis expected that at least one half of the whole number shall be of that profession; and if any person has been called to that board without having been first approved of as aforesaid, that he be excluded 'till such time as be 1830.] LETTER FROM HANNAH PENN. shall be approved; and that the number of acting members resident in the government consist not of less than eight, nor of more than twelve members, at one time. The power of legislation being at present lodged solely in the governor and assembly, without so much as a negative reserved to the proprietor when absent, it is of the highest importance for our security as well as for that of the country, that matters of legislation should be carried on with the most mature advisement and deliberation, for it never was intended that every new Governor should, with an assembly annually chosen, proceed to make what new laws they should think proper, to be transmitted directly to the King's ministers without any other check. It has therefore been the more surprising to see thee (from whom it could have been least expected) to be the first author of so dangerous an innovation, which entirely takes off the security which the proprietor ever had and absolutely required of his former deputies, that nothing should be transacted by them with any assembly but with the joynt concurrence and approbation of his friends in the councill, therefore for the remedy of this grievance, it is required That thou advise with the Councill upon every meeting or adjournment of the assembly which requires any deliberation on the governor's part. That thou make no speech nor send any written message to the Assembly but what shall be first approved in Councill. That thou receive all messages from them in Councill, if practicable at the time, and shall return no bill to the House without the advise of the Councill, nor pass any whatsoever, into a law without the consent of a majority of that board. That the minutes of the Councill be regularly kept, and those of the preceeding Councill be read and approved at the next meeting, and shall always remain in possession of the clerk of the Councill. 269 sions invalidating those to him shall be forthwith made void. That the Lesser Seal of the Province be redelivered to him, and remain in his custody, as it ever was from his arrival there to thy accession to the Government. that He by himself, or his deputy, shall exercise all the parts of the Secretarys office. That all instruments and writings sign'd by the Government (Excepting military Commissions and Licences for marriages) be done in his office and Sealed with the Seal of the Province. That only He, or such Persons as he shall appoint with the approbation of the Councill be Clerk of that Board, and that all the minutes of the Councill shall remain in his keeping. In all which I desire and Expect that there be no hesitation or delay, and that for the future all means be used to cultivate and preserve a good understanding between you for the Public Peace and the general good of the Province and my Family. As to the acts for a Paper Credit, tho' the merchants here inveigh very much against thein, and the manner of passing them has given us reason to be dissatisfied, and might have tempted us to have had them repealed (which was easily practicable) yet upon mature deliberation, we have resolved to suffer the passing of them, yet with this full expectation, that all possible care be taken to support their credit by any further acts that may be necessary for that purpose, and all other means that may conduce to that end. But we hope and expect that thou wilt never give thy assent to the passing any Law for the creating any more such paper credit. We have been very much pleased with the happy event of the Treaty at Albany, after the unfortunate death of the Indian who lost his life in the Province, and we cannot but approve the conduct of the government in that affair, and acknowledge not only the care of the Governor himself, but also of those Gentlemen who undertook so fatiguing a journey for the Service of the Publick; and we hope and desire the same care of those poor People the Indians, may still be continued, that the same measures my Husband first established with them may be constantly pursued, and on all occasions of moment the Councill, especially those members of it who are intrusted with the affairs of property may be consulted, and that all Treaties with them may be managed with their concurrence and approbation. We had lately a meeting with Lord Baltimore upon settling the Boundaries, and tho we cannot yet come to an agreement therein, yett his Lordship seems no less disposed than we are to determine that dispute in some way as soon as possible-which we hope may be done within the time agreed upon for a mutual cessation; however we desire thou wilt use the same vigilence which James Logan tells us thou hast always exerted to defend the province against all encroachments, if any should be attempted by the Marylanders. I ought to have taken more notice than I shall now do of the last letter I ever received from thee, being of the 5th of July, 1722, but as I look upon it only as the effect of some warm resentment; I shall for divers reasons choose to say no more of it here: I must however further observe, that James Logan since his arrival here, has to our surprise on all occasions refused the title of Secretary of that Province, which upon inquiry into the cause, I find is owing to thy appointing by thy commission under the great Seal another person (an intire stranger to us) to officiate as secretary of the government in all casses where any profits arise, as well as clerk of the Councill, upon which I cannot but tell thee, that my husband, the late proprietor and governor, after a full experience of his probity, fidelity, and capacity for that employment, appointed him not only Secretary of the Province but entrusted him particularly with the management of his affairs as his receiver General and continued the same confidence in him so far as to name him to be one of the Trustees of his last Will, and I must do him the justice to say, that we have had long experience of his many and faithful services, and of his constant care and zeal to promote and support our interest in that country-we have seen the justness of his accounts, which have been carefully examined since his coming over, and such an instance of his fidelity in making our returns (whereby we have been benefitted many hundreds of pounds by saving the exchange) as can leave us no room to suspect his integrity in the management of our affairs that have been under his care, and therefore I should very much wrong both him and myself to look upon him in any other view than that of a very honest and capable man, and my true and ffaithful friend. 'Tis therefore what we never could have expected, that a gentleman who obtained that government by my husbands commission and still holds it on the foot of the same appointment, should, without any notice to, or direction from us, and without ever advis *James Logan and Col. French were the persons deing with his Councill (as his instructions enjoyn him in puted to inquire into this affair, and went to Conestogo such cases) taken upon him to displace such an officer! for that purpose, near which place the murder was comIt is therefore expected and required, that all commis-mitted. To these, I shall only add, that as thou wert chosen in the time of my Husbands weakness, by the means of his ffriends only, to that important Trust, it would be with some Regret should we be obliged to make a change, before our final settlement with the Crown, tho the means are ready at hand. We therefore earnestly desire thy skill and abilities may be employed to render thy continuance yet grateful to us, which can be no other way effected than by thy strict observation of thy former and these present Instructions. To conclude, I recommend to thy utmost care to promote and encourage Virtue, Sobriety, Peace, and Love amongst all the Inhabitants, to reconcile all animosities and Factions, for thy own honour, the Reputation of the Country, and our satisfaction. a speedy account of which will be most acceptable to us, and in this, I earnestly desire the Lord may bless thy Endeavors, from whence the most solid comfort will arise to thyself and all agree that it is a great curiosity, and well deserv a very great one to ing examination. Thy real well-wishing friend HANNAH PENN Pray give my Respects to thy Lady. CURIOSITY. Penn. Inquirer. I am yours, respectfully, P. A. BROWNE. From the Inquirer. The following are letters from respectable gentlement teemed such a curiosity, and now in the possession of at Norristown, in relation to the block of marble esPeter A. Browne, Esq. of this city. NORRISTOWN, March 25th, 1830. I do hereby certify that I was present at Savage's Marble Saw Mill in this town, in the month of November last, immediately after a block of marble was brought ship, Montgomery county, Pa. there from Henderson's quarry, in Upper Merion town A solid block of white marble, of thirty cubic feet, was lately taken out of Henderson's quarry, at the depth of seventy feet, four or five miles from Norristown, on the western side of the river Schuylkill. It was sent to Norristown, to be cut by the saw into slabs. One of these slabs presents to the eye a remarkable curiosity: On one of its sides are two characters, somewhat resembling the English word in, regularly cut into the marble. This singular appearance must either have been The block contained about 30 cubic feet; the slab a freak of nature, or the work of man executed ages ataken off by the saw, and now in possession of P. A. go, and the marble must have been growing over it ev-Browne, Esq. was about three feet wide and about six er since; for it was found by the sawyer in the very in- feet long: in the body of the marble exposed by the terior of the block. The curious slab is now in posses- cutting, was an indentation about one and a half inches sion of Col. Peter A. Browne, of this city, who will, we long, and about five-eighths of an inch wide, in which are sure, take pleasure in showing it to any gentleman were the two raised letters "in." This indenture and who may be inquisitive on geological subjects. these letters were examined by me within about an hour after the slab was sawed off, and when it was ut To the Editor of the Pennsylvania Inquirer. terly impossible that any one who should have been so disposed, could have cut those letters; upon the corSIR-Observing that you have noticed, in your paper responding slab there was no mark except that of the of Thursday last, the curious marble slab which I have saw; in the indentation was a brownish black powder. in my possession, I will furnish you with some further The surface of the marble in the indentation, and that particulars in relation to it. The block was taken out of the letters, appeared then, as they do now, to be vitof Henderson's quarry, Upper Merion township, Mont-rified or semi-chrystalized, and had not the slightest appomery county, Pennsylvania, between 60 and 70 feet pearance of having been artificially done after the sawbelow the surface of the earth; it measured upwards of ing of the block. 30 cubic feet; it was purchased by Mr. Alexander RamBENJAMIN BARTHOLOMEW. sey of Norristown, to whose liberality I am indebted for the slab, and was by him sent to Mr. Savage's marble saw mill to be cut. A slab two inches in thickness was taken off and displayed to view, nearly in the centre, an indentation 14 inch long by 5-8ths of an inch wide, handsomely arched above and rectangular below. In this cavity was a black powder, which being removed, TWO CHARACTERS were observed-These are raised, and are at equal distances from the top, bottom and sides of the indentation from each other. That the let. ters have not been put there since the block was cut, is proved by several gentlemen of Norristown of the highest respectability, who saw it soon after the sawing; and moreover, it is apparent to any person accustomed to examine mineral substances, that no tool whatever has been used; the surface of the indentation, as well as that of the letters, has a vitrified or semi-chrystallized appearance. Mr. Strickland and Mr. Peale, both of whom have examined the slab carefully with a magnifying glass, agree with me in this particular. The marble belongs to the primitive limestone formation, which in this district is the last of the primitive series, commencing at Philadelphia, and pursuing the following order: gneiss, mica-slate, hornblende, talcose slate, primitive clay slate, a narrow strip of granite, and then the rock in question. Unfortunately the black powder was not preserved. It is not the least remarkable circumstance attending this curiosity, that had the saw passed the sixteenth part of an inch on one side, it would have injured the letters, or on the other they would not have appeared. No fissure or fracture was to be seen in the block. Various conjectures have been made as to the characters; one gentleman insists that they are Hebrew, and stand for "Jehovah;" another says that they are the Roman "in" and correspond to "Jesus of Nazareth."Both these persons of course believe that they have at some ancient period of time been put there by the hand of man; but by whom, or how they could afterwards have become buried in the solid rock, especially as it is primitive, they cannot explain. Others, among which number I confess myself, believe it to be a lusus naturæ NORRISTOWN, March 26th, 1830. know relative to the slab cut from the block of marble Dear Sir-In answer to your note, inquiring what I brought from Henderson's quarry, and exhibiting an indentation and characters, I can say that I examined par ticularly the slab at the marble saw mill in the evening of the day upon which it was sawed, and then remarked the indentation and characters bearing exactly the apown mind that no deception or art has been practised; pearance they now bear. 1 am positively certain in my but that, except the sawing, it remains in the same state in which it was taken from the quarry, which is primitive marble. Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, WESTERN MANUFACTURES. During the present week we visited Alleghenytown. Our intention was, to pass through the different manufactories of that place, and to mention their proprietors, their commencement, and progress. We were agrecably disappointed in finding the task too great for one visit; the borough of Allegheny is in such a prosperous state of progressive improvement-by progressive im provement, we would not be understood that we believe the proprietors of her manufactories are progressively improving the amount of their capital-we are well con vinced that the contrary is the fact; and that whilst they by given encouragement to experienced machinists, and have been improving their machinery, and have there skilful workmen, they have in the same ratio expended their capitals, and placed implicit confidence in a generous republican community for its remuneration. Allegheny bridge, the majestic cotton manufactory of To the stranger, entering this borough, through the Messrs. Blackstock, Bell & Co. presents its towering front, crowned with a modest though attractive cupola, which informs him of the prosperity of the village he is about to enter. He does not cease to contemplate this |