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The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle Domestic News January 27, 1764
Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire
Cautionary note: graphic colonial violence and massacre of Native Americans; era-typical racial language
What is this article about?
A further account of the Lancaster County massacre: after six Indians were killed at Conestoga Manor, sixteen more were massacred in the Lancaster prison; about 150 fled to Province Island, and Governor Penn issued a proclamation against further molestation.
Quality green show the numbers
Measured from the scan
— how cleanly the OCR engine read the characters
- Mean ink quality
- 99.0% The length-weighted average confidence across the OCR lines — the mean of exactly the per-line scores whose tails the two figures below report. Typical is 99%.
- Illegible ink
- 0.0% Text sitting in OCR-detected lines that scored below 80% confidence — very shaky reads. Weighted by line length, so one long bad line counts for more than a short one.
- Uncertain ink
- 0.0% Text in lines that scored 80–90% — somewhat shaky reads.
- Matches source
- 96.93% How closely the served text matches the raw OCR of the same boxes, letter by letter, after collapsing spacing and case. This measures agreement, not correctness: the OCR is often wrong and the extractor corrects it, so 100% does not mean perfect, and a low figure usually means poor scan text was rewritten rather than that text was lost (length vs source shows loss).
- Length vs source
- 99.35% Below 100% means text was dropped from the OCR; above means text was added to make it read.
Assembled by the extraction model
— whether the stitched-together text holds up; catches layout and segmentation errors, which the scores above cannot see
- Transcription confidence
- 96.0% (typical 96%) How cleanly the extractor could assemble what it was given. Low here with clean ink scores points at layout analysis — the characters were read correctly but grouped or ordered wrongly.
- Comprehension
- 96.0% Whether the piece reads coherently start to finish. Can stay high while transcription confidence drops, when only part of the component is affected.
Clipping
Full Text
PHILADELPHIA, January 5.
The following is a more particular and further Account of the Barbarity of a Number of People in murdering the Indians in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, than that published in our last.
On the 14th of December last, a Number of People armed and mounted on Horseback, unlawfully assembled together, and went to an Indian Town in the Connestoga Manor, in Lancaster County, (Province of Pennsylvania) where, without the least Reason or Provocation, they barbarously killed Six of the Indians settled there, and burnt and destroyed all their Houses and Effects; the others precipitately fled towards Philadelphia; but 16 of them, being old and infirm, stopt at Lancaster, and applied to Authority for Protection; they were accordingly put into Prison, as the Place of most Safety. Their Pursuers soon after arrived and being informed of the Place the Indians were in, demanded the Key, which being denied, they broke open the Doors, and in the most inhuman Manner massacred the whole Number. The others, about 150 Men, Women and Children, fled to Province Island, a little below Philadelphia; and some Soldiers with several Field-Pieces, were sent for their Protection.
The above party, we hear, could assign no reason for their behaving in this manner, except that they were the chosen people of God, and that all the Indians ought to be extirpated from among them.
As this inhuman Act, committed in the Heart of that Province, on the said Indians, who lived peaceably and inoffensively among the Inhabitants, called loudly for the vigorous exertion of civil Authority, Governor PENN has issued a Proclamation, charging all Officers whatsoever within that Government, to detect the Offenders, if possible. The Governor has also signified, at the Peril of Transgressors, that none do molest or injure a Number of Indians lately removed at their own earnest Request from the Frontiers of that Province to the Province Island, and other Places in the Neighbourhood where Provision is made for them at the Public Expence.
A considerable number of the principal inhabitants of Philadelphia have had a meeting to consult some measures for the protection of those Indians at Province Island; and it was thought they would be transported to Nantucket. Various conjectures were formed of what would be the consequences of the above unhappy transaction; but most were apprehensive that it would produce some ill effects.
The following is a more particular and further Account of the Barbarity of a Number of People in murdering the Indians in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, than that published in our last.
On the 14th of December last, a Number of People armed and mounted on Horseback, unlawfully assembled together, and went to an Indian Town in the Connestoga Manor, in Lancaster County, (Province of Pennsylvania) where, without the least Reason or Provocation, they barbarously killed Six of the Indians settled there, and burnt and destroyed all their Houses and Effects; the others precipitately fled towards Philadelphia; but 16 of them, being old and infirm, stopt at Lancaster, and applied to Authority for Protection; they were accordingly put into Prison, as the Place of most Safety. Their Pursuers soon after arrived and being informed of the Place the Indians were in, demanded the Key, which being denied, they broke open the Doors, and in the most inhuman Manner massacred the whole Number. The others, about 150 Men, Women and Children, fled to Province Island, a little below Philadelphia; and some Soldiers with several Field-Pieces, were sent for their Protection.
The above party, we hear, could assign no reason for their behaving in this manner, except that they were the chosen people of God, and that all the Indians ought to be extirpated from among them.
As this inhuman Act, committed in the Heart of that Province, on the said Indians, who lived peaceably and inoffensively among the Inhabitants, called loudly for the vigorous exertion of civil Authority, Governor PENN has issued a Proclamation, charging all Officers whatsoever within that Government, to detect the Offenders, if possible. The Governor has also signified, at the Peril of Transgressors, that none do molest or injure a Number of Indians lately removed at their own earnest Request from the Frontiers of that Province to the Province Island, and other Places in the Neighbourhood where Provision is made for them at the Public Expence.
A considerable number of the principal inhabitants of Philadelphia have had a meeting to consult some measures for the protection of those Indians at Province Island; and it was thought they would be transported to Nantucket. Various conjectures were formed of what would be the consequences of the above unhappy transaction; but most were apprehensive that it would produce some ill effects.
What sub-type of article is it?
Riot Or Protest
Crime
Indian Affairs
What keywords are associated?
Lancaster Massacre
Conestoga Indians
Governor Penn Proclamation
Province Island
What entities or persons were involved?
Governor Penn
Where did it happen?
Lancaster County / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Domestic News Details
Primary Location
Lancaster County / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Event Date
14th Of December Last; Reported January 5
Key Persons
Governor Penn
Outcome
six killed at conestoga manor; 16 killed in lancaster prison; houses and effects burned; remaining indians fled to province island under soldier protection; proclamation issued.