DeadLine Paranormal

The Legend Of Queen Esther

BY WILLIAM C. KASHATUS(CORRESPONDENT)

Published: July 1, 2012

 

Just off Susquehanna Avenue in Wyoming, in a quiet residential neighborhood between Seventh and Eighth streets, there lies beneath the ground a large boulder, barely visible through a steel cage. A small plaque bearing the words: "Upon this rock, the Indian Queen Esther slaughtered the Brave Patriots taken in the Battle of July 3, 1778."

 

The plaque, placed there by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1895, marks the site where Esther Montour, a mixed blood Indian, angered by the death of her son after the July 3, 1778 Battle of Wyoming, is said to have smashed the skulls of 14 or more captured American militiamen with her maul.

 

While the steel cage may discourage souvenir hunters from chiseling off a piece of the rock, it also piques the curiosity of those who stumble across it.

Historians still speculate over identification of the Indian woman who committed the gruesome act more than two centuries ago. As a result, the "Bloody Rock" incident has, over time, evolved from a stirring historical account tied to the birth of our nation to a local legend based on myth, hearsay and sparse documentation.

 

Nevertheless, Esther Montour and the "Bloody Rock" incident continue to fascinate the public to the present day. The origins of the Wyoming Massacre and the "Bloody Rock" incident can be traced to the 18th-century alliance between the British and the Iroquois Confederation, consisting of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations.

Commanding the headwaters of the Hudson, Delaware and Susquehanna rivers as well as the long finger lakes of New York, the Iroquois were critical to the success of British efforts to secure its North American colonial empire against the French. To this end, Sir William Johnson, an English diplomat, won the trust of the Iroquois, who helped the British defeat France during the French and Indian War.

The Iroquois remained loyal to England during the American Revolution. In 1777, British General John Burgoyne led a campaign to gain control of the Hudson River, but was defeated by the Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga. News of Burgoyne's surrender prompted France to enter the war as an American ally.

Concerned that the French might attempt to retake parts of North America, the British adopted a defensive stance in Quebec and recruited Loyalists and Indians to engage in a frontier war along the northern and western borders of the fledgling United States.

British Colonel John Butler recruited a regiment of Loyalists for the effort, while Seneca chiefs Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter enlisted the members of their tribes. In addition, Joseph Brant, a mixed blood who had graduated from Dartmouth College, recruited Mohawks for the guerrilla war against frontier settlers.

General George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, also tried to recruit the Iroquois, primarily as a diversionary tactic to engage the British in Quebec while his army concentrated its efforts in the Middle-Atlantic region. But Washington succeeded only in attracting the Oneidas and Tuscaroras to the American side.

By April 1778 the Seneca were raiding American settlements on the Allegheny and Susquehanna rivers. In early June, Butler, his regiment of Rangers, and the Seneca decided to attack the Wyoming Valley while Brant and the Mohawks would raid communities further north.Butler's 400 Rangers and 700 of their Iroquois allies arrived in the Wyoming Valley on June 30. Since most of the able-bodied men were away serving with the Continental Army, the defense of the region was left to the Connecticut militia, mostly old men and boys who had settled in the area a decade earlier.

 

On July 1, Butler sent a surrender summons to the militia which was holed up inside Fort Wintermoot. Terms were arranged that the patriot soldiers, after surrendering the fort with all their arms and stores, would be released on the condition that they would not again bear arms during the war.

Two days later, the British saw that the American militia was gathering in great numbers outside of Forty Fort, preparing to go on the offensive. While the patriots were still a mile away, Butler set up an ambush and directed that Fort Wintermoot be set on fire. The Americans, thinking this was a retreat, advanced rapidly. Butler instructed the Seneca to lie flat on the ground to avoid observation. When the Americans advanced to within 100 hundred yards of the Rangers, they fired three times. The Seneca came out of their positions, fired a volley, and attacked the patriots in close combat.

The so-called "Battle of Wyoming" lasted no more than 45 minutes. An order to reposition the patriot line turned into a frantic rout when the inexperienced militia panicked. This action ended the battle and triggered the Iroquois hunt for survivors.

Only 60 of the Americans managed to escape, and only five were taken prisoner. The Iroquois killed and tortured an unknown number of prisoners and fleeing soldiers. Colonel Zebulon Butler, who led the Connecticut militia into battle, reported that 227 American scalps were taken. If true, Wyoming was the worst Indian massacre in Pennsylvania's history.

According to eye-witness accounts, Queen Esther Montour was "the most infuriated demon in the carnival of blood," having tortured and killed more than 14 American soldiers who were trying to escape the bloody slaughter. She "danced around a rock" upon which the captives were held, and with "a maul and tomahawk smashed their skulls." Her motive, according to these accounts, was to "seek revenge for the recent death of her son" at the hands of the Connecticut militia.

The following day, Esther was supposedly "seen riding astride a stolen horse," wearing multiple layers of "stolen clothing," and "carrying in her hand a string of scalps." She later boasted, "I was never so tired as yesterday from killing so many damn Yankees." While these inflammatory accounts reflect the negative stereotype of Native Americans as "savage" and "inhumane," inconsistencies of the various eye-witnesses, as well as the circumstantial evidence of Esther Montour's alleged role in the Wyoming Massacre, cast serious doubt about her involvement in the atrocity.

It's questionable, for example, that Esther Montour was actually the brutal murderer depicted by the families and friends of white victims. Other contemporaries describe her as a "kind-hearted" woman.

Born about 1720 at Sheshequin (present-day Green's Landing, New York), Montour was a descendant of several mixed marriages between white settlers and Native Americans. As a result of her ability to transcend cultural differences, Esther maintained close relations with both white and Indian cultures. Like her relative, Madame Catherine Montour - with whom she is often confused - Esther was employed by colonial governments as a translator or interpreter in negotiations with the Iroquois. As a sign of respect, the British gave her the title, "Queen."

There are also several contemporary references to Queen Esther's friendship with, defense of and regular visits to her non-Indian neighbors. According to those accounts, Esther possessed "proper Christian beliefs" and was "loyal to both Indians and the English." On one occasion, she aided in the escape of two white settlers when she learned that the warriors of her tribe were planning to kill them.

Other contemporary descriptions of Queen Esther's appearance at the Wyoming Massacre are inconsistent. Some accounts describe her as a "large, heavy-built woman" while others claim she was "tall and slim." Similarly, Esther was described as being "meticulously neat by nature," which casts serious doubt over the account of her appearance wearing multiple hats and layers of clothes.

There are also inconsistencies about her behavior during the event. There's disagreement, for example, on how well she spoke English, some saying she was multilingual and "spoke English excellently," while others claim she could "barely speak" the language. In addition, some claimed that she "demanded and consumed a vast amount of whiskey" at Forty Fort, while most other early accounts contend that Esther did not drink or tolerate those who did.

Finally, there's considerable circumstantial evidence that Queen Esther may not have been present at all during the Wyoming Massacre. Although she may have reflected leadership abilities as a liaison between the white and Indian cultures, it was highly unusual for a female to assume the role of an Iroquois warrior.

The Iroquois were matrilineal, meaning that an individual inherited certain rights and privileges through his or her mother. Women were regarded with respect, and their advice and counsel were considered in all matters relating to the community. But men usually served as leaders, especially in military and political affairs.

If Queen Esther assumed a leadership role among Native Americans, it might have come through her status as the widow of a Delaware chief named Eghobund. When Eghobund died in 1772, Esther inherited the sole leadership of the Munsees, her deceased husband's tribe. Still, this would not explain her role as a military leader - or warrior - among the Iroquois.

There is also the question of chronology. Most eye-witness accounts attribute Queen Esther's rage to the death of her son, Andrew, who was killed at Exeter on the afternoon of July 2, 1778.

But other contemporary accounts place her at Sheshequin in Upstate New York on that date. If true, it is highly doubtful that Esther could have traveled to the Wyoming Valley using the primitive means of transportation at her disposal to take part in the Massacre.

In addition, the identity of Andrew as Esther's son is doubtful. The only record of an "Andrew Montour" is the son of Madame Catherine Montour, either the grandmother or aunt of Esther. Thus, Andrew was Esther's uncle or cousin; not her son. And he was murdered in the Ohio Valley by a Seneca in 1772; not in the Wyoming Valley on July 2, 1778.

Some accounts contend that she was killed by Colonel Thomas Hartley's men when they burned her village on Sept. 27, 1778. Other accounts maintain that she was killed by Major General John Sullivan's Continental regiment near Tioga Point, New York, as part of a scorched earth campaign to put an end to Iroquois and attacks against American frontier settlements. Still other eyewitnesses insist that she lived in a village on the eastern shore of Lake Cayuga where she died peacefully as late as 1790.

Regardless of her demise, Queen Esther Montour's legend continues to fascinate and horrify residents and visitors of the Wyoming Valley.

William Kashatus teaches history at Luzerne County Community College. He can be reached at Bkashatus@luzerne.edu.