November 18, 2016 Hello ,
My wild schedule has caught up with me and, actually, left me in the dust. My plan was to get this newsletter out to you last night after my amazing book launch at Auntie's Bookstore, but I was flat out of energy.
My heart is full of gratitude for all your wonderful support!
You will be hearing more than a little about Pittsburgh after my trip there earlier this month. Wow, what a lot of history in that region. My first morning dawned clear and sunny, and I discovered this sculpture overlooking the
city.
Points of View in bronze by James A. West depicts a conversation between George Washington and Senaca leader Guyasuta in October 1770. The meeting actually took place below this lookout at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.
Imagine this Conversation |
The men had first met nearly two decades before, when Guyasuta served as a guide for the 21-year old Washington on a mission up the Allegheny River.
Washington had been sent to warn off the French at Fort LeBoeuf, who were encroaching on “Ohio Country” which the British had claimed as part of the Virginia and Pennsylvania Colonies.
The French refused to leave and shortly thereafter in 1754, the British and French went to war over the land. While the Iroquois aligned with the British in what is remembered as the French & Indian War.
Guyasuta's Senaca warriors sided with the French putting him and Washington on opposing sides of this bloody conflict. Historians believe the two men faced each other in at least two battles.
Gayasuta was known as a respected leader, great warrior and skillful hunter. When British forces prevailed, he helped negotiate the peace treaties of 1764 and 1765, and is credited with the release of prisoners
taken during the conflict. In 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War, the British issued a proclamation,mainly intended to conciliate the Indians by
checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands.
White settlers moving into the country west of the Alleghenies is most certainly the subject of the later meeting between Washington and Guyasuta commemorated by the
scuplture.
No one knows what was said, but Washington was in the area to survey the land in anticipation of further European expansion and Guyasuta wanted the proclamation honored. Apparently the two men talked all night by a council fire. The sculpture show them both with serious faces, perched close, but the area between them charged as they revisited their shared past and debated the
future.
In his diary, Washington mentioned the meeting, but said only that the two men parted as friends. I had the great privilege of meeting Pittsburgh Singer, Songwriter and "Hellraiser" as she calls herself, Anne Feeney and I am giving away one of her CDs in a drawing December 1st. To enter, simply hit reply to this e-mail and
say "Enter me for Anne Feeney" or like my Author Facebook Page and you'll be automatically entered.
Click video below to hear Anne's terrific song about Fannie Sellins. It'll get your
toe tapping and your heart engaged. Until next week... Have you read a great book? Tell me about it. Have a burning question? Let me know.
If you know someone who might enjoy
my newsletter or books, please forward this e-mail. I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe below anytime with a single mouse click. To find out more about my books, how I help students, teacher and librarians, visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com. My best, Mary
Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. |
|
