Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (Vol 1 1904).djvu/53



Next to Sir William Johnson, George Croghan was the most prominent figure among British Indian agents during the period of the later French wars, and the conspiracy of Pontiac. A history of his life is therefore an epitome of Indian relations with the whites, especially on the borders of Virginia and Pennsylvania and in the Ohio Valley. A pioneer trader and traveller, and a government agent, no other man of his time better knew the West and the counter currents that went to make up its history. Not even the indefatigable Gist, or the self-sacrificing Post, travelled over so large a portion of the Western country, knew better the different routes, or was more welcome in the Indian villages. Among his own class he was the "mere idol of the Irish traders." Sir William Johnson appreciated his services, made him his deputy for the Ohio Indians, and entrusted him with the most delicate and difficult negotiations, such as those at Fort Pitt and Detroit in 1758-61; and those in the Illinois (1765) by which Pontiac was brought to terms.

Born in Ireland and educated at Dublin, Croghan emigrated to Pennsylvania at an early age and settled just west of Harris's Ferry in the township of Pennsboro, then on the border of Western settlement. The opportunities of the Indian trade appealed to his fondness for journeying and sense of adventure. His daring soon carried him beyond the bounds of the province, and among the "far Indians" of Sandusky and the Lake Erie region, where he won adherents for the English among the wavering