The Walking Purchase

THE WALKING PURCHASE.33 More than thirty boxes of these manuscripts have been gone through in this manner, leaving some thirty more, bringing the work down to the year of the unhappy separation of well nigh one hundred years ago. Many important manuscripts, throwing light both on the doctrinal controversy and its unfortunate by-products, have been cataloged and made available for the student of that disturbed period of Friendly history. Then there is the Meeting for Sufferings Library. More than 1030 separate pamphlets and books have already been put into shape. These deal with such subjects as Indians, Negroes, War, Keithian controversy, Revolutionary War, Friends' Sufferings, Hicksite Separation, Beaconite Secession, Wilbur Separation, Ministry, Worship, Discipline, Exhortations , Epistles1, Law, Tithes, Education, Doctrinal Matters, Sermons, Memorials, Controversial Subjects, Baptism, Lord's Supper, Jews, etc.,—a perfect treasure trove for historical research. There remain yet several thousand pamphlets and books to be indexed, the contents of the bound volumes of important publications, patiently collected by departed Friends, such as the elder Joseph Elkinton, Joseph Kite, George Scattergood, and others, and bequeathed to the Meeting for Sufferings. Many of these publications bear the signatures of honored names, their former owners, such as those of Pemberton, Benezet, Dillwyn , Fothergill, Emlen, Evans, and many other ancient worthies of fragrant memory. We are grateful to those Friends who had the concern of providing a modern receptacle for these priceless treasures, in the large Fire-proof Room attached to Friends' Book Store at 302 Arch Street, Philadelphia. THE WALKING PURCHASE. By Charles F. Jenkins. On Seventh month 22, 1921, Albert Cook Myers and Charles F. Jenkins started from the monument erected at Wrightstown meeting-house to mark the beginning of the Indian Walk. They followed as closely as possible the route taken by the walkers and made a record of the distances as follows : Pineville.............................. 2.2 miles Centreville .......................... 5-8 Pipersville .......................... 139 Tohickon Creek ..................... 14-5 Ottsville ............................ 17-2 Bursonville .......................... 23.3 Springtown ......................... 25.7 Hellertown .......................... 3M 34BULLETIN OF FRIENDS' HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Lehigh River crossed ................. 35.4 Catasauqua Creek crossed ........... 42.4 Hokendauqua Creek crossed ........ 45.9 Lehigh Gap ......................... 54.1 Bowmanstown ....................... 59.9 At this point, owing to the road being torn up, the measurements stopped. It was seven miles more to Mauch Chunk, and the walk is said to have extended four miles beyond the site of that town, so that by this measurement the total distance walked in eighteen hours would have been 71 miles. William J. Buck states in his History of thé Indian Walk (1886) that the total distance was 66^2 miles. The walkers stopped fifteen minutes for dinner on the first day at Springtown, 25.7 miles from starting point. They spent the night at Hokendauqua after twelve hours of walking, thus making 45.9 miles in the twelve hours, and leaving about 21 miles for the six hours on the second day. Albert Cook Myers is making a special study of the Indian towns known to or visited by William Penn and the above expedition was in furtherance of this research. COOPERATION IN COLLECTING HISTORICAL MATERIAL. By Amelia M. Gummere. Under the new President of Swarthmore College, Dr. Frank Aydelotte, an effort is being made to revive interest in the Quaker collections of an historical character, now housed at that college. Dr. J. Russell" Hayes, Librarian, has appealed to Friends generally for old relics, family papers, diaries, journals and letters which are valuable historical records of the manners and customs of our Quaker ancestors. This paper long since made such an appeal to its readers and to Friends generally. The subject is now most timely, in a period of transition like the present, when, if not actually as migratory as much of our population is growing to be, many persons of Friendly affiliations are yet on the move, either to apartment houses, or {o other sections of this great country. A general sentiment that such things are "in the way" has often been heard. We would point out that there are several places where such possessions would be joyfully received, and carefully guarded, until the time when the historian of a later day has need of them. Moreover...