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Chapter 6
all the land in Pennsylvania. However,
some land was bought through less than
respectful ways. Here is one story that
really angered the Delawares, a tribe of
Native Americans.
TheWalking Purchase
F
or 56 years, there were mostly
peaceful times between the settlers
and Native American tribes in our
Pennsylvania colony. In 1737, peace with
the Native Americans ended with a sale of
land that became known as the
Walking
Purchase
. The Delawares had agreed to sell a
strip of land that covered asmuch land as a
man couldwalk in a day and a half.
Unknown to the Delawares, the settlers
cleared a path through the forest before the
“walk” took place. Because of this, the
walker was able to cover much more land
than the Delawares wanted to sell. One
story suggested thewalker was a runner!
TheDelawares felt theyhadbeen cheated
and tricked. They sold twice as much land.
Theywere so angry that fighting broke out.
For many years, there were battles between
the tribes and the settlers. William Penn
wasnot alive at this time.His two sonswere
running the colony. They did not treat the
Native Americans with the same fairness as
their father had.
A Fight for Furs in
the Frontier
S
o far in this lesson, we have written
about the growth of Philadelphia. In
another lesson, you learned that the
Scots-Irish settled in the frontier regions of
Pennsylvania. A place or area that is
unsettled is called the
wilderness
. Our
colony had plenty of wilderness in the
1700s.
The Native Americans were skilled at
trapping animals with furs such as the fox
and beaver. People in Europe wanted
clothingmade from these furs. SoEuropean
trading companies sent fur traders toNative
American villages to trade for fur. Another
name for these animal skins was
pelts
.
At this time in our history, therewere no
roads into thewilderness— only paths and
trails. Traders traveled to tribal villages on
The Pennsylvania
Colony angered the
Delawares with the
Walking Purchase.
