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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01177 9706
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HISTORYJ
OF THE
STATE OF NEW-YORK,
INCLUDING ITS
Avoriginal and Colonial Aunalo.
BY JOHN V. N. YATES,
SECRETARY OF STATE, AND MEMBER OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY; AND JOSEPH W. MOULTON, COUNSELLOR AT LAW, AND MEMBER OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. -
V. 1, pt. 1
840
VOL. I ....... PART I.
NEW-YORK ; PUBLISHED BY A. T. GOODRICH. 1824.
1735224
Sostiera District of New- York, ss.
FRE IT REMEMBERED, That on the eleventh day of January, 1825. in the forty-nintt: set of the Independence of the United States of America, Joseph W. Moulton, of the said Di Ariet. huith deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof be claims as pro- ; tietor, for him-eff and John Van Ness Yates, in the words following. to wit :--
". History of the State of New-York, including its Aboriginal ard Colonial Annals. By 7.48 \ \ Yates, Secretary of State, and Member of the New- York Historical Society ; and Joseph V Moultea, Counsellor at Law, and Member of the New-York Historical Society Voi l bort. I."
In rosforteity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An Act for the en- counterent of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors *"altra; return of such copiea, during the time- therein mentioned " And also to an Act en - . .... An Act supplementary to in Act entitled, an Act for the encouragement of Learning. ** * ? Wecome of Man, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such .ez Tuning the time- therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of thuzaice, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."
JAMES DILI,, Clerk of the Southern District of New-York.
1. SEYMOUR, PRINTER, JOHN-STREET.
P
PART I
ANTE-COLONIAL ANNALS,
CONTENTS.
See Recapitulation, 6 56. p. 311. An Index will be placed at the end of the volume.
HISTORY
OF
THE STATE OF NEW-YORK.
PART I.
6 1.
AMERICA became distinguished as the New World, at that auspicious period in the annals of modern Europe, which suc- ceeded the knowledge of paper, printing, and the compass. The dark ages had vanished. Ere the dawn of this event in those countries which now hold in Europe the balance of power, and maintain the dominion of letters ; literature and science had displayed, in those vast regions which submitted to the yoke of Islamism, a brilliant light, from the ninth to the fourteenth century. The diversified character of this splendid era, and its remote influence upon the revival of European learning and the discovery of America, do not fall within the scope of our design, or we might show, that under the auspices of Haroun al Raschid, celebrated for his protection of letters, and of Al Mamoun," the true father of Arabic literature, who esteemed the literary relics of his conquered countries, as the most precious tribute that could be brought to the foot of his throne, and whose court appeared more like a learned acade- my, than the centre of government, Bagdad became the capital of letters, as well as of the caliphs, and the sciences pervaded the very extremities of their wide-spread empire. We might
* As to Arabian literature, see Historical View of the Literature of the South of Europe, by J. C. L. Sismonde de Sismondi, translated by Tho mas Roscoe, Esq. Loud. 1823 and 4. Vol. I. ch. 2 Von. I.
10
First Discoverers.
LIARI I.
show, that paper, originally from China, the want of which kept Europe in ignorance, from the seventh to the tenth con- tury, was manufactured in Arabia, in the beginning of the eighth ; that the compass, the invention of which has been given to the Italians and the French (1) in the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century, was known to the Ara- bians in the eleventh. (2)
Spain, a provincial part of Arabian dominion, was espe- cially the seat of Arabian learning. Cordova, Grenada, Se- ville, and all the cities of the Peninsula, rivalled each other in the magnificence of their schools, academies, colleges, and libraries. The town of Stativa (now San Philippo) was re- nowned from the twelfth century, for its beautiful manufac- tures of paper. In the fourteenth, the invention passed to Trevisa and Padua. The knowledge of the compass was also early introduced into Spain. Indeed, the geographer of Nu- bia, who wrote in the twelfth century, speaks of it as an in- strument universally employed. (3)
Although the sun of science rose in the East, and first illu- mined Spain through the cloud that enshrouded Europe ; although that power, preceded by Portugal, took the lead in the discoveries of the fifteenth century ; yet for Italy, whose cities had been pre-eminent in maritime enterprise, from the period of the crusades, (4) was reserved the glorious distinc- tion of appearing most efficient in the revival of that peculiar learning, and the birth of that personal enterprise, which were to meliorate the condition of surrounding kingdoms, and be- come the pioneer to an anexampled exploration into this con- tinent.
In the beginning of the fourteenth century, Dante, by an effort of his mighty genius, erected the first monument to the revival of European literature. Petrarch* followed, and their writings imparted to their age the first impulse to the
(1), (?), (3), &c. refer to Notes at the end of the volume.
* Asto Italian literature, ste Roscoe's Sismondi, vol. II. Dobson's Life of Petrarch
11
First Discoverers.
; 1.]
resuscitation of the classics. In the middle of the succeeding century, the ruin of the Eastern empire by the Turks" caused the expulsion from its capital of Greeks, eminent for learning and accomplishments. Italy, their asylum, now became the seat of science, as well as of the Muses. Emanci- pated from the terrors of reckless power; possessing, in the newly discovered art of printing, f an unexampled facility for the dissemination of knowledge ; receiving a patronage in the munificence of the Medici, ¿ unsurpassed for liberality, except during the golden era of Arabic literature ; the votaries of science now presented Italy, in the sublime light of a country where the genius of the world had revisited the tombs of her favourite children, to impart to mankind, by the inspiration of her pilgrimage, the benefits of their long-forgotten labours. Europe consequently beheld a new race of men, vigorous in philosophy ; enthusiastic in the cultivation of the fine arts ; comprehensive in national policy ; inventive, daring, and ex- cursive in enterprise. But her most splendid and powerful kingdoms were compelled to seek in Italy that adventurous genius, which could direct their energies into those unexplored paths, ,which led to national opulence and grandeur. Italy, therefore, enjoyed the proud satisfaction of ranking among her sons, and of surrendering to the service of Spain, Christopher Colon (or Columbus) and Vespucci Amerigo; to England, the Cabots ; and to France, Verrazano. Christopher Columbus was a Genoese ; Vespucius Americus and John de Verrazzano. were Florentines ; and John and Sebastian Cabota, Vene- tinns.
The discoveries of these celebrated men were made within a period of thirty-two years. The first voyage of Columbus was in 1492 ; Americus and the Cabots, in 1497 ; and Verra- zano, in 1524. In 1502, the discovery also of Florida by a Spa- niard, became the foundation of the claim of Spain to Virgi-
* See Hume's England, vol. III. p. 428.
f In 1440.
: See Roscoe's Lorenzo de Medici
12
Origin of the Aborigines and ancient Ruins. [PART I.
nia ; though the prior bull of Pope Alexander VII. (in 1493) dividing the new world between Portugal and Spain, formed the basis of the claims of the latter to North America. Resulting from these discoveries, particularly from those " of the southern portion of this continent by Columbus, and almost simultaneously of the northern by the Cabots, four questions have been agitated by the learned world, with more or less warmth, extravagance, and pertinacity, as national interest, national vanity, or literary pride predominated :
First, By what means was America originally peopled ?
Secondly, Was America known to Europe before Colum- bus?
Thirdly, Who first explored the North American coasts, and discovered those and the harbours of New-York ?
Fourthly, What principle of international law should inter- changeably govern the powers of Europe in their partition of this continent, and regulate them in respect to the rights of its original proprietors or native occupants ?
Conclusive answers to the first three are desiderata. The last was settled partially from necessity, by the majority of the partitioning powers. Adopting these questions, more for the purposes of a general division of the present part of the history, than of minute discussion, we shall, in the course of their examination, embrace topics not strictly applicable to the general inquiry. The second and third questions will in some measure fall within the first. The first and second will be examined principally to illustrate the inquiry, whence ori- ginated the artificial remains of antiquity and the aborigines of this State. The third and fourth will embrace a retrospec- tion of those early voyages to the harbours and coasts of this State, the policy that prompted them, and the principles of European policy which evolved a disputed claim to the first discovery of this State, a conflicting European title to its ter- ritory, and local colonial disputes respecting its boundary and jurisdictional limits.
[ 2] Various Hypotheses .- Antiquities of New-York.
6 2.
FIRST. By what means wos America originally peopled ?
The controversy from the discussion of this question, which for nearly three centuries has elicited the talents of writers in almost every tongue and nation, is too diffuse to admit, in its present application. more than a condensed sketch of the va- rious hypotheses of the learned. The question involves a problem, the solution of which (if solvable) must become the result of a more profound philosophy than has yet been dis- played upon it. And still, analysis might be tasked for a Lin- næan classification of the multifarious theories which have confounded the subject. Some authors have deduced the an- cestors of the Americans from Europe, and fancied that they had discovered them among the Grecians, the Romans, the Spaniards, the Irish, the Welsh, the Courlanders, or the Rus- sians. Others have traced them to Asia, alternately to the Israelites, Canaanites, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Persians, Tar- tars, East Indians, Chinese, Japanese ; cach of which nations has had its advocates among philosophers and historians. A third species of writers look to Africa as the original cradle of the American race, and make them the descendants of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, or Numidians ; while a fourth be- lieve the Americans to have been descendants of all the na- tions in the world. (5)
Before we enter into any investigation of these theories, a delineation of the antiquities of this state, and sketches of the traditions of its aboriginal people, might become an interest- ing preliminary in the development of the main question. With regard to the former, we shall confine ourselves to that class of our antiquities which comprise the monumental re- mains of a people who once were, but are not.
In Pompey, Onondaga county, are vestiges of a town, the area of which includes more than five hundred acres. It was protected by three circular or elliptical forts, eight miles distant
14 Origin of the Aborigines and ancient Ruins. [PART ].
from each other. They formed a triangle that enclosed the town. From certain indications, this town seems to have been stormed and taken on the line of the north side .* In Camillus, in the same county, are the remains of two forts, one covering about three acres. on a very high hill. It had one castern gate, and a communication at the west, towards a spring about ten rods from the fort. Its shape was elliptical. The ditch was deep, and the eastern wall ten feet high. The other fort is almost half a mile distant, on lower ground, constructed like the other, and about half as large. Shells of testaceous animals, numerous fragments of pottery, pieces of brick, and other signs of an ancient settlement, were found by the first European settlers. t
The remnant of the ancient Indian defence on the east bank of Seneca river, six miles south of Cross and Salt lakes, and forty miles south of the fort of Oswego, was discovered as early as 1791, and described in the New-York Magazine of 1792, together with a delineation of ill-shapen figures, sup- posed to have been hieroglyphical, and engraved as with a chisel, on a flat stone, five feet in length, three and a half feet in breadth, and six inches thick ; evidently a sepulsbral mo- nument. The principal fortification was described to be two hundred and twenty yards in length, and fifty-five yards in breadth. The bank and corresponding ditch were remarka- bly entire ; as were two apertures, opposite each other in the middle of the parallelogram, one opening to the water, and the other facing the forest. About half' a mile south of the greater work, was a large half-moon, supposed to have been an outwork, but attended with this singularity, that the extre- mities of the crescent were from the larger fort. The banks and ditch, both of this and the first fortress, were covered with trees that exhibited extremity of age.
* See Memoir on the Antiquities of the western parts of New-York. By De Witt Clinton, President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York. 1817.
+ Spe Memoir, &c. ih. .
15
Antiquities of New- York.
The flat stone before mentioned was found over a small ele- vation in the great fort. Upon removing it, one of the visiting party dug up with his cane a piece of earthon vessel, which, from the convexity of the fragment, he supposed might contain two gallons : it was well burned, of a red colour, and had its upper edge indented, as with the finger, in its impressionable state.
'These remains were considered as unequalled, perhaps even by the celebrated vestiges at Muskingum .*
Eastward these fortifications have been traced eighteen miles east of Manlius Square, and in Oxford, Chenango county, on the east bank of Chenango, are the remains of an- other fort, remarkable for its great antiquity; northward, as far as Sandy Creek, about fourteen miles from Sacket's Har- bour, near which one covers fifty acres. and contains nume- rous fragments of pottery. Westward, they are discovered in great number. There is a large one in the town of Onondaga, one in Scipio, two near Auburn, three near Canandaigua, and several between Seneca and Cayuga lakes.
In Ridgeway, Genesee county, several ancient fortifications and burial places have been discovered.t
The late Reverend Samuel Kirkland, ¿ during his missionary tour in 178S to the Senecas' country, visited and described several of these remains west of the Genesee river. The first, from his description, he found about two miles west of Allen's residence, which was on an extensive flat, at a deserted Indian village near the junction of a creek (probably Allen's creek) with the Genesee, eight miles north of the old Indian village of Kanawageas, and five north of the magic spring, so deno-
* New-York Magazine, or Literary Repository, vol. IV. p. 23. Soc a view of those of Muskingum, in ib. vol. II. p. 555.
i See Memoir, &e. by De Witt Clinton.
# Whose manuscripts are loaned to us through the favour of his son, President Kirkland, of Harvard University. They comprise much histo- rical incident in relation to the Six Nations; the late Rev. Mr. Kirkland having for more than thirty years performed missionary tours to the Onei- das and others of the Iroquois Confederacy, in behalf of the Society of Spotfand, and Corporation of Harvard University
16 Origin of the Aborigines and ancient Ruins. [PART I.
minated by the Indians .* That ancient Indian fort enclosed about six acres, and had six gates. The ditch appeared to be eight foer wide, and in some places six feet deep, and drawn in a circular form on three sides. The fourth side was defended by nature with a high bank, at the foot of which is a fine stream of water. "The bank bad probably been secured by a stockade, as there appeared to have been a deep covered way in the middle of it down to the water. Some of the trees on the bank and in the ditch appeared to Mr. Kirkland to have been of the age of two hundred years. About half a mile south of this, and upon a greater eminence, he traced the ruins of another old fortified town, of less dimensions thon the other, but with a deeper ditch, and in a situation more lofty and defensible. Having examined these fortifications, Mr. Kirtland returned to Kanavageas, and thence renewed his tour westward until he encamped for the night at a place called Jodiku, (i. e. Ra- cool,) on the river Panawande, about twenty-six miles from Karaageas. Six miles from this place of encampment, he rode to the open fields, and arrived at a place called by the Senecas, Tegatainehughgue, which imports a double-for- tified town, or a town with a fort at each end. Here he walked about half a mile with one of the Seneca chiefs, to view one of the vestiges of this double-fortified town. They were the remains of two forts. The first which he visited, as above, contained about four acres of ground. The other to which he proceeded, distant from this about two miles, and situated at the other extremity of the aucicot town, enclosed twice that quantity of ground. The ditch around the former, which he particularly examined, was about five or six feet deep. A small stream of water, aud a high bank, circumscribed
* Its water was said to petrify almost every thing that obstructed its current. A pagan tradition prevailed, of an evil spirit having resided here in former times. bellowing with a horrid noise, and ejerting ball, of liquid fire. The spring emptied into the Genesce, and its fountain was about three miles north of Kanawagess. Rev. Mr. K.'S MS. As to Allen's residence, see Server's Narrative of the Infe of a Female Captive, Se. printed at Canandai- go3. 1321. br & D. Reais & Co. 65. 8. Allen's creek, formerly . Gin-is.
12
Antiquities of New-York.
nearly one-third of the enclosed ground. There were the traces of six gates or avenues round the ditch, and near the centre a way was dug to the water. The ground on the opposite side of the water was in some places nearly as high as that on which the fort was built, which might render this covered way to the water necessary. A considerable number of large thrifty oaks had grown up within the enclosed ground, both in and upon the ditch ; some of them appeared to be at least two hundred years old, or more. The ground is of a hard gravelly kind, intermixed with loam, and more plentifully at the brow of the hill. In some places at the bottom of the ditch, Mr. Kirkland ran his cane a foot or more into the ground, from which circumstance he concluded that the ditch was much deeper in its original state than it then appeared to him. Near the northern fortification, which was situated on high ground, he found the remains of a funeral pile, where the slain were buried in a great battle, which will be spoken of hereafter. 'The earth was raised about six feet above the common sur- face, and betwixt twenty and thirty feet diameter. The bones appeared on the whole surface of the raised earth, and stuck out in many places on the sides. Pursuing his course towards Buffalo creek, (his ultimate destination,) Mr. Kirkland disco- vered the vestiges of another ancient fortified town. He does not in his manuscript delineate them ; but from the course he de- scribed, they might be easily ascertained. "Upon these heights. near the ancient fortified town, the roads part; we left the path leading to Niagara on our right, and went a course nearly south-west for Buffalo creek. After leaving these heights, which afforded an extensive prospect, we travelled over a fine tract of land for about six or seven miles ; then came to a barren white oak shrub plain, and one very remarkable spot of near two hundred acres, and passed a steep hill on our right in some places near fifty feet perpendicular, at the bottom of which is a small lake, affording another instance of pagan su- perstition. The old Indians affirm, that formerly a demon in the form of a dragon resided in this lake, and had frequently been seen to diegorze balls of liquid fre : and that to appease Vor. 1.
18 Origin of the Aborigines and ancient Ruins. [PART I.
his wrath, many a sacrifice of tobacco had been made at that lake by the fathers. The barren spot above mentioned is covered with small white stone, that appears like lime and clay; in some spots, for a considerable distance, there is no appearance of earth. Notwithstanding its extreme poverty, there are many trees of moderate size. At the extremity of this barren plain, we came again to the Tanawande river, and forded it about two miles above the Indian town called by that name. This village contains fourteen houses, or huts. Their chief is called 'Gashagante, nicknamed the Black Chief. On the south side of the Tanawande creek, at a small distance, are to be seen the vestiges of another ancient fortified town." Mr. Kirkland further remarks,-that there are vestiges of an- cient fortified towns in various parts throughout the extensive territory of the Six Nations, and by Indian report in various other parts ; particularly one on a branch of the Delaware river, which from the size and age of some of the trees that have grown upon the banks and in the ditches, appears to have existed nearly one thousand years .*
On the south side of Lake Erie, are a series of old fortifi- cations, from Cattaragus creek to the Pennsylvania line, a dis- tance of fifty miles. Some are from two to four miles apart, others half a mile only. Some contain five acres. The walls or breastworks are of earth, and are generally on ground where there are appearances of creeks having once flowed into the lake, or where there was a bay. Hence it is in- ferred that these works were on the former margin of Lake Erie, whence it has retreated from two to five miles north- ward. Further south, there is said to be another chain paral- lel with the first, about equidistant from the lake. Here the country exhibits two table grounds, formed by the recession of the lake. The one nearest the lake is lower, and is secondary. The primary alluvial ground was formed by the first retreat of the water, and then it is supposed the most southern line of fortifi- cations was crected. In process of time, the lake receded further to the north, leaving the other section of table land, on which the
* Mr. Kirkland's MS.
.
39
Antiquities of New-York.
§ 2.]
other tier of works was made. The soil on each is different, the inferior being adapted for grass, the superior for grain ; and the timber varies in a correspondent manner. On the south of Lake Ontario, are two alluvial formations, of which the most recent is north of the ridge road. No forts have beca discovered on it, although many have been observed south of the mountain ridge. The non-existence of forts on the secondary or primary alluvial formations of Lake Onta- rio, is a strong circumstance, from which the remote antiquity of those on the highlands to the south may be deduced ; be- cause, if they had been erected after the first or last retreat of the lake, they would undoubtedly have been made on them as most convenient, and best adapted for all military, civil, and domestic purposes .*
These remains of art may be viewed as connecting links of a great chain, which extends beyond the confines of our state, and becomes more magnificent and curious as we recede from the northern lakes, pass through Ohio into the great vale of the Mississippi, thence to the Gulf of Mexico, through Texas into New Mexico and South America. In this vast range of more than three thousand miles, these monuments of ancient skill gradually become more remarkable for their number, magnitude, and interesting variety, until we are lost in admira- tion and astonishment, to find, as Baron Humboldt informs us, j in a world which we call new, ancient institutions, religious ideas, and forms of edifices, similar to those of Asia, which there seem to go back to the dawn of civilization.
Over the great secondary region of the Ohio, are the ruins of what once were forts, cemetaries, temples, altars, camps, towns, villages, race-grounds and other places of amusement, habitations of chieftains, videttes, watch-towers, and monu- ments.
* See Memoir, &c. by De Witt Clinton.
f Des. of the Monuments in Amer. in Intro. See Abbe Clavigero's Hist. of Mexico; also, Description of the ruins of an ancient City in South America, and a critical research into the Hist. of Amer .- by Doct. Cab- icra. Lond. 1022.
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