USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > An authentic and comprehensive history of Buffalo : with some account of its early inhabitants, both savage and civilized ; comprising historic notices of the Six Nations or Iroquois Indians, including a sketch of the life of Sir William Johnson, and of other prominent white men, long resident among the Senecas ; arranged in chronologial order > Part 3
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ARTICLE II. The Oneida and Tuscarora Nations shall be secured in the possession of the lands on which they are settled.
ARLICLE III. A line shall be drawn, beginning at the -
27
TREATY OF FORT STANWIX.
mouth of a creek about four miles east of Niagara, called Oyonwayea, or Johnson's Landing Place, upon the lake named by the Indians Oswego, and by us On- tario ; from thence southerly, in a direction always four miles east of the carrying path, between Lakes Erie and Ontario, to the mouth of Tehoseroron (or Buffalo) Creek, on Lake Erie ; thence south to the north boundary of the State of Pennsylvania ; thence west to the end of said north boundary ; thence south along the west boundary of the said State to the River Ohio. The said line, from the mouth of the Oyonwayea to the Ohio, shall be the western boundary of the lands of the Six Nations ; so that the Six Nations shall and do yield to the United States all claims to the country west of the said boundary ; and then they shall be secured in the peace- ful possession of the lands they inhabit east and north of the same -reserving only six miles square around the Fort of Oswego, to the United States, for the support of the same,
ARTICLE IV. The Commissioners of the United States, in consideration of the present circumstances of the Six Nations, and execution of the humane and liberal views of the United States, upon the signing of the above articles, will order goods to be delivered to the said Six Nations, for their use and comfort.
OLIVER WOLCOTT, RICHARD BUTLER, ARTHUR LEE.
Signed by the sachems and warriors of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga, Tuscarora and Seneca Abeal tribes of Indians.
28
HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
"We will make a few remarks on these articles, though the moderation and equity of them are manifest :
"I. It is more than six months since you were informed by Gen. Schuyler, in the name of the Congress, that you must deliver up all the prisoners before peace could be granted to you. Our message gave you the same information ; yet you have not delivered them up. As the delivery of them is indispensable, so you have rendered hostages necessary by the delay.
"II. It does not become the United States to forget those nations who preserved their faith to them and ad- hered to their cause; those, therefore, must be secured in the full and free enjoyment of their possessions.
"III. The line proposed leaves as extensive a country to the remaining four nations as they can in reason de- sire, and more than, from their conduct in the war, they could expect.
"The King of Great Britain ceded to the United States the whole; by right of conquest, they might claim the whole ; yet they have taken but a small part, compared with their numbers and their wants. Their warriors must be provided for. Compensation must be made for the blood and treasures which have been expended in the war. The great increase of their people renders more lands essential to their subsistence. It is therefore necessary that such a boundary line should be settled as will make effectual provision for these demands, and pre- vent any further cause of difference or dispute.
"IV. It ought to be felt by you as a signal proof of the magnanimity of the United States that, though the present distresses of most of the Six Nations have been incurred by their own fault in fighting against them, yet
29
TREATY OF FORT STANWIX.
they have determined to administer such relief to them as is at present in their power.
" These are the terms on which you may obtain per- petual peace with the United States, and enjoy their protection.
"You must be sensible that these are blessings which cannot be purchased at too high a price.
"Be wise, and answer us accordingly."
The treaty of 1784 extinguished the title of the Six Nations to all the lands west of the line fixed by that treaty, while it secured them in the quiet and peaceable possession of all their lands east of it ; which land they then occupied. The statement that Red Jacket was present, and made a vehement and powerful speech against the treaty, seems to be traditional merely, and had its origin in the remarks made by Lafayette in an interview with Red Jacket, at Buffalo, when the Mar- quis visited the United States, in 1824-5. In the con- versation said to have taken place at that time, Red Jacket evidently supposed he alluded to another occa- sion, and at a later period. The journal of Gen. Butler contains the speeches of Capt. Aaron Hill, a Mohawk, and Capt. O'Bail, or Cornplanter, of the Senecas, in full ; but nothing is said of any speech by Red Jacket -a silence which can be accounted for upon no other hypothesis than that no such speech was delivered.
There are other reasons which go to corroborate the probability that Red Jacket was not present at the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784. The author's acquaint- ance with Red Jacket commenced about 1820. At that time he could not have been over sixty. He died in
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
1830, and to all appearance, could not have been much over seventy years of age at his death. His habits, for a long time, had been such as to tell upon him, both physically and intellectually; and, unlike some of his race, he bore the marks of decay early. If he was only seventy-five at his death, which is probable, he was only twenty-nine at the time of the treaty of Fort Stanwix - an age which would not entitle him to the distinction of a sachem, or to any position of influence in his own or the Six Nations.
There is another circumstance which more than ren- ders the whole account of Red Jacket's presence at Fort Stanwix, at the time of the treaty of 1794, apocryphal. It is this :- It is said, in the account of the interview be- tween Red Jacket and Lafayette at Buffalo, that the lat- ter inquired " what had become of the young chief who had opposed; with so much eloquence, the burying of the tomahawk," and that Red Jacket replied, " he is before you." Now in the first place, the question at the treaty at Fort Stanwix in 1784, was not in regard to peace or war. The Indians were subdued ; they had no thought of continuing the war, and no such question was agitated at that council. The only question was as to the bound- ary line, which the Indians wanted fixed at one point, and the Commissioners at another. Red Jacket was not a Chief at that time, nor until some years afterwards. The first authentic record of Red Jacket's having made a public speech, was at the great Indian council at the mouth of the Detroit river, in 1786. At that council the great question was, peace or war. There were represent- atives from all the western Nations, as well as of the Six Nations. It is said of Red Jacket's speech on that occa- sion, that it was "a master piece of oratory," and that
31
RED JACKET.
"every warrior present was carried away by his elo- quence." It was to this speech and occasion that Red Jacket supposed he alluded, and that he gave the answer, "he stands before you." It was this speech which gave him his first notoriety, and for which he had been fre- quently flattered, a weakness to which he was very sus- ceptible.
To the inquiry of the Indians, his own friends and co- temporaries, how he became a chief-as it is well known that he did not inherit that distinction-it was answered that he received the appointment through the influence of his grandmother, who was a person of great influence and weight of character. His character among the Indi- ans was rather that of a fluent speaker ; the utterer of the opinions of others, or the mind of his nation. Other than that, his influence among his own people was not great, and the importance which he ultimately attained, grew out of the fact of his usefulness in communicating with the whites, after his nation had been bereft of nearly all their great chiefs and warriors.
The journal of the proceedings of the treaty of Fort Stanwix, shows that in point of fact, it was hardly entitled to the name of a treaty, and the complaint subsequently made by Cornplanter to Gen. Washington, that the Indi- ans were compelled to submit to the terms dictated to them by the Commissioners, was true; they were treated as a conquered people, and their conquerors claimed their country, by right of conquest. They were made to feel their abject, dependent, condition, and that they were no longer a free, independent people, and that even the terms granted to them, must be considered as an act of clemen- cy, rather than of justice.
32
HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Although Brant was present at that treaty of Fort Stan- wix, and took a leading part in the council held with the New York Commissioners, his name is not mentioned in connection with the council held immediately after, with the United States Commissioners. (It is said he left for Montreal immediately after the council with the State Commissioners.) The object of the New York Commis- sioners was to buy lands, but the ostensible object of the United States Commissioners was to negotiate terms of peace with the Indians. The Mohawks were represented on this occasion by Karongyote, alias Aaron Hill, and Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant. The name of the latter appears in the proceedings of the council with the New York Commissioners, while the former only is men- tioned in the journal of the proceedings of the United States Commissioners. The peculiar position occupied by Brant at this time, may account for this. He, and his tribe or nation, had constantly adhered to the British in- terest. They had, with a few exceptions, abandoned their country in the valley of the Mohawk, and followed the fortunes of the Johnsons, the Butlers, and other leading tories. Although peace had been concluded, and Amer- ican independence acknowledged by Great Britain, she still held Oswego, Niagara, and all the frontier posts. All the Six Nations, with the exception of the Oneidas, who remained at their old homes, and the Mohawks, (who had gone to Canada,) were settled at Buffalo, Cattarau- gus and Tonawanda Creeks, and at Alleghany, under the care and supervision of British authority. This authority · was represented by the Johnsons and the Butlers, with their subordinates at Niagara, and they held possession of the fort, and consequently of the country, for ten or
·
33
LETTER OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE.
twelve years after the peace of 1783. Of course Brant acted under the influence, and probably the instructions, of his superiors at Niagara. It was their policy to coun- tenance, if not to aid, in exciting the hostility of the In- dians against the new government; and Brant was an efficient instrument through which to accomplish their purposes. Brant, therefore, would not compromise his position, but chose to stand aloof. The decided stand taken by the Commissioners left nothing to be done but to comply with the terms they dictated, which were sub- mitted to.
The following extract of a letter written by Gen. La- Fayette to Gen. Washington, on his return from the treaty, shows the light in which he viewed Brant and his party at this treaty :
GEN. LAFAYETTE TO GEN. WASHINGTON.
ALBANY, Sth October, 1784.
MY DEAR GENERAL :- Everywhere I met with de- lays ; but, so agreeable were they in their nature, that I cannot complain of them. It is not quite the same with the Indian treaty, although the hope to be useful has kept me there longer than I expected. My presence at the opening of it had been desired. Many circumstances kept it off. At last it began ; and my influence with the Indians was found greater than I myself could expect. I was therefore desired to speak, to hearken, to answer. I took the liberty to caution the Commissioners upon such points as you had mentioned to me, and did not leave the ground till they thought they had no further
3
34
HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
occasion for me. But, as the business is just beginning, I cannot give you any further intelligence but that a great deal of intrigue is carried on by some of the Tory Indians of Brant's party, and that the Whig and Tory distinctions are kept up among the tribes to an amazing degree of private animosities.
The execution of the Fort Stanwix treaty opened a vast territory of land to sale and settlement.
The same Commissioners, or at least two of them - Gen. Butler and Arthur Lee - proceeded westward, for the purpose of negotiating treaties of peace with the tribes residing in the western territory -the Shawnees, the Delawares, the Wyandots, &c., &c. They found that settlers had already obtruded upon the Indian lands in that quarter; and the Commissioners made some in- effectual attempts to drive them off by proclamation. Ultimately, almost the entire lands in what is now the State of Ohio - with the exception of some reserva- tions made for bounties for the officers and soldiers of the Revolution, who had continued in service to the end of the war, or until they were regularly discharged, and the representatives of those who lost their lives in the service of their country - were sold to a company form- ed originally in Boston, composed of New Englanders, but subsequently embracing a large number of the " prin- cipal characters of America," as they were termed, re- siding in nearly all the States. In the purchase of these lands by the "agents of the Ohio Company of Asso- ciates," as they were called, one million dollars - mainly in what were denominated Continental Specie Certifi- cates - were stipulated to be received in payment to-
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1131809
FIRST HOUSE ERECTED IN BUFFALO.
wards the land. The whole was divided into stock shares. Bounty certificates were also received by the government in payment. The consequence was, that numbers of officers of the late army became share- holders -Gen. Washington himself, it is believed, being of the number. And thus this vast territory soon be- came open for sale and settlement.
From the close of the war, in 1782-3, to the time of the delivery of the forts upon the northern and north- western frontiers, in 1796, British authority extended and was supreme here ; and several officers, agents and traders, were constantly and permanently located here. Wm. Johnson resided with the Indians on Buffalo Creek, and Cornelius Winney had his trading house " at the Lake," as it was called- being upon the bank of the Little Buffalo Creek, (now Hamburg Canal) in rear of the present site of the Mansion House, nearly at the junction of Washington and Quay streets. This was the first building erected by civilized man in Buffalo.
Capt. Powell, the husband of Jane Moore, was inter- ested in business with Winney - their trade being ex- clusively with the Indians, of course.
Col. Proctor, who remained here several weeks, as ap- pears by his journal, in 1791, staid a portion of the time at Winney's house, who is represented to have been a warm friend of the American cause, notwithstanding his British associations. Winney was an Albany trader ; or he is said to have come " from the Fishkills."
Fort Erie was at this time (1783-4) occupied by a British garrison, and was useful in maintaining British influence and authority over the Indians, who frequently resorted to the fort to obtain supplies ; but Niagara was
36
HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
the principal seat of power and authority. Capt. Powell's residence does not seem to have been at Niagara at this time, but at some point upon the river between Buffalo and Niagara ; perhaps at Schlosser, or Lewiston. Cor- nelius Winney may therefore be considered the first white resident of Buffalo. He probably came to reside here about 1783-4, and remained till after the surrender of Fort Niagara to the Americans, in 1796. It is quite certain there was no other house here till some time after this.
Among the papers of Gen. Chapin, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, the following specimen of Winny's cor- respondence was found :
BUFFALO CREEK, 23d Aug., 1792.
I Inform Gen. Chapin that about seventy-nine of the Canada Indians is gone to Detroit. They seem to be for warr, and a number of Indians to go up. I further in- form you that the Indians of this place are to go up in the first King's vessel that comes down. Prince Ed- ward is arrived at Niagara. Should I hear anything worth while to write, I shall let you know.
I am your most obedient and
Very humble servant,
C. WINNEY.
The house built by Winney remained until after the settlement of Buffalo commenced, under the auspices of the Holland Land Co., in 1802-3. At what time Win- ney ceased to reside here is not so clear ; but it is ren- dered probable that he left in 1798, as Mr. Egleston, one of the assistants or surveyors of Mr. Ellicott, writes to
37
.
BRANT'S LETTER,
him at Schlosser, from Buffalo Creek, that he (Ellicott) had better bring some boards to make a mapping table, as there were none to be had in their new location - "Mr. Winney having carried off those that were in the partition."
Winney's house is noted on the surveyor's field notes of the first survey, and was at the point already desig- nated -- near the corner of Washington and Quay streets.
Although Joseph Brant had suddenly withdrawn from the council at Fort Stanwix in 1784, we find him early next year in correspondence with the State authorities, evidently anxious to bring about a negotiation for the sale of the lands of the Mohawks, in which his own and sister's (Molly Brant's) interests are particularly men- tioned. The following is his letter to Peter Schuyler, then acting as one of the State Indian Commissioners :
CATARACQUI, (Kingston) March 23d, 1785.
DEAR SIR :- I take the liberty to acquaint you that I am entirely at a loss to know how to act and behave to you New York State, concerning what passed between you and ourselves at our last meeting at Fort Stanwix. I have wrote several letters among you, according to promise, but I never got answer to none of them. I thought it would be a serious matter of what passed be- tween us, and everything was to be performed ; so I think if that engagement which was made should come to nothing, it will be your faults. I am sorry to think your minds are changed since the mighty Commissioners of Congress has been up also at Fort Stanwix. I would therefore be much obliged to you if you would let me
38
HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
hear from you at this time, and let me know your inten- tions and determination concerning our transactions, as above mentioned. Please let me know which concerns me and my sister's children - I mean land matters - let (it) be what it will. Let me understand right. I will leave this place in a few days. I shall be among the Five Nations about the middle of April next. I under- stand that Capt. Aaron (Hill) is kept as (a) hostage for negroes, which I am exceeding sorry for it, (that) the Commissioners should compare our first chief to a slave, because we did not keep any (white) persons since peace, so that they must keep our chief in room of a slave, which is too hard to be complied with.
I am, &c.,
JOS. BRANT.
To MAJ. PETER SCHUYLER.
It is evident that there was some understanding or agreement between the State Commissioners and Brant, at Fort Stanwix, the season before, which does not ap- pear on the record, but is alluded to in this letter. Capt. Aaron Hill appears to have been one of the host- ages demanded by the United States Commissioners at that treaty. The allusion to those Commissioners shows the feeling existing in the mind of Brant in regard to them at that time. It would appear from the corres- pondence in relation to this and other letters of Brant, that the State Commissioners did not approve of what was done by the Indians with the Commissioners of the United States ; and Governor Clinton, in a letter to Major Schuyler, under date of May 28th, 1785, express- ly charges the Indians with conduct, in their treaty with
39
GOV. CLINTON SPEAKING OF BRANT.
Commissioners of Congress, totally repugnant to their professions to the Commissioners of the State, and adds, "unless some satisfactory explanation can be given of their conduct, it is we that have reason to complain." With regard to the private affairs of Capt. Brant and family, Gov. Clinton remarked : "I have long since di- rected the necessary measures to be taken for obtaining the information required, but which, owing to some un- accountable delay or accident, I have not yet received. The moment I do, it shall be forwarded to him." Brant was subsequently informed that the lands about which he had asked information, upon investigation were found to have long since been sold, and conveyed to other par- ties, who were in possession of them.
CHAPTER III.
In the spring of 1787, a deputation of Senecas, at the head of which was Big Tree, visited Albany, and laid be- fore the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, their grievances in respect to their lands. One of the delegation addressed the Commissioners as follows :
" BROTHERS-When the Commissioners of Albany held the council fire at Fort Schuyler, (Stanwix,) they told us that we should take care of our land, that it was our own. This was good, and what we conceived to be our interest, and our right; but when the Commissioners of the Uni- ted States came up, they said they could not make peace with us, unless we gave them first, an extent of land seven miles in breadth from the line established by the late Sir William Johnson, to Fort Pitt. This the few of our Na- tion who attended that treaty granted, although they were particularly instructed not to grant any land, and there- fore had no right to do it, and what they did in granting lands is void.
"Brothers-Our land is our money. It is on that we hunt ; and by hunting, we maintain and support ourselves and families. If our lands are thus taken from us, what will become of our wives and children ? It hurts our feelings much, that our lands should be torn from us in the manner these seven miles before mentioned have been done. But we trust that our good friends at Albany,
41
THE SENECAS ADDRESS TO THE N. Y. COMMISSIONERS.
who have always given us good advice, will interest and exert themselves in our behalf, that our lands may be re- stored to us again, and we wish and pray, that the line now running between Pennsylvania and this State, may go farther south than the Commissioners run it last sum- mer. * *
" Brothers-The United States have sent word to us that they soon expect to get possession of Oswego and Niaga- ra, and that they will take no more land around each, than the King of England had, and that then they would open the trade to every part of our country.
" Brothers -- Whenever the United States take possession of Oswego and Niagara, we request that the troops may go up the Mohawk river, and by the lakes, and not through our country, as it may disturb our wives and children ; and we request that no more lands around each may be taken possession of, than what the King of England had, which was four miles square at Oswego, and at Niagara from Johnson's landing, four miles along the river till it reaches lake Erie.
" Brothers-We are happy to have it in our power to inform you, that all the Indian Nations are at peace, and firmly resolved to remain so, and not intermeddle in any disputes which may arise between the white people, and to strengthen their determination, there is now a council held of all the Indian Nations at Buffalo Creek.
" Brothers-Some of us attended the survey last sum- mer, and'were requested by Gov. Clinton and the other gentlemen on the part of this State, to meet them here in this city on the subject of a further survey, and we are sorry that they are absent. Yon will send on to him, the letter we brought with us from Genesee, and remind him
42
HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
of the promise he made as last year." The letter was for- warded to Gov. Clinton in New York, the Indians propo- sing to wait for a reply, as they said they could "not re- turn to their nation without an answer." Gov. Clinton immediately laid the communication before the Legisla- ture, which appears to have been in session in New York, and both houses of that body "passed concurrent resolu- tions expressive of their sense on the different matters contained in the Indian's speech," directing the Governor to communicate the same to them, which duty the Gov- ernor devolved upon the Commissioners at Albany, which they performed in the following communication, dated April 11th, 1787 :
" The Commissioners and associates informed the Indi- ans that they were pleased that they had so willingly staid while the Commissioners might have an opportunity to send to New York, and that in consequence thereof, they presented the Indians the goods which laid on the table, and then delivered the following speech, to-wit :
" Brothers-What we have to inform you of, is for our- selves. When during the last war we found ourselves under the necessity of separating from Great Britain, we then were obliged to agree upon the method by which our business should be conducted. We therefore met in great council, and agreed how we should be governed. One of the counsellors in this great council, got up and spoke as follows :
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