History of Cattaraugus County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 3

Author: Franklin Ellis and Eugene Arns Nash
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In the neighborhood of this mound there have been no- ticed several ancient hearths, of the kind before mentioned.

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HISTORY OF CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK.

One of these, of considerable extent, was found in exca- vating for the foundations of Mr. N. E. G. Cowen's house.

6. At a point about fifty yards north of Main Street, and between Church and Washington Streets, in the vil- lage of Randolph, was a sepulchral mound. Within the memory of many yet living, it stood fully ten feet in height, but is now entirely obliterated. Its diameter was nearly forty feet, and on its top were two large pine stumps, from which the trees had been cut by the carly pioneers. The demolition of this mound, in 1840, disclosed a large num- ber of human bones, which crumbled upon exposure to the air. Among these was a molar tooth, which, under a mi- croscopic examination made by Dr. Larkin, of Randolph, showed perfect and unbroken enamel over its entire surface, except in one small, decayed spot, which had evidently existed before the death of the subject. Underneath the bones there was found a thick layer of charcoal. Several other interesting relics were found, including a block of mica of about five by seven inches in size, and scores of layers in thickness. This must have been brought from a great distance, as mica is not found in Cattaraugus County, nor in this part of New York. The block is still in possession of J. E. Weeden, Esq., who believes it to have been de- posited beside or over the bodies of the dead, in observance of a religious or superstitious custom prevailing among the people who built the sepulchre. A few rods distant from this mound were found three stone pavements or fireplaces beneath the surface, and similar in other respects to those before described.

7. In the Regents' Report, to which reference has been made above, there is found a minute description of an in- trenched work, represented as having been located in the heart of the village of Randolph, being "a detached par- allel of some sixty rods in length, extending across the level terrace, intersecting at each terminus with the stream, which is here bordered with impassable marshes. This redoubt, in its dimensions and manner of construction, must have been one of the strongest military works left by the abo- rigines in Western New York. . . . Connected with this work numerous caches have been observed; thirty-two at one time were distinctly traced, which would have been sufficient to contain the stores of a large force during a pro- tracted siege." The work thus described is represented in the report as having crossed the point which is now the in- tersection of Main and Jamestown Streets, with its two ends resting respectively on the upper and lower bend of the Little Connewango. But diligent inquiries which have been made among the oldest and best-informed citizens of Randolph have failed to establish the correctness of the account, or, indeed, to render it certain that any such work ever existed at the place mentioned.

8. A sepulchral mound-now nearly or quite effaced- stood on the bank of the Allegany River, within a few rods of the Seneca council-house, in that part of the Allegany reservation which joins the town of Cold Spring. It was about the size and height of the mound above mentioned as located in Randolph village. From this tumulus were exhumed several skeletons, one of which was found directly beneath the roots of a tree oleven feet in circumference, which had grown upon the summit.

9. In the town of Olcan, about a half-mile east of the village, and within ten rods of the dwelling-house of Maj. Adam Hoops, the pioneer of the town, stood a mound, which some of the older inhabitants recollect as having been some thirty to forty feet in diameter, and about six feet high. Col. James G. Johnson mentions having found beads, arrow-heads, and other Indian relics within this mysterious embankment.

10. Two intrenched works stood (and are said to be still discernible) on the Chandler Chamberlain estate in the town of Great Valley. These were circular inclosures, surrounded by embankments of about three feet in height, and also by shallow ditches.

11. Mention is made (but without particulars) of cir- cular mounds on the farm of Alexander Ingraham, near Cattaraugus Creek, in the town of Otto, and on lands of Peter Smith, in Mansfield ; also on the farm of C. G. Chamberlain, in Ischua. The interior of this last men- tioned was found to be constructed of stones which showed marks of fire. Some curious stone implements were also found here.

12. The Regents' report mentions that "an ancient work occupies the lofty promontory formed by the junction of a small stream with Cattaraugus Creek, upon the Indian Reservation in the extreme northwestern portion of Cat- taraugus County. No situation could have been more ad- mirably chosen for purposes of defense; it must, indeed, in the rude mode of Indian warfare, have been impregnable. The wall, which intersects the rocky and precipitous shores of either creek, is twenty-four rods in length and nearly four feet in height, and, together with the wide trench, forms a complete barrier in the only direction from which an enemy would approach. Within the inclosure, guarded by parapet and natural mural escarpment, various imple- ments of aboriginal military art have been found."

13. Near Point Peter, on Cattaraugus Creek, in the town of Persia, is a plateau on which there was formerly visible a pre-historic earthwork, consisting of a ditch and parapet inclosing (according to the best obtainable informa- tion) about three-fourths of an acre of ground. An opening was observed in the wall opposite the stream, showing that, if the work was intended for defense, the hostile approach was expected from the direction of the creek. Old resi- dents recollect that the inclosure was in form between that of a circle and a square, and that the embankment stood out in distinct shape, and with a height of two or three feet ; but now it is nearly obliterated and can hardly be traced.

14. An intrenched work of unusual form, situated on the westerly side of Tunegawant Creek, in the town of Carrolton, and about a half-mile from the village of Limestone, is described by Marvin Older, Esq., of Frank- linville, as follows : " The work consisted of two intersect- ing circles inclosing an arca of about five aeres ; the larger containing about four and the smaller about one acre. They were in the form of an irregular figure 8, lying cast and west ; the circumference of the two circles cutting each other, and leaving an open passage-way from one to the other of about thirty feet. On the northeastern mar- gin of the larger and most easterly circle, and crossing its

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circumference at two points, was a low piece of ground, which from all appearance had once been the channel of a small runlet dignified by the name of Limestone Creek. Such was ' Fort Limestone' in 1831."

Twenty years later, Mr. Older revisited the place, and found the work much changed by the hand of the white man. The smaller circle had been leveled, and a lumber- man's road crossed its inclosure. Some workmen were attempting to remove a stump of about two feet diameter which stood at the intersection of the two circles, and interfered with the excavation of a cellar which had been marked out. Oxen were attached and the stump was casily turned out from its ancient bed, disclosing a mass of human bones, from which the earth had been entirely removed by the small fibrous roots. " On examination," writes Mr. Older, " they proved to be skeletons entire, having been deposited there three or four in depth, with faces downward and heads to the east. A remarkable characteristic of these skeletons was their enormous pro- portions. Compared with my own stature and physical formation they must have been giants indeed ! I am five feet eleven and a half inches in height, my usual weight is one hundred and sixty pounds, and I wear a hat seven and a half in size by hatters' measure : but the skull of one of these skeletons would sit loosely on my head; a rib-bone would pass round me from spine to colon, outside my garments, including an overcoat; a shin-bone would reach from my ankle two or three inches above the top of my knee-joint; a thigh-bone reached from my knee to the upper part of the hip-bone; and the sub-maxillary would incase my jaw like an easy-fitting mask. The teeth were enormous, particularly the molars.

" An attempt was made to preserve portions of these remains, but by exposure to the atmosphere they crumbled to a fine powder. These people must have been at least . eight feet high, with other proportions corresponding." The earthwork here mentioned is still visible. Its location is on land now owned by Job Moses.

15. Upon a piece of land belonging to Mr. Davenport, a few rods from the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad depot at Randolph village, a very large decayed stump was recently removed, and beneath this was found a remarkable deposit of arrow-heads; one hundred and sixty- seven of these being taken out from this singular arsenal by Dr. F. Larkin, who regards them as a great curiosity, as they are somewhat different from those which have generally been found. This difference consists in the absence of the two notches which are usually found cut in the head near its base, for the purpose of fastening it by thongs to the shaft. Otherwise, these were the same-in size, shape, and material-as those which have been found in great numbers in all parts of the county. Accompanying these heads in their strange resting-place was found a stone axe and some pieces of mica. The finding of this last- named substance was thought to indicate the presence of human skeletons, but none of these were discovered here.

16. In the same town, about one and a half miles south of Randolph village, a singular relic was plowed up by Mr. Benson, about the year 1861, and it is still in pos- session of the Rev. Sylvester Cowles, who believes it to be

of Egyptian or Phoenician origin. It is a figure wrought from a block of quartz, and somewhat resembling the head of a bird,-particularly the beak part, which is much like that of a parrot. It was doubtless the totemic symbol of some ancient aboriginal tribe.

17. Many years ago there was discovered in Cattaraugus County, near the Allegany River, a stone image, apparently blackened by fire, representing human lineaments at about life size; the facial outline having a length of seven and three-quarter inches, with a breadth of six inches, the features being formed with slight angular projection. Mr. Cheney, in describing this image, said, " The brow is en- circled by a peculiar plaiting of hair, like a head-dress with fanciful knots, or, rather, raised flower-work, corresponding exactly with the style adopted by the Aztecs."

The same writer (always extremely enthusiastic and im- aginative in his descriptions of aboriginal relics) mentions that specimens of terra-cotta were disclosed in one of the mounds near the Cattaraugus Creek, and adds that "among these were fragments of pottery composed of pounded quartz mixed with clay and baked quite hard. These articles are quaintly figured, and bear resemblance to the ancient pottery found on the Colorado Chiquito."

In regard to the origin of these and the multitude of similar relics which have been disclosed in this region many theories have been advanced, some apparently reasonable and others entirely absurd. As to the numerous earthworks discovered, some writers, as we have seen, believed them to have been built by the French, while others attributed their construction to the Spaniards .* But these theories of their European origin are satisfactorily rebutted by the number and extent of the remains; by their evident antiquity, many of them having, from every

* De Witt Clinton, in an address delivered before the New York His- torical Society in 1811, in alluding to the various improbable theories which ascribed the building of these works to Europeans, said, " An American writer of no inconsiderable repute pronounced some years ago that the two forts at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, one covering forty and the other twenty acres, were erected by Fernando de Soto, who landed with 1000 men in Florida, in 1539, and penetrated a considerable distance into the interior of the country. Ile allotted the large fort for the use of the Spanish army, and after being extremely puzzled how to dispose of the small one in its vicinity, he at last assigned it to the swine, that generally, as he says, attended the Spaniards in those days; being, in his opinion, very necessary in order to prevent them from becoming estrays, and to protect them from the depredations of the Indians.

"Lewis Dennie, a Frenchman, aged upwards of seventy, and who had been settled and married among the Confederates [ Iroquois] for more than half a century, told me, in 1810, that, according to the tra- ditions of the ancient Indians, these forts were erected by an army of Spaniards, who were the first Europeans ever seen by thom (the French the next, then the Dutch, and finally the English) ; that this army first appeared at Oswego, in great force, and penetrated through the interior of the country, searching for the precious metals; that they continued there two years, and went down the Ohio." After having given several reasons why the above was to be considered unworthy of belief, Mr. Clinton continued : " It is equally clear that they were not the work of the Indians. Until the Senecas, who are renowned for their national vanity, had seen the attention of the Americans attracted to these erections, and had invented the fabulous necount of which I have spoken, the Indians of the present day did not pretend to know anything about the origin of the works. They were beyond the reach of all their traditions, and were lost in the abyss of unexplored antiquity."

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appearance, been erected long before the discovery of America; by their form, which is entirely different from any system of European fortification, ancient or modern ; and by the great number, as well as peculiarities of form and size, of the skeletons found interred within the tumuli.

Thus much, and no more, may be set down as reasonably certain, that these earthworks were reared by a people who preceded those found here by the first European visitors ; but whether they were of Aztec, Toltec, Phoeni- cian, or Egyptian origin, or whether they were descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, as some have supposed, is a question which will probably never be solved. The imagi- nation, unrestrained by facts, may roam at will in the realm of ingenious speculation, but the subject is one of pure conjecture, which it is not profitable to pursue.

CHAPTER III. THE LATER INDIAN OCCUPATION.

The Home of the Eries.

FROM the veiled mystery of the mound-builders we turn to the story of the later aboriginal peoples whose occupancy preceded that of the Caucasian race, through the region lying west and north of the Genesee and Allegany Rivers.

The earliest mention which we find in written annals of the Indian tribes or nations inhabiting the present county of Cattaraugus, and the adjacent territory lying east and southeast of Lake Erie, occurs in a letter written by the French Jesuit, Père L'Allemant, to the Provincial of the Jesuits in France, and dated May 19, 1641, at the Mission of St. Marie, which was located on the river Severn, near the castern extremity of Lake Huron, in Canada. The letter contains an account of the journeyings of Jean de Brebeuf* and Joseph Marie Chaumont, two Jesuit fathers, who set out from the mission, Nov. 2, 1640, on an expedi- tion to the " Neutre Nation" of Indians, t whose country

* "Father Brébeuf," says L'Allemant, "is peculiarly fitted for such an expedition, God having, in an eminent degree, endowed him with a capacity for learning languages. His companion was also con- sidered a proper person for the enterprise."

t Charlevoix speaks of the Neutre Nation as "a people larger, stronger, and botter formed than any other savages, and who lived south of the Huron country. . . . They were called the Neutre Nation because they took no part in the wars which desolated the country. But in the end they could not themselves escape entire destruction. To avoid the fury of the Iroquois, they finally joined them against the Hurons, but gained nothing by the union. The Iroquois, like lions that, having tasted blood, cannot be satiated, de- stroyed indiscriminately all that came in their way, and at this day there remains no trace of the Neutre Nation." The date of their destruction is placed by Charlevoix and others at about the year 1643, though Schoolcraft believes it to have occurred about twelve years later. Morgan, in his "League of the Iroquois," thinks that the name "Cat," as applied here, and also by Charlevoix, to the Eries, was in- correct. " Gu-gwa-ga-o-no," he says, " was the Iroquois name of the Erie Nation, who were expelled by them about the year 1655. They were an offshoot of the Iroquois stock, and spoke a dialect of their language. Charlevoix calls them the Cat Nation. It is a singular fact that tho Neutre Nation, who dwelt on the banks of the Niagara River, and who were expelled by the Iroquois about the year 1643, was known among them as the Je-ge-su-sa, or Cat Nation. The word signifies a wild-cat; and from being the name of a woman of great

lay far away towards the southeast. From a translation of this account is copied as follows :

" From the first village of the Neutre Nation that we meet with in traveling from this place as we proceed south or southeast it is about four days' travel to the place where the celebrated river of the nation empties into Lake On- tario or St. Louis. On the west side of that river, and not on the eust, are the most numerous of the villages of the Neutre Nation. There are three or four villages on the east side, extending from east to west towards the Erigh, or Cat Nation. This river is that by which our great lake of the Hurons, or fresh sea, is discharged, which first empties into the lake of Erigh, or of the Nation of the Cat; from thence it enters the Territory of the Neutre Nation, and takes the name of Onguiaahra [Niagara] until it empties into Ontario or St. Louis Lake. . . . According to the esti- mate of these fathers who have been there, the Neutre Nation comprises about twelve thousand souls, which enables them to furnish four thousand warriors, notwithstanding war, pestilence, and famine have prevailed among them for three years in an extraordinary manner. After all, I think that those who have heretofore ascribed such an extent and population to this Nation, have understood, by the Neu- tre Nation, all who live south and southwest of our Hurons, and who are truly great in number, and, being at first only partially known, have all been comprised under the same name. The more perfect knowledge of their language and country which has since been obtained has resulted in a clearer distinction between the tribes. .

" The Sonontonheronons ( Senecus), one of the Iroquois nations, the nearest to, and most dreaded by the Hurons, not more than a day's journey distant from the easternmost village of the Neutre nation, named Onguiaahra, of the same name as the river."

The above account shows with tolerable clearness the location of the territory then occupied by the Neutre nation, the Eries, and the Senecas. The domain of the first-named covered a large portion of the Canadian Peninsula west of Niagara River, extending across that stream into the present State of New York, and along the shore of Lake Erie up to the country of the Erie nation. The boundary between the Neutres and the Eries is not plainly defined, but is said and generally believed to have been at or about Eighteen-Mile Creek, in Erie County. Father Hennepin, it is true, as- sumes that the dividing line between these nations was " about midway up the lake," but this opinion was doubt- less based on an imperfect knowledge of the geography of the region. There seems to be sufficient reason for the belief that the country of the Eries commenced at least as far down the lake as the Eighteen-Mile, if not at the outlet. From thence it extended towards the southwest indefinitely, and castward to the Genesee River, which was then the western limit of the domain of the Senecas. This stream had been established by treaty as the division line between the two peoples, and there existed between them a compact,

influence among them, it came to be the name of the nation. Char- levoix also speaks of the Neutre Nation. It is quite probable that he transposed or confounded their aboriginal names." But it should not be forgotten that the mistake -- if mistake it was-was also made by L'Allemant.

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'HISTORY OF CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK.

to the effect that bands of either tribe, foraging into the country of the other, if forced to retreat, should not be pursued after having recrossed to their own side of the boundary. " An infraction of this treaty," says Morgan, " was one of the reasons of the long-cherished animosity of the_Iroquois against them."

All our knowledge of the Erie Indians is dim and shadowy, for they were expelled, and utterly destroyed as a nation, many years before the white man had penetrated into the forest land which once was theirs; but all accounts of them transmitted to us through Indian channels, even the traditions of the Iroquois, who became their bitter enemies and their destroyers, represent them as having held rank among the most powerful and warlike of all the Indian tribes, and as the most redoubtable antagonists of the con- federated Five Nations!

For many years, perhaps for ages, Erie and Iroquois lived in comparative amity and peace, with their outposts facing each other along the Beautiful Valley ;* but at last Indian aggressiveness and jealousy asserted themselves, and it be- came impossible for the two warlike rivals to exist longer in such close proximity, and in quiet. A bloody war broke out between them, and was waged with unexampled ferocity until the power of the Eries was utterly broken, and they were extinguished as a nation. The commencement and duration of this decisive war cannot be given definitely, but that it was raging in the year 1654 is quite clearly shown by the journal of Father Simon Le Moine,t a French Jesuit, who left Quebec on the 2d of July, in the year named, on a " voyage to the country of the Iroquois- Onon- dagoes, arriving at their principal village on the 5th of August." Five days later a " general council of peace with the fourt Iroquois nations," on which occasion, says the rev- crend father, " I opened the proceedings by public prayer, which I said on my knees, and in a loud voice, all in the Huron tongue. I invoked the Great Master of heaven and of earth to inspire us with what should be for his glory and our good ; I cursed all the demons of hell, who are spirits of division ; I prayed the tutelar angels of the whole country to touch the hearts of those who heard me, when my words should strike their ear. I greatly astonished them when they heard me naming all by nations, by tribes, by families, and each particular individual of any note, and all by aid of my manuscript, which was a matter as wonderful as it was new. I told them I was the bearer of nineteen words to them."

The " nineteen words" consisted of that number of messages sent by the Governor of New France; and cach message was accompanied by a present. After having re- counted his announcement of the first seven messages, and

delivery of the corresponding presents, Father Le Moine continued : "The eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh pres- ents, to be given to the four Iroquois Nations-a hatchet each-for the new war they were waging against the Cat Nation.§ The twelfth present was to heal the head of the Seneca, who had lost some of his people. The thirteenth, to strengthen his palisades ; to wit: that he may be in a state of defense against the enemy. The fourteenth, to or- nament his face; for it is the custom of warriors here never to go to battle unless with the face painted, some' black, some red, others with various other colors, each hav- ing herein as if particular liveries to which they cling even unto death. . . . Finally, by the nineteenth present, I wiped away the tears of all the young warriors for the death of their great chief Annencraos, a short time prisoner with the Cut Nation. At each present they heaved a powerful ejaculation from the bottom of the chest, in testimony of their joy. I was full two hours making my whole speech, talking like a chief, and walking about like an actor on a stage, as is their custom." From the above it is clearly shown that the war between the Eries and the Iroquois was in full tide in the year 1654; also that it was spoken of as " the new war," by which it appears that hostilities had not then been long in progress.

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History of Cattaraugus County, New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 3

Author: Franklin Ellis and Eugene Arns Nash Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: Franklin Ellis and Eugene Arns Nash
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: