History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches, Part 7

Author: Young, Andrew W. (Andrew White), 1802-1877; Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. fmo; Huntington Free Library. fmo
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Buffalo, N.Y. : Printing House of Matthews & Warren
Number of Pages: 948

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches > Part 7

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There is reason to believe that, while Gen. Irvine was in command at Pittsburgh, an expedition was organized at Fort Niagara for an attack on Fort Pitt ; and that, in 1782, a large party of British and Indians proceeded so far as to actually embark in canoes upon Chautauqua lake, where the

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

expedition was abandoned on account of the supposed strength of Fort Pitt, and was resolved into small war parties, one of which burned Hannastown. The party which burned this place, and which may have constituted a part of the force assembled around Chautauqua lake, consisted of about 60 white refugees and 300 Indians, led by the celebrated Seneca Chief Guzasuttea, sometimes called Kiasola .* Hannastown was situated in Westmoreland county, in Pennsylvania, and was the first place where courts were held west of the Allegany mountains. During the Revolutionary war it was an impor- tant post in Western Pennsylvania. It was entirely destroyed by this party of whites and Indians in July, 1782. A considerable number of people residing in Hannastown and vicinity were either killed or carried prisoners to Canada. After the close of the war the captives were delivered up, and they returned to their homes.t

WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEN. IRVINE.

Col. Irvine was subsequently promoted to the rank of general ; and he afterwards, in the course of a correspondence with Gen. Washington, alludes to this expedition, giving many other interesting particulars respecting Chau- tauqua county, which had before that time been visited by him. Commu- nication between the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio river had been a subject of inquiry with certain distinguished gentlemen; and Gen. Wash- ington, for information upon that subject, addressed a letter to Gen. Irvine, dated January 10, 1788, inquiring of him :- I. As to the face of the country between the sources of canoe navigation of the Cuyahoga, which empties itself into Lake Erie, and the Big Beaver, and between the Cuyahoga and the Muskingum. 2. As to the distance between the waters of the Cuyahoga and each of the two rivers above mentioned. 3. Whether it would be prac- ticable, and not expensive, to cut a canal between the Cuyahoga and either of the above rivers, so as to open a communication between the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio. 4. Whether there is any more direct, practicable and easy communication than these between the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio, by which the fur and peltry of the upper country can be trans- ferred. In answer to this letter, Gen. Irvine replied as follows :

" NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 1788.

"SIR: I have been honored by your letter of the 11th instant. I need not tell you how much pleasure it would give me to answer your queries to your satisfaction ; but I am persuaded that no observation short of an actual survey will enable you to gratify your correspondents abroad (particularly in relation to your third query), with such accuracy as to state anything posi- tively. I will, however, relate to you such facts as have come within my own knowledge, as well as accounts of persons whom I think are to be con- fided in.

" From a place called Mahoning, on the Big Beaver, to the head of the Falls of Cuyahoga, it is about thirty miles. Although the country is hilly,

* Craig's Hist. of Pittsburgh. t Penn. Hist. Coll., title Cumberland Co., 633. # Sparks' Washington's Writings, Vol. IX., 303.

WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH IRVINE.

it is not mountainous. The principal elevation is called Beech Ridge, which is not high, though extensive, being several miles over, with a flat and moist country on the summit, and some places inclining to be marshy. The diffi- culty of traveling is much increased by the beech roots with which the tim- ber is heavily incumbered. The Cuyahoga above the Great Falls is rapid and rocky, and is interrupted by several lesser falls on the branch which heads towards that part of the Big Beaver called the Mahoning. This infor- mation I had from an intelligent person then loading a sloop at the mouth of the Cuyahoga for Detroit. He added, that an old Indian assured him that it was only fifteen miles across from the Mahoning to a navigable creek a few miles east of the Cuyahoga ; that he had employed the Indian to clear a road, and when that was done he intended to explore the country himself. I presume this service was not performed, as this gentleman, man and his horses, were all destroyed, and his store-house burned, by the Indians. Captain Bady, a partisan officer, informed me that the sources of the Big Beaver, Muskingum, and a large deep creek which empties into Lake Erie, fifteen or twenty miles above Cuyahoga, are within a few miles of each other (perhaps four or five), and the country level. Several other persons of cred- ibility and information have assured me that the portage between Muskingum and the waters falling into the lake, in wet seasons, does not exceed fifteen miles ; some say two, but I believe the first-named distance is the safest to credit.

" At Mahoning, and for many miles above and below, I found the course of the Big Beaver to be east and west, from which I conclude this stream to be nearest to the main branch of the Cuyahoga; and on comparing the several accounts, I am led to think that the shortest communication between the waters of Beaver, Muskingum and Lake Erie, will be east and west of Cuyahoga.

"I have also been informed by a gentleman, that the sources of Grand river, and a branch of the Beaver called Shenango, are not twelve miles apart, the country hilly. I know the Shenango to be a boatable stream at its confluence with the Beaver, twenty miles from the Ohio.

" I dropped down the Beaver from Mahoning to the Great Falls (about seven miles from the Ohio) in a canoe, on the first of July, 1784, without the least difficulty. At this season all the western waters are remarkably low ; and although some ripples appear, there is nothing to cause any material obstruction. The falls, at first view, appear impracticable at low water ; indeed, too difficult at any season ; nevertheless, they have been passed at all seasons. I met two men in a flat-bottomed boat a few miles above the falls, who had carried their cargo half a mile on shore, and then warped up their empty boat. They set with poles the rest of the way to Mahoning. The boat carried one and a half tons ; but in some seasons there will be water enough for loads of five tons. Canoes, it is said, have ascended twenty-five miles higher than the Mahoning, which certainly must be near one branch of Muskingum, as it continues in a westerly course; and the most easterly branch of that river, it is agreed by all who have been in that quarter, approaches very near to the waters falling into the lake; all agree, likewise, that the rivers north of the dividing ridge are deep and smooth, the country being level.

" Following the Indian path, which generally keeps in the low ground along the river, the distance from the mouth of the Big Beaver to Mahoning is about fifty miles; which, from the computed distance thence to Cuyahoga,

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

gives eighty miles in all. But I am certain a much better road will be found by keeping along the ground which divides the waters of the Big and Little Beavers.

" But this digression I must beg your pardon for. To your further query I think I shall be able to afford you more satisfaction, as I can point out a more practicable and easy communication, by which the articles of trade you mention can be transported from Lake Erie, than by any other hitherto mentioned route; at least. until canals are cut. This is by a branch of the Allegany, which is navigable by boats of considerable burthen, to within eight miles of Lake Erie. I examined the greater part of the communica- tion myself, and such parts as I did not, was done by persons before and subsequent to my being there, whose accounts can scarce be doubted.

" From Fort Pitt to Venango by land, on the Indian and French path, is computed to be ninety miles; by water it is said to be one-third more. But as you know the country so far, I will forbear giving a more particular account of it ; but proceed to inform you that I set out and traveled by land from Venango, though frequently on the beach or within high-water mark, (the country being in many places impassable for a horse,) to a confluence of a branch of the river called Coniwango, which is about sixty-five miles from French creek. The general course of the Allegany between these two creeks is north-east. The course of the Coniwango is very near due north; it is about - yards wide. It is upwards of -- yards, thirty miles from its confluence with the Allegany at a fork. It is deep and not very rapid. To the Coniwango fork of the Allegany, the navigation is rather better than from Venango to Fort Pitt. I traveled about twenty-five miles a day. Two Indians pushed a loaded canoe, and encamped with me every night. As the Coniwango is crooked, I think it must be forty miles from the Allegany to its forR by water. One of the forks continues in a northern direction about seven miles to a beautiful lake. The lake is noticed on Hutchins' map, by the name of Lake Jadaque. The map is badly executed. It extends, from the best information I could obtain, to within nine miles of Lake Erie ; it is from one to two miles broad, and deep enough for navigation. I was taken sick, which prevented my journey over to Lake Erie.

"The following account I had from a chief of the Seneca tribe, as well as from a white man named Mathews, a Virginian, who says that he was taken prisoner by the Indians at Kanawha, in 1777. He has lived with the Indians since that time. As far as I could judge, he appeared to be well acquainted with this part of the country. I employed him as interpreter. He stated that from the upper end of Jadaqua lake, it is not more than nine miles along the path or road to Lake Erie, and that there was formerly a wagon road between the two lakes.

"The Indian related, that he was about fourteen years old when the French went first to establish a post at Fort Pitt ; that he accompanied an uncle who was a chief warrior, on that occasion, who attended the French ; that the head of Lake Jadaque was the spot where the detachment em- barked; that they fell down to Fort Duquesne without any obstruction, in large canoes, with all the artillery, stores, provisions, etc .* He added that

* The first expedition sent by the French against Fort Pitt, was that commanded by Captain Contrecoeur, in the spring succeeding the cutting out of the Portage road, and which compelled the capitulation of Pittsburgh, in April, 1754, an account of which is in the foregoing pages.

WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH IRVINE.

French creek was made the medium of communication afterwards ; why, he could not tell, but always wondered at it, as he expressed himself, knowing the other to be so much better. The Seneca related many things to corrobo- rate and convince me of its truth. He stated that he was constantly em- ployed by the British during the late war, and had the rank of captain; and that he commanded the party which was defeated on the Allegany by Colonel Broadhead ; that in the year 1782, a detachment composed of 300 British and 500 Indians, was formed, and actually embarked in canoes on Lake Jadaque, with twelve pieces of artillery, with an avowed intention of attack- ing Fort Pitt. This expedition, he says, was laid aside, in consequence of the reported repairs and strength of Fort Pitt, carried by a spy from the neighborhood of the fort. They then contented themselves with the usual mode of warfare, by sending small parties on the frontier, one of which burned Hannastown. I remember very well that, in August, 1782, we picked up at Fort Pitt a number of canoes, which had drifted down the river ; and I received repeated accounts, in June and July, from a Canadian who deserted to me, as well as from some friendly Indians, of this arma- ment ; but I never knew before then where they had assembled .*

" Both Mathews and the Seneca desired to conduct me, as a further proof ot their veracity, to the spot, on the shore of Lake Jadaque, where lies one of the four-pounders left by the French. Major Finley, who has been in that country since I was, informed me that he had seen the gun. Mathews was very desirous that I should explore the east fork of the Coniwango; but my sickness prevented me. His account is, that it is navigable about thirty miles up from the junction of the north and west branch, to a swamp which is about half a mile wide; that on the north side of this swamp a large creek has its source, called "Catterauque " [Cattaraugus], which falls into Lake Erie, forty miles from the foot of this lake; that he has several times been of parties who crossed over, carrying the canoes across the swamps. He added, that the Catterauque watered much the finest country between Buffalo and Presque Isle.

" A letter has been published lately in a Philadelphia newspaper, written by one of the gentlemen employed in running the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania, which fully supports these accounts. As well as I can remember, his words are: 'We pushed up a large branch of the Allegany, called Chataghque (so he spells the name), which is from one half mile to two or three wide, and near twenty long. The country is level, and the land good, to a great extent, on both sides. We ascended the dividing ridge between the two lakes. From this place a most delightful prospect was open before us.' He then dwells on the scene before him and future prospects, not to the present purpose; but concludes by saying that the waters of Lake Erie cannot be brought to the Ohio, as the summit of the dividing ridge is 700 feet higher than Lake Erie. 'We traveled,' he con-

* In 1822, William Bemus, in making an attempt to deepen the channel of the outlet of Chautauqua lake, in that village, discovered a row of piles averaging four inches in diame- ter, and from two and one-half to three and one-half feet in length, driven firmly into the earth across the bed of the stream. Axe marks were plainly visible on each of the four sides of those piles, the wood of which was sound. The tops of these piles were worn smooth, and did not appear, when discovered, to reach above the bed of the stream .- Hon. E. T. Foote. Warren's History of Chautauqua County. Other evidences existed indicating the presence of armed forces within the county anterior to its settlement.

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

tinues, 'along the Indian path to the lake, which is only nine miles, though very crooked. A good wagon road may be made, which will not exceed seven miles, as the hill is not steep.'

"I regret that this detail has been extended to so great a length, for I fear that it will rather weary than afford you satisfaction. Being obliged to blend the information of others, with that which came within my own observation, in some degree renders it unavoidable.

"I have the honor to be, with great respect,

"Your most obedient servant, "WILLIAM IRVINE."

This letter was copied by Dr. William A. Irvine, from the original lent to his father, Callender Irvine, by Judge Washington; and it contains perhaps the first written description extant of Chautauqua lake and outlet. Chau- tauqua lake was then rarely visited, except by the Seneca, who came there to hunt, and to capture the excellent fish, for which it is now so justly cele- brated, and which its pure waters yielded in great abundance. The few white men that wandered as far as its shores, found it a secluded lake, buried in the heart of the wilderness, where the wild fowl gathered unmo- lested, and where the howl of the wolf could be heard nightly among its neighboring hills, and the lonely cry of the loon across its waters. Although the lake was rarely seen by those who could appreciate its beauties, yet it was perhaps then more beautiful than now. In spring, the margin of every inlet and cove, and its whole shore, lay concealed beneath a mass of green foliage, that rolled back in leafy billows on every side, to the summit of the surrounding hills, and which the frosts in autumn changed to those bright and varied hues that belong only to an American forest. Even the rough French and English voyagers that sometimes may have traversed it when it was a deep solitude, could not have beheld, without admiration, its clear waters and beautiful shores.

General Washington answered this letter from General Irvine, as follows :

" MOUNT VERNON, 18th February, 1788.

"SIR : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 27th ult., and to thank you for the information contained in it. As a communication be- tween the waters of Lake Erie and those of Ohio is a matter which promises great public utility, and as every step towards the investigation of it may be considered as promoting the general interest of our country, I need make no apology to you for any trouble that I have given upon the subject.

" I am fully sensible that no account can be sufficiently accurate to hazard any operations upon, without an actual survey. My object in wishing a solu- tion of the queries proposed to you, was, that I might be enabled to return answers, in some degree satisfactory, to several gentlemen of distinction in foreign countries, who have appealed to me for information on the subject, in behalf of others who wish to engage in the fur trade, and at the same time gratify my own curiosity, and assist me in forming a judgment of the prac- ticability of opening communication, should it ever be seriously in con- templation.

"I. Could a channel once be opened to convey the fur and peltry from the lakes into the Eastern country, its advantages would be so obvious as to

WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH IRVINE.

induce an opinion, that it would in a short time become the channel of con- veyance for much the greatest part of the commodities brought from thence.

" 2. The trade which has been carried on between New York and that quarter, is subject to great inconvenience from the length of the communica- tion, number of portages, and, at seasons, from ice ; yet it has, notwithstand- ing, been prosecuted with success.

" I shall feel myself much obliged by any further information that you may find time and inclination to communicate to me on this head. I am, sir, with great esteem, your most obedient, &c.,

" GEORGE WASHINGTON."

General Irvine afterwards wrote to Gen. Washington upon the subject, as follows :

"NEW YORK, Oct. 6th, 1788.

"SIR : I do myself the honor to enclose a sketch of the waters of the Allegany, which approach near to Lake Erie. It is taken from an actual survey made by the persons who ran the line between the states of New York and Pennsylvania. These gentlemen say that the main branch of the Alle- gany falls in Pennsylvania, and that there is only seven or eight miles land carriage between it and the head of a branch of Susquehanna, called Tioga, which is navigable for large boats at most seasons. The navigation of Caniwago, I know, is much preferable to French creek.

" I have the honor to be with the highest respect, sir, your excellency's most obedient and humble servant, WM. IRVINE."

This letter was never before published. It is found bound in a volume of the Washington Papers, and is entered in an index of those papers made by Rev. Jared Sparks. It was probably written to Gen. Washington by the direction of Gen. Irvine. Accompanying this letter was an accurate map of " Chautaugh" lake, and "Canewango river;" also the Chautauqua Creek portage, from Lake Erie to Chautauqua lake, and also the portage to Le Boeuf, and other localities. Washington replied to Gen. Irvine, as follows :

MOUNT VERNON, 3Ist October, 1788.

"DEAR SIR : The letter with which you favored me, dated the 6th instant, enclosing a sketch of waters near the line which separates your state from New York, came duly to hand, for which I offer you my acknowledgments and thanks.

" The extensive inland navigation with which this country abounds, and the easy communication which many of the rivers afford, with the amazing territory to the westward of us, will certainly be productive of infinite advan- tage to the Atlantic states, if the legislatures of those through which they pass have liberality and public spirit enough to improve them. For my part, I wish sincerely that every door to that country may be set wide open, that the commercial intercourse with it may be rendered as free and easy as possible. This, in my judgment, is the best, if not the only cement that can bind those people to us for any length of time, and we shall, I think, be deficient in foresight and wisdom if we neglect the means to effect it. Our interest is so much in unison with the policy of the measure, that nothing but that ill-aimed and misapplied parsimony and contracted way of thinking, which intermingles so much in all our public councils, can counteract it.

" If the Chautauqua lake, at the head of the Connewango river, approx-

HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

imates Lake Erie as nearly as it is laid down in the draft you sent me, it presents a very short portage indeed between the two, and access to all those above the latter. I am, etc., GEORGE WASHINGTON."

It will be seen by this correspondence, that Washington, at that early day, clearly foresaw the great importance of obtaining a ready communication between the waters of the East and the West, which was then required only to transport the few furs and peltries collected by the Indians and trappers in the uncivilized western regions; but which, forty-five years later, was needed to bear a tide of emigration that has constantly since then been pour- ing into the valley of the Mississippi, and to carry back to the East from that fruitful territory surplus products so vast as to require the building of the Erie Canal.

SURVEY OF THE STATE BOUNDARY LINE.

The original boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania extended from the north-west corner of New Jersey, along the center of the Delaware river, to the 42d degree of north latitude, and thence west to Lake Erie. This line gave to the state of Pennsylvania only four or five miles of coast on Lake Erie, and no harbor. Samuel Holland, on the part of New York, and David Rittenhouse, on the part of Pennsylvania, were appointed com- missioners, November 8, 1774, to run this boundary ; and in December of that year they erected a stone monument on the 42d parallel of latitude, upon a small island in the Delaware river, as the north-east corner of the state of Pennsylvania. The severity of the season prevented the further prosecution of the survey that year. The Revolution soon after commenced, and the work was postponed. In 1781, New York released to the general govern- ment the lands to which it had claim, lying west of a meridian extending through the west extremity of Lake Ontario. This line became the western boundary of Chautauqua county ; and these lands constituted the tract since known as the Triangle. They were sold by the government of the United States, in 1792, to the state of Pennsylvania, and gave to that state 202, 180 acres of land, thirty miles of coast on Lake Erie, and an excellent harbor at Erie. The southern boundary of New York was run by David Rittenhouse, Andrew Ellicott and others, commissioners, in 1785, 1786 and 1787. The meridian line which forms the western boundary of our county and state, was run in 1788 and 1789, by Andrew Ellicott, the surveyor-general of the United States. An initial monument was erected by him near the shore of Lake Erie, on which was placed the following inscription : On the east side- " Meridian of the west end of Lake Ontario, state of New York, 18 miles and 525 chains from the northern boundary of Pennsylvania, August 23, 1790." On the west side-" Territory annexed to the state of Pennsylvania. North latitude 42º 16' 32". Variation, 25' west." This monument having been partially destroyed, and what remained of it endangered by the encroach- ments of Lake Erie, it was replaced in pursuance of an act of the legislature, with appropriate ceremonies, September 15, 1869, by a new monument,

INDIAN WARS AND THE CONCLUSION.

placed 440 feet south of the original monument, composed of Quincy granite, two feet wide and about eight inches thick. It has on its east and west faces a copy of the inscription on the corresponding faces of the original monument, and on its north and south faces the following inscription : North face-" 1869, latitude of this state, 42 deg., 15 min., 56 sec. 9 ; longitude, 79 deg., 45 min., 54 sec. 4. Variation, 2 deg. 35 sec. west. South face- " 1869. Erected by the states of New York and Pennsylvania, 440 feet south of a monument now dilapidated, on which were the inscriptions on the east and west faces of this monument." William Evans represented the state of Pennsylvania, and John V. L. Pruyn, George R. Perkins, S. B. Woolworth and George W. Patterson, represented the state of New York.

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