USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 2
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" 'Brethren-We are in great Fears about this Rum. It may cause murder on both sides.
"' The Cayugas now declare in their own name, that they will not allow any Rum to be brought up their River, and those who do must suffer the Consequences.
" 'We, the Mohawks of both Castles have also one request to make, which is, that the people who are settled round about us, may not be Suffered to sell our People Rum. It keeps them all poor, makes them Idle and Wicked, and if they have any Money or Goods, they lay it all out in Rum. It destroys Virtue and the progress of Religion amongst us. [The lower Castle of the Mohawks has a Chapel and an English Mission- ary belonging to it. ] We have a friendly request to make to the Governor and all the Commissioners here present-that they will help us to Build a Church at Canajoharie, and that we may have a bell in it, which, together with the putting a stop to the Selling of Rum, will tend to make us Religious and lead better lives than we do now.' "
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The English early adopted a plan of purchasing by treaty the territory of the Indians, and as early as 1683, the sachems of the Cayugas and Onondagas, to whom the Susquehanna country belonged, executed an instrument, sealed in the pre- sence of Robert Livingston, conveying said territory to the English government.
These conveyances gave rise to unexpected difficulties ; the white settlers were continually overstepping the prescribed limits of the purchase, and trespassing upon the hunting- grounds of the aborigines. The Indians were continual in their complaint to the authorities having jurisdiction in the matter, and at last to avert an open rupture between the Six Nations and the Colonies, Sir William .Johnson, then Commis- 1*
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sary of Indian Affairs, convened the Six Nations and all the tribes that pretended any claim to the territory in question, at Fort Stanwix.
The result of this convention was the formation of a treaty, or rather an agreement to a separating line between the whites and Indians. This document is one of those relics of our dealings with an injured and almost extinct race of people, and for the curiosity of the reader we insert the instrument in full.
" Deed executed at Fort Stanwix, Nov. 5th, 1768.
" To all to whom these presents shall come or may concern. We, the Sachems and Chiefs of the Six Confederate Nations, and of the Shawanese, Delawares, Mingoes of Ohio, and other dependent Tribes, on behalf of ourselves and of the rest of our several Nations, the Chiefs and Warriors of whom are here now convened, by Sir William Johnson, Baronet, His Majesty's Superintendent of our affairs, send greeting :- Whereas his Majesty was graciously pleased to propose to us, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, that a boundary line should be established between the English and us, to ascertain and establish our limits, and prevent those intrusions and encroachments of which we had so long and loudly complained, and to put a stop to the many fraudulent advantages which had been so often taken of us in land affairs ; which boundary appearing to us a wise and good measure, we did then agree to a part of a line, and promised to settle the whole final, whensoever Sir William Johnson should be fully empowered to treat with us for that purpose. And whereas his said Majesty has at length given Sir William Johnson orders to complete the said boundary line between the Provinces and Indians, in conformity to which orders, Sir William Johnson has convened the Chiefs and Warriors of our
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respective Nations, who are the true and absolute Proprietors of the lands in question, and who are here now to a very con- siderable number. "And whereas many uneasinesses and doubts have arisen amongst us, which have given rise to an apprehen- sion that the line may not be strictly observed on the part of the English, in which case matters may be worse than before ; which apprehension, together with the dependent state of some of our tribes, and other circumstances which retarded the set- tlement and became the subject of some debate, which Sir William Johnson has at length so far satisfied us upon, as to induce us to come to an agreement concerning the line, which is now brought to a conclusion; the whole being fully explained to us in a large assembly of our people before Sir William Johnson, and in the presence of His Excellency, the Governor of New Jersey, the Commissioners from the Provinces of Vir- ginia and Pennsylvania, and sundry other Gentlemen, by which line so agreed upon, a considerable tract of country along several provinces is by us ceded to his said Majesty, which we are induced to and do hereby ratify and confirm to his said Majesty, from the expectation and confidence we place in His Royal Goodness, that he will graciously comply with our humble requests, as the same are expressed in the speech of the several Nations, addressed to His Majesty through Sir William Johnson, on Tuesday, the first of the present month of November, wherein we have declared our expectation of the continuance of his Majesty's favour, and our desire that our ancient engagements be observed, and our affairs attended to by the officer who has the management thereof, enabling him to discharge all these matters properly for our interest. That the lands occupied by the Mohocks around their villages, as well as by any other nation affected by this our cession, may effectually remain. to them and to their posterity; and that any engagements regarding property, which they may now be under, may be prosecuted, and our present grants deemed
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valid on our parts, with the several other humble requests contained in our said speech. And whereas, at the settling of the said Line, it appeared that the Line described by His Majesty's permission, was not extended to the Northward of Oswegy, or to the Southward of the Great Kanhawa river, we have agreed to and continued the Line to the Northward, on a supposition that it was omitted by reason of our not hav- ing come to any determination concerning its course, at the congress held in one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five; and in as much as the Line to the Northward became the most necessary of any, for preventing encroachments at our very Towns and Residences, we have given the Line more favorably to Pennsylvania, for the reasons and considerations mentioned in the Treaty; we have likewise continued it South to Chero- kee River, because the same is and we declare it to be our true Bounds with the Southern Indians, and that we have an undoubted right to the country as far South as that River, which makes the cession to His Majesty much more advan- tageous than that proposed. Now therefore know ye, that we, the Sachems and Chiefs aforementioned, Native Indians or Proprietors of the Lands hereinafter described, for and in behalf of ourselves and the whole of our Confederacy, for the considerations hereinbefore mentioned, and also for and in consideration of a valuable present of the several articles in use amongst Indians, which, together with a large sum of money, amount in the whole to the sum of ten thousand four hundred and sixty pounds seven shillings and three pence sterling, to us now delivered and paid by Sir William John- son, Baronet, His Majesty's sole Agent and Superintendant of Indian Affairs for the Northern Department of America, in the name and on behalf of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ire- land, King, Defender of the Faith, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, we, the said Indians, have for us and
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our heirs and successors, granted, bargained, sold, released and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, release and confirm unto our said Sovereign Lord, King George the Third, all that Tract of Land situate in North America, at the Back of the British Settlements, bounded by a Line which we have now agreed upon and do hereby esta- blish, as the Boundary between us and the British Colonies in America, beginning at the mouth of Cherokee or Hogohege River, where it empties into the River Ohio, and running from thence upwards along the South side of said River to Kittanning, which is above Fort Pitt, from thence by a direct line to the nearest Fork of the West Branch of Susquehanna, thence through the Allegany Mountains along the South side of the said West Branch, until it comes opposite to the mouth of a creek called Tiadaghton, thence across the West Branch along the South side of that Creek, and along the North side of Burnett's Hills to a creek called Awanda, thence down the same to the East Branch of the Susque- hanna, and across the same and up the East side of that River to Oswegy, from thence East to Delaware River, and up that River to opposite where Tianaderha falls into the Susque- hanna, thence to Tianaderha and up the West side of the West Branch to the head thereof, and thence by a direct line to Canada Creek, where it empties into the Wood Creek, at the West of the Carrying Place beyond Fort Stanwix, and extend- ing Eastward from every part of the said Line as far as the Lands formerly purchased, so as to comprehend the whole of the lands between the said Line and the purchased lands or settlements, except what is within the Province of Pennsyl- vania, together with all the hereditaments and appurtenances to the same belonging or appertaining, in the fullest and most ample manner, and all the estate, right, title, interest, pro- perty, possession, benefit, claim and demand, either in law or equity, of each and every of us, of, in, or to the same, or any
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part thereof, To have and to hold the whole lands and premi- ses hereby granted, bargained, sold, released, and confirmed as aforesaid, with the hereditaments and appurtenances there- unto belonging, under the reservations made in the Treaty unto our said Sovereign Lord, King George the Third, his heirs and successors, to and for his and their own proper use and behoof for ever. In witness whereof, we, the Chiefs of the Confederacy, have hereunto set our marks and seals, at Fort Stanwix, the fifth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, in the ninth year of His Majesty's reign.
For the Mohawks.
TYORHANSERE ALS ABRAHAM, [L. S.]
For the Oneidas.
CANAGHAGUIESON, L. S.]
For the Tuscaroras.
SEGUAREESERA, [L. S.] For the Onondagas.
OTSINOGHIYATA ALS BUNT,
[L. s.]
TEGAAIA,
For the Cayugas. [L. s.]
For the Senecas.
GUARTOAX,
[L. s.]
Sealed and delivered and the conside- ration paid in the presence of
WM. FRANKLIN, Governor of New Jersey.
FRE. SMYTH, Chief Justice of New Jersey.
THOMAS WALKER, Commissioner for Virginia.
RICHARD PETERS, } Of the Council of
JAMES TILGHMAN, Pennsylvania."
The territory ceded by this treaty to the English crown, was far more extensive than was then known or supposed. The western line of the present county of Delaware, was the
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exact limits of the treaty-that county being ceded to the English-while Broome and Chenango, still farther westward, remained in possession of the Six Nations or their dependen- cies. The consideration paid for this extensive territory, now so valuable in agricultural and mineral resources, was ten thousand four hundred and sixty pounds sterling, or about fifty thousand six hundred dollars.
The honorable and friendly adjustment of the existing diffi- culties by the Stanwix Treaty, restored the confidence which had been so severely tested by the lawless and inhuman depre- dations which had been of frequent occurrence for a term of years preceding upon the settlers and their property, for in- fringements, whether real or imaginary, upon the territory claimed by the Indians.
About the period of 1770, the tide of emigration may be said to have fairly commenced. The two years of uninter- rupted peace that had preceded, strengthened by the glitter- ing allurements of the future, had succeeded in burying the inclemency and sufferings of the past in oblivion. The hardy settlers, accompanied by their wives and children, together with the rude accoutrements of civilization, were seen pene- trating the wilderness in every direction; and not twenty years elapsed from the time the first settler crossed the North river in the bark canoe, and followed the Indian trail to some desirable location for himself and his family a home-although the scenes of the Revolution are numbered within that period- ere the whole surface of the territory, from the majestic Hud- son to those great inland seas, was dotted by innumerable clearings-the homes of honest, industrious, and daring pio- neers; where, by dint of hard labor and economy, in most instances, they succeeded in obtaining a comfortable support for themselves and families.
The gigantic forests which had flourished in their majesty and grandeur from age to age, now faded away before the
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woodman's axe, as the mist of night vanishes at the first rays of the morning sun, and the earth was made to yield from her bounteous stores to contribute to the sustenance and support of man. The wild beasts, startled by the strange, uncouth " sounds of civilization, or the sharp click and unerring aim of the hunter's rifle, either fell farther back into the forest, or fled precipitately to some unfrequented hiding place among the hills. The Indian, too, chaunted the sad requiem over the sacred mounds that contained the ashes of his parents- the sepulchre of his tribe-had sped the last arrow upon his favorite hunting ground, where his unerring aim had often brought the timid deer to kiss the dust, and retreating west- ward, "pauses his steps upon the verge of the distant emi- nence," to supplicate the Great Spirit, and to behold once more and for the last time, the glorious sun-set upon the broad valley, the bright home of his youth ; and for ages past the favorite hunting-ground of his tribe.
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CHAPTER II.
Indian Character-Suppositions of the origin of the Race-Enume- ration of the Six Nations, who formerly owned a large portion of the State-Their union in cases of emergency-Date of the admis- sion of the Tuscaroras into the Confederacy-Power and influence of the Iroquois-Success in battle-Agriculture prosecuted to some extent-Love of war-Torture of their victims-Weapons of war- fare-Introduction of fire-arms among the Indians-First settlement at Albany-Estimate of the number of Indians east of the Mississippi at that period-Number of distinct languages-Enumeration of the different Tribes-English Settlements in 1664-Conquest of New Netherlands by the English-Its capture-Dutch again obtain pos- session of it-Its final restoration to the English the following year- English conciliate the favor of the Indians by presents-Early Missionaries among the Indians-Information derived of the Indians respecting the Susquehanna Country-Indians desire the English tc establish trading posts on the Susquehanna-Jealousies of New York in relation to Penn's trading with the Indians-Final adjustment of the difficulty.
" Swift flee the dark forms on the wings of the wind, Nor leave at their castles one soul of their kind."
THERE is something peculiarly interesting-I may say fas- cinating-in the contemplation of Indian character, to every lover of history. The only written record of the sayings and doings of the red men, is that delineated by his inveterate enemies, the white men ; but notwithstanding, the brave, gene- rous, and noble characteristics of his race, still shine forth in their unassuming dignity. There is a mystery, an unsolved problem, beneath whose vortex lie concealed the past history and future destiny of his race. The data of his origin is yet- if indeed it ever is to be solved-a mystery. We can trace
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him back definitely but to a comparatively recent period, and tradition with her fabulous tongue goes not much farther. The most probable hypothesis is, that the Aborigines came over by Behring's Straits, and gradually spreading eastward and southward, until in the lapse of ages they had peopled the whole western hemisphere. Their aggregate numbers cannot definitely be known, as no census has been taken, and there are doubtless many tribes inhabiting the unexplored interior of the Great West, of whose numbers we can form no idea. In North America, at the outbreak of the Revolution, they are estimated to have exceeded three millions. Since that period they have been rapidly decreasing; many powerful tribes have become extinct, while but scanty remnants of others remain. In our own State, but a few hundred souls are left, who are provided for by the State government. They are principally descendants of the Six Nations, but constitute but a meagre representative of the courage, fortitude, and prowess, which has so characterized their ancestors. And the historian, whose duty it is to view with impartial and candid judgment the acts and actors of the past, cannot do less than to pay a passing tribute to the native Indian.
At the time the Dutch landed at Albany, in 1620, New York was possessed by Five Confederate Nations, or tribes, and their dependents. Their names were the Mohawks, who occupied the country westward from Albany, and south of the Mohawk river to the German Flatts, a distance of ninety miles; the Oneidas, still farther westward, through whose ter- ritory ran the division line of 1768, referred to in the previous chapter; the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas, whose territory lay still farther to the west and south. Although distinct and powerful tribes, and who acted separately in mat- ters pertaining only to themselves, yet, in cases of emergency, a confederacy or congress of the chiefs and braves of each respective nation assembled around the common council fire,
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where the great question was debated in a committee of the whole, and where they listened to, and waxed patriotic, from the harangues of their untutored but truly eloquent brethren. It was this council that declared war and ratified peace.
This confederacy carried terror to all the surrounding nations, none of whom could compete with them in battle, or equal them in fortitude and courage. In the arts, too, they far outstripped their tawny brethren. They did not live entirely by hunting and fishing, but paid a good deal of attention to agriculture. They cultivated patches of Indian corn in the most fertile districts of their territory. Grapes grew in abundance along many of the principal rivers, and hoary apple trees may now be seen in many parts of the State, from whose boughs the Indian, when in the zenith of his power, plucked its choicest fruit to regale his own appetite or that of his simple, confiding sweetheart.
The Indian nature is peculiarly susceptible of excitement- the giddy war-dance and the battle-field are to him theatres of fascination ; he seeks rather than avoids them. He takes delight in inflicting torture, and in the excruciating pains of his captives; he makes it his study to inflict. the greatest amount of pain before death ensues-the stake, with its slow fire-skinning alive-scalping-and the gauntlet, are all fami- liar modes of punishment.
Their weapons of defence are the bow and arrow, the war club and the scalping knife. In the use of these messengers of death they are well skilled. With the simple bow and arrow, the wily Indian easily captures the shyest animal of the forest-the faithful arrow speeds with unerring aim, and leaves no report or volume of smoke behind to reveal his hiding-place. In this way he often captures a number of animals, whereas the report of a rifle would give a timely warning, and the otherwise easy prey would make good their. escape. -
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The use of firearms was unknown to the Aborigines. The simple weapons I have described had been their armory for ages. The rifle, therefore, was to him a source of inexplicable mystery and awe-the quick flash-the lightning speed it gave the leaden ball, and the shrill report and smoke that fol- lowed, were unsolved problems in his mind. To the celebrated navigator, Samuel Champlain, is the introduction of fire-arms among the Indians accredited. In 1608, Champlain founded a settlement of French upon the present site of the city of Quebec, in Eastern Canada. At that period a fierce and bloody war was raging between the Algonquins, the Mon- tagues, together with the Hurons in alliance, against their powerful enemy, the Iroquois nation. Impelled by his restless spirit, Champlain, in an unlucky moment, joined these tribes against the Iroquois. He furnished the Algonquins with arms and the munitions of war, and it is even asserted that he headed the beleagued force and mingled in the hottest of the fight. A change now came over the tide of battle, and the Iroquois heretofore uniformly victorious, were now defeated in numerous pitched battles. The booming musketry and the thundering cannon sent their showers of iron hail into their ranks with terrible devastation and death, and disheartened and dismayed, they were obliged to evacuate the ground they had so lately won.
About this time a settlement was made at Albany, on the Hudson, and trading houses were erected to open communi- cation with the Indians. The vanquished Iroquois seized this opportunity with avidity, and bringing their choicest furs, exchanged them for fire-arms and other munitions of war. The contest was now renewed upon equal footing, and the Five Nations soon regained their former ascendancy ; and not content with the chastisement they had inflicted upon their · combined foes, they turned now to deal out the measure of their revenge upon the French settlements, whose inhabitants
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and governor had been so instrumental in their reverses four years before. They continued to harass the French settle- ments, and held the bloody tomahawk extended over Quebec for a period of nearly a hundred years.
The number of Indians east of the Mississippi, although, as we before remarked, not definitely known, are not supposed to have exceeded two hundred thousand at the time the first settlements were effected by the whites upon their shores, and although the various historians have attributed to them a vast number of dialects, yet radically distinct, there are only eight. The Algonquin, which was the language of a vast number of tribes, was spoken in variated forms from the Carolinas on the south to the St. Lawrence on the north. They are thus enu- merated by the antiquarian :
The Micmacs, who inhabited Nova Scotia, and a few adjoining islands, and who lived principally by fishing, in Newfoundland.
The Abenakis, who inhabited the upper counties of the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin rivers, in Maine.
The Echemins, who had by numerous conquests possessed themselves of the whole Atlantic coast, from Passamaquoddy bay to the mouth of the Kennebec river. They were particu- larly fond of sailing and other aquatic sports; from which characteristic the neighbouring tribes gave them the appella- tion of Canoe-men.
The Sokokis lay still farther south, principally in the valley of the Saco. Adjoining them on the south and west, were the Pawtuckets, who included within their territory the river Merrimac and most of its tributaries.
The Massachusetts occupied the territory around the bay of the same name. 'South of them lay the Pokanokets, a branch of which tribe dwelt on the island of Martha's Vineyard ; they also occupied Bristol county, in Rhode Island.
The Naraghansetts occupied the part of Rhode Island west 2*
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of Naraghansett bay, Rhode Island, and a number of smaller islands in the vicinity. The Naraghansetts surpassed in civili- zation any of the neighbouring tribes.
The Pequods inhabited the eastern part of Connecticut, and acted in conjunction with the Indians on the eastern extremity of Long Island.
The Mohegans, or Mohicans, held their council fires in the valley of the Connecticut and upon the banks of the Hudson.
The Scatacooks, or Manhattans, occupied the interior terri- tory between those rivers. They were also scattered among the Mohicans.
The Lenni Lennape, occupied the greater portion of New Jersey, and in the valleys of the Delaware and Schuylkill. They are subdivided into the Minsi and the Delawares, and constituted a dependency of the Six Nations.
The Nanticokes inhabited the territory around the Delaware and Chesapeake bays.
The Acomacs lived on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, adjoining the Nanticokes. Some writers have given this tribe a place in the Powhattan Confederacy.
The Powhattan Confederacy, comprising more than thirty different tribes, occupied the entire lowlands of Virginia, a territory of over 800 square miles .*
The Monahoacks and the Monacons occupied the territory west of the Powhattan Confederacy, and together numbered as many as fifteen different tribes.
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