USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 10
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"Nearly opposite the grave of Red Jacket, on the south of the en- trance, was a solitary white stone This marked the grave of "The White Woman,' as she was popularly called, Mary Jemison. " The stone was partly broken and the inscription defaced, for so strange was the story of the ancient sleeper that strangers visiting the place,
1. From the address of Mr. William C. Bryant at the ceremonies attending the final reinterment .of the remains of Red Jacket in the burial lot at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
2. See Seaver's Life of Mary Jemison.
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and wishing to carry away mementoes of their visit had dared to chip off considerable portions of the marble.
"It is a little remarkable that so many of the characters who figured on the stage with her, and took part in the eventful scenes with which she was so familiar. should have been brought into such close proxim- ity to her in the last scene in which they were concerned on earth. Here they lie, side by side; the stern old warrior and his feeble victim might shake hands and exchange greetings.
"No stones marked the graves of these primitive nobles, but while the tribe still resided on the Buffalo Creek Reservation the graves of Red Jacket, Young King, Little Billy, Destroy Town, Twenty Canoes, Two Guns, Captain Pollard, John Snow, Old Whitechief and others were pointed out to the curious traveler."
The matter took somewhat definite form "when Mr. Williani C. Bryant, a member of the Board of Councillors of the Buffalo Historical Society, on September 22d, 1876, visited the Cattaraugus Reserva- tion and laid the matter before the Council of the Seneca Nation, which was then convened there. Chief John Jacket, a grandson of the great orator-pipe in mouth, as became a great Indian Councillor- presided over the assemblage. After a full discussion of the subject, the assembled chiefs by vote gave the project their unqualified ap- proval."
On the 2d day of October, 1879, Messrs. (). H. Marshall and Mr. Bryant, officers of the Society, visited the Reservation, and obtained from their aged custodian, the remains of Red Jacket, which, thereafter and until their final sepulture in Forest Lawn, were deposit- ed, inclosed in a plain pine box, in the vaults of the Western Savings Bank of Buffalo.
The following correspondence between the famous soldier and Indian chief, Gen. Ely S. Parker, who was chief of Staff of General Grant during the war, and wrote out the terms of Lee's capitulation, and Mr. Bryant gives an authoritative account of the vicissitudes of these remains:
No. 300 Mulberry Street, New York, May 8, 1884. W. C. Bryant, Esq., Buffalo, N. Y.
Dear Sir-Yours of the 25th ult. was duly received. I am very much obliged to Mr. Marshall for mentioning to you the circumstance of my having written him on the subject of the re-interment of Red
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Jacket's remains. My principal object was to obtain an assurance of the genuineness of the remains. This I did because I was informed many years ago that Red Jacket's grave had been surreptitiously opened and the bones taken therefrom into the City of Buffalo, where some few Indians, under the leadership of Daniel Two Guns, a Seneca chief, recovered them a few hours after they were taken. . They were never reinterred, but were securely boxed up and secreted, first in one Indian's house and then in another. At length I saw by the papers that they were now lodged in the vault of some bank in Buffalo. I wished only to be satisfied that the remains which the Buffalo Historical So- ciety proposed to re-inter were really those of the celebrated chief Red Jacket. That was all. Whatever views I may have entertained re- specting this scheme, which is not new, is now of no consequence, for your letter advises me that the subject has been fully discussed with the survivors of the families ot the departed chiefs, and also of the Council of the Seneca Nation, who have all assented to the project of re-interment and to the site selected.
I am, with respect, yours, etc. ELY S. PARKER.
Buffalo, June 25, 1884. Gen. Ely S. Parker:
Dear Sir-In 1852, Red Jacket's remains reposed in the old Mission Cemetery at East Buffalo, surrounded by those of Young King, Capt. Pollard, Destroy Town, Little Billy, Mary Jemison, and others, re- nowned in the later history of the Senecas. His grave was marked by a marble slab, erected by the eminent comedian, Henry Placide. but which had been chipped away to half of its original proportions by relic hunters and other vandals. The cemetery was the pasture ground for vagrant cattle and was in a scandalous state of dilapidation and neglect. The legal title to the grounds was and still is in the possession of the Ogden Land Company, although at the time of the last treaty the Indians were led to believe that the cemetery and church grounds were excluded from its operation. At the time mentioned (1852), George Copway, the well known Ojibwa lecturer gave two or more lectures in Buffalo, in the course of which he called attention to Red Jacket's neg- lected grave and agitated the subject of the removal of his dust to a more secure place and the erection of a suitable monument. A prominent business man, the late Wheeler Hotchkiss, who lived adjoining the cemetery, became deeply interested in the project, and he, together with Copway, assisted by an undertaker named Farwell, exhumed the remains and placed them in a new coffin, which was deposited with the bones in the cellar of Hotchkiss' residence.
There were a few Senecas still living on the Buffalo Creek Reservation among them Moses Stevenson, Thomas Jemison, Daniel Two Guns,
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and others. They discovered that the old chief's grave had been violated almost simultaneously with its accomplishment. Stevenson, Two Guns, and a party of excited sympathizers among the whites, hastily gathered together and repaired to Hotchkiss' residence, where they demanded that the remains should be given up to them. The request was complied with and the bones were taken to Cattaraugus and placed in the custody of Ruth Stevenson, the favorite step-daugh- ter of Red Jacket, and a most worthy woman. Ruth was the wife of James Stevenson, brother of Moses. Their father was a cotemporary of Red Jacket and a distinguished chief. She was the sister of Daniel Two Guns.1 Her father, a renowned warrior and chief, fell at the battle of Chippewa, an ally of the United States.
When the demand was made by the excited multitude Hotchkiss manifested considerable perturbation at the menacing attitude of the crowd. He turned to Farwell and, indicating the place of deposit of the remains, requested that. Farwell should descend into the cellar and bring up the coffin or box, which, by the way, was made of red cedar and about four feet in length.
Ruth preserved the remains in her cabin for some years and finally buried them, but resolutely concealed from every living person any knowledge of the place of sepulture. Her husband was then dead and she was a childless, lone widow. As she became advanced in years it grew to be a source of anxiety to her what disposition should finally be made of these sacred relics. She consulted the Rev. Asher Wright and his wife on the subject, and concluded at length to deliver them over to the Buffalo Historical Society, which, with the approval of the Seneca Council, had undertaken to provide a permanent resting place for the bones of the old chief and his compatriots.
I do not believe there is any ground for doubting the identity of the remains, and I think Hotchkiss and his confederates should be ac- quitted of any intention to do wrong. It was an impulsive and ill- advised act on their part. The few articles buried with the body were found intact. The skull is in excellent preservation and is unmistak- ably that of Red Jacket. Eminent surgeons, who have examined it and compared it with the best portraits of Red Jacket, attest to its genuineness
The Rev. Asher Wright was a faithful missionary among the Sene- cas for nearly half a century.
There was no opportunity afforded Hotchkiss and his companions to fraudulently substitute another skeleton, had they been so disposed. I knew Hotchkiss well and have his written statement of the facts.
1. Colonel Doty saw Daniel Two Guns, who was a step son of Red Jacket, on a visit to the Cat- taraugus reservation in ]>60. He said through an interpreter, that just before Red Jacket's death, the latter requested him to take charge of his remains. He was asked where they then were. "That must remain a secret," said Two Guns.
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Farwell, who still lives, and is a very reputable man, says that when the remains were surrendered to the Indians the skull had (as it has now) clinging to it in places a thin crust of plaster of Paris, showing that an attempt had been made to take a cast of it, which probably was arrested by the irruption of Two Guns and his band.
I have dictated the foregoing because on reperusal of your esteemed letter I discovered I had not met the question which was in your mind when you wrote Mr. Marshall, and I greatly fear that I have wearied you by reciting details with which you were already familiar.
The old Mission Cemetery, I grieve to say, has been invaded. by white foreigners, who are burying their dead there with a stolid indif- ference to every sentiment of justice or humanity.
Yours very respectfully, WILLIAM C. BRYANT.
Finally, the 9th day of October, 1884 was the day set apart by the Buffalo Historical Society for the final reinterment of the remains of Red Jacket and the other famous Indian chiefs in the burial lot at Forest Lawn, which had been donated for the purpose by the officers of the cemetery.
The committee on selection of Indian chiefs for interment had made several visits to the old mission cemetery, of which mention has been made, accompanied by Mrs. Wright and by aged Indians who had been long familiar with the locality, some of them related to Red Jacket by ties of blood or marriage. The leading men of the Senecas, before the removal of the tribe from Buffalo Creek Reservation, laid in graves excavated in a small elevated area at or near the center of the ceme- tery. The earth there is a dry loam. The graves were two or more feet deeper than it is the practice now to dig them. They uniformly faced the rising sun. About forty graves in all were opened; few, if any, articles were found with the remains, save an occasional pipe and decayed fragments of blankets, broadcloth tunics, silken sashes and turbans, and beaded leggins and moccasins. But seven of the skele- tons could be positively identified, namely, those of Young King, Destroy Town, Captain Pollard, his wife and his grand-daughter, Tall Peter, and Little Billy, the war chief. Nine others, doubtless the remains of warriors famous in their day, were exhumed. These were all removed to Buffalo, and on the day appointed, the remains of Red Jacket and the warriors named, were conveyed to Forest Lawn, in suitable oak caskets, and there interred with impressive ceremonies.
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On June 22. 1892, a magnificent column, suitably inscribed, sur- mounted by an heroic figure in bronze of Red Jacket, erected by the Buffalo Historical Society, was unveiled on the burial plot, where it will remain an enduring monument to the splendid public spirit of that Society. 1
Cornplanter, Ga-yant-hwah-geh. or Gy-ant-wa-chia,? was the last war chief of the Senecas and of the Iroquois and one of the wisest and best of Seneca notables. As a councillor, indeed, none of his race was better esteemed. Canawaugus, near Avon, had the honor of being his birth- place; in after years he usually resided on the Allegheny river. yet he remained closely identified through life, by consanguinity and other- wise, with the Indians of the Genesee. He claimed that General Washington and he were of the same age. This would make 1732 the year of his birth. He was partly white. The Indian boys early took notice that his skin was more fair than theirs, and he mentioned the matter to his mother, who told him that his father was a white trader named ABeel or O'Bail, who lived near Albany.3 After growing up he sought out his father and made himself known. The father gave him food to eat at his house, but "no provisions on the way home. He gave me neither kettle nor gun, nor did he tell me that the United States were about to rebel against Great Britain," said the much offended half-blood.+ Cornplanter was among the first to adopt the white man's costume, and in latter years, might easily have been
1. I am indebted to Vol. 3 of the Transactions of the Buffalo Historical Society and the Annual Report of the Board of Managers of that Society for 1893 for the account of the removal of the remains of the chiefs and the correspondence relating thereto. [Editor.]
2. Meaning "in, or at the planted held."
3. At the period of the birth of Cornplanter the trade with the Six Nations was chiefly in the hands of the English. Que of their principal traders was John ABeel, generally named O'Bail or O'Beel ; his name is mentioned in the annals of the time on several occasions. At one time it is stated that he made presents of considerable value to the Indians. It was one of the hospitable ens- toms of the people to give their friends a wife. John ABeel had his Indian squaw and Cornplanter was the fruit of the temporary union. Probably his mother was the daughter of an Indian sachem : this is evident from the fact that the best traders were regarded with great favor by the Indians and the cireumstance that three of her sons were recognized as chiefs of the Seneca tribe, namely: Corn- planter, and her younger sons llandsome Lake and Blacksnake, ( Ta-wan-ne-ars ) From Snowden's historieal sketch of Coruplanter, to which the author adds the following note :
"I have recently been informed that John ABeel, the father of Cornplanter, wasa Hollander. The original manner of writing the nume was ABeel. The family now write it Abeet. I regret that the name is inaccurately engraved on the monument erected at lennesadaga."
1. Coruplanter's letter to the Governor of Pennsylvania. in 1822.
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mistaken for a well-to-do farmer. He was of medium height, inclining to corpulency, though late in life he became quite thin in person; was easy in manners and correct in morals. His face was expressive and his eye dark and penetrating. He ranked above Red Jacket as a war- rior and was little inferior to him as an orator. He was at Braddock's defeat, where. Washington, then a colonial major, first distinguished himself. He held the original papers and treaties of the Senecas, which he often carried about with him in a pair of saddle-bags, to silence disputes or to assert the rights of his people. On one occasion Red Jacket was boasting of what he had-said at certain treaties, when Cornplanter quietly added. "Yes, but we told you what to say." He was a man singularly upright in all relations. Horatio Jones said, "Ile was one of the best of men to have on your side, and there you would be sure to find him if he thought yours the right side, but it was deucedly unlucky if he thought you wrong." lle was much older than Red Jacket and looked, with pardonable jealousy. upon that rising young orator.
Cornplanter greatly commended himself to General Washington, who said of him: "The merits of Cornplanter and his friendship for the United States are well known to me and shall not be forgotten." In Recognition of his services in preventing the Six Nations in the State of New York uniting in the confederacy of the western tribes in 1790-91, and thereby sparing the entire western frontier of Pennsyl- vania the bloody realities of war, and rendering the victory of General Wayne in 1794 possible, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania gave him a grant of a very extensive tract of land. in the patent of which it is designated "Planter's Field," and was called Jennisheo, in remem- brance of his former home on the Genesee river. It also erected in 1866 a handsome memorial, at an expense of $1,000, on the sides of which are inscribed the following words: "Gy-ant-ma-chia, the Corn Planter. John ()'Bail alias Corn Planter, died at Corn Planter's Town, February 18, 1836, aged about 100 years. Chief of the Seneca Tribe, and a principal chief of the Six Nations, from the period of the Revolu- tionary war to the time of his death. Distinguished for talents, cour- age, eloquence and love of his race, he dedicated his energies and his means during a long and eventful life. Erected by authority of the State of Pennsylvania, by act of January 25, 1866." His name was acquired from his persistent efforts after he grew to manhood to induce
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the Indians to plant corn, which it is supposed was ingrafted in his youthful mind by his mother; and he prevailed on them not to rely so much on the gun, the forests and the stream for food.
Henry O'Bail, Gas-so-wah-dob,' was a son of Cornplanter and was also born at Canawaugus. He was generally addressed as Major ()'Bail. In person he was portly and fine looking, and his manners were not without polish. He was placed at school in New Jersey by Benjamin Bouton, and graduated at Dartmouth college. lle was somewhat boastful of his courage. In early times, while at the Man- . sion house in Avon, some question arose one day between him and Doctor Ensworth. O'Bail was told that nothing short of a duel would adjust the matter. The ground was paced off, and principals and seconds took their places. Word was given and ()'Bail fired. The Doctor reserved his charge and walking close up to his opponent fired point blank at his heart. ()'Bail, supposing himself shot, fell into the arms of his second, but recovered on learning that the pistols had been loaded with blank charges, a fact of which the Doctor had been duly apprised. While not wanting in honesty, O'Bail's business transactions were not always marked by that scrupulous promptitude so agreeable to early merchants. Colonel Lyman had trusted O'Bail for goods and went down to Canawaugus to remind him that the debt was past due. "Oh, yes," said the Major, "I will pay you at once. Mr. Hosmer
owes me. You know him of course, and I'll go to him and get the
money. " He went, but forgot to return, and, after two or three similar attempts, the debt was carried to loss account. Of his advan- tages of parentage and education the Major did not fully avail himself. He was fond of the Genesee country and was one of the last of the natives to quit this region. He left a son, Solomon O'Bail, who was born about 1800.
Handsome Lake, Ga-nyu'-da-i-yuh,2 the Peace Prophet, was a younger half-brother of Cornplanter, as already stated, both having the same mother; he was born at Canawaugus about 1735. Ile stood high with his people both as a medicine-man and a spiritual guide. Mr. Hors- ford was told of a young Indian girl of Squakie Hill who was cured by him of a dangerous illness. All remedies failing, the friends dis-
1. Meaning "Wampum memorial belt." He was also called Gath-soh-yo-wa.
2. The Indian name means "Brantiful lake." The name of this prophet of modern paganism is sometimes written Ga-ne-v-di-no: also Ga-nu-di-uh-ja-ch.
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patched a runner to the Prophet, with the clothes of the afflicted squaw. lle took them, laid a handful of tobacco upon the fire, and, as it burned, offered an address to the Great Spirit. After a moment's silence he observed, looking at the clothes, "This affliction is a pun- ishment to her for wickedly drowning a nest of young robins, and, a few hours later for repeating the offence. Two young deer must be killed-a yearling buck and yearling doe-the whole of both must be boiled at once and the entire village be called to the feast, and then to dance." Some days were spent in finding the deer, when the direc- tions of the Prophet were complied with, and the girl recovered at once. In person the Prophet was of medium size, of goodly presence and of modest and quiet demeanor. A reference to the Prophet is made in another chapter.
Little Beard, Si-gwa'-ah-doh-gwih,1 resided at the town to which he gave his name. He was noted both as a warrior and councillor, and for great firmness and zeal, and, though not an orator, was a fluent talker. Physically he was a favorable specimen of the Indian chieftain. rather below the medium size, yet straight and firm. In faith a pagan, he always awarded respectful attention to the views of Christian teachers. Border annals show how fierce his nature was, yet, after the Revolution, he proved friendly to the pioneers and was esteemed by them for his good faith. No Indian was better informed, none more sociable than he, and with none could an hour be more profitably spent. He conversed with good sense on the events of the colonial wars and the future of his race, and though it is a fact well established that he not only consented to the death of the scouts, Boyd and Parker, and quite likely suggested the exquisite tortures to which these devoted soldiers were subjected, yet, it must not be forgotten he was chief of the village menaced by Sullivan's army. Moreover, he took these two men in the act of securing information that would enable the American general to march directly to the destruction of his peoples' homes, possibly to put to death any of them who chanced to fall into his hands, facts which serve to mitigate, perhaps, though by no means to excuse, this act of almost unparalleled barbarity. In a drunken quarrel at the old Stimson tavern in Leicester, in 1806, Little Beard was thrown from the outer door, and, falling upon the
1. Meaning "Spear hanging down," compounded of Gah-su-gwaah, spear, and Oh-sach-doh, it hang- down. His name is also written Shigwarentoughkai.
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steps, received an injury from which, as he was advanced in years, he shortly died.1 The great eclipse, which occurred soon after his death, filled the Indians with superstitions fears. The manner of his taking off could not but give him offence, the natives thought, and they imagined he was about to darken the sun, so that their corn could not grow. The hunters assembled and shot arrows and bullets at the obscured luminary, while others screamed, shouted and drummed, until the brightness was fully restored.
Tall Chief, A-wa-nis-ha-dek-hah,2 lived alternately at Squakie Hill and at a group of five huts known as Tall Chief's village, located on Murray Hill, Mt. Morris, near the residence of General Mills. The spring whence he got his supply of water, and called Tall Chief's Spring, is still used to supply the residence of Mr. Swett; this is sit- uated near the site of his lodge. Tall Chief was favored by nature with more than ordinary grace of person. He was very tall, his relatives claiming that he stood not less than six feet six inches high ; from this circumstance he derived his name. Straight as an arrow and quite senatorial in deportment, he was always cool and self-pos- sessed While not in the same class with Red Jacket and Cornplanter as an orator, he is said to have commanded profound attention when he spoke. He talked little and only when he had something of con- sequence to say; his language was always well chosen, and his views exhibited great forbearance and a mild and kindly temper. He was greatly esteemed by the early settlers, and was a chief of much influ- ence among his people. Thomas Jemison said that he closely resem- bled in feature the portraits of Washington. An Indian of his village had killed a companion. Believing that Tall Chiet could aid in secur- ing the guilty man, the authorities at once informed him of the deed, but he did nothing. They at length urged him to act. "Yes," said he, "may be, bime-by, somebody ketch um, kill um, may be, can't say." But he performed better than he promised, and the culprit was duly secured and handed over. Tall Chief's name appears to the Big Tree treaty, and is otherwise associated with the business affairs of his nation. The pioneers recollected him with peculiar interest. His habits some of them at least, showed the freedom of forest birth. Colonel Lyman, having an errand with him one warm day, called at
1. Marshall says he died on the Tonawanda reservation.
2. Meaning "Burning day." Also spelled thus: Ou-nea-shat-at-kau
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his hut. The squaws of his household were found sitting on the ground, enjoying the shade of a great tree. On asking for the chief they pointed to another tree, near at hand, where he was seen lying upon his back quite naked, barring a cloth about the loins. The visitor was graciously received, though the chief did not offer to rise. After the object of the call was effected, he politely invited the Col- onel to remain for a visit. The females exhibited no surprise, though the visitor was inclined to regard the chief's attitude as somewhat odd for a personage of his consequence. Tall Chief dined with Washington on the occasion of a visit of a deputation of bis nation, sent to smoke the peace pipe with the President. After a ceremonious dinner, a big pipe was lighted and Washington tried unsuccessfully to draw the smoke through the long stem. He handed it to Horatio Jones, who succeeded better. The President then took a whitt, and passed the pipe to Tall Chief, to whom he paid marked attention, and then to each in turn. The dignified Seneca was always proud of referring to this occasion. He possessed the secret Indian remedy for the rattle- snake's bite, and was often sent for, far and near, to apply it, and usually with signal success.
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