USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 10
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Count de Frontenac was pierced to the heart by his inability to revenge these terrible incursions of the Five Nations. His desperation drove him to the commission of an act which must have been as revolting to him in his normal condition, as it was barbarous. He condemned two Iroquois prisoners to be burned publicly alive, and would not be dis- suaded from executing the sentence. One of them, however, killed himself with a knife which was thrown into his prison by "some charitable person.'
June 6, 1792, the Iroquois entered into a formal treaty of alliance and friendship with Major Rich- ard Ingoldsby, who assumed the Gubernatorial office of New York on the death of Colonel Henry Sloughter, July 23, 1691. The speech of Cheda, an Oneida sachem, on that occasion, is a rare piece of pathetic eloquence.
The French colonists having been obliged to re- main so long on the defensive, were becoming des- pondent, so that Count Frontenac felt it imperative to undertake some bold enterprise to restore con- fidence. He therefore planned an expedition against the Mohawks, and as it was necessary to surprise them, it was undertaken in the winter, when it would be least expected. Jan. 15, 1693, a force of six hundred to seven hundred French and Indians, under command of three captains of the regulars, started with snow-shoes from la Prairie de Magdaleine, and after a long and perilous march through the forests, surprised and captured three of the Mohawks' castles, in only the latter and largest of which did they meet with any resistance. They returned with about three hundred prisoners, and though pursued by a party of Albany militia and Mohawks to the number of about five hun- dred, hastily gathered and commanded by Major Peter Schuyler, and reduced to such extremity for
want of food that they eat their shoes, they escaped with the loss of eighty men killed and thirty-three wounded. This successful raid greatly alarmed the English settlers and dispirited the Iroquois, who saw that surprises could be made by their enemies as well as themselves. The latter were now more inclined to listen to the French proposals of peace, and having been the greater sufferers by the war, were quite anxious that it should cease.
The years 1693-4 were spent in efforts to nego- tiate a peace between the French and Iroquois, which the English endeavored to prevent. The three intermediate nations, influenced by the Jesuit priests, were more inclined thereto, than the Sene- cas and Mohawks. The Senecas held the French in abhorrence, and were not so much influenced by the Jesuits; while the Mohawks were the near neighbors of the English, and much influenced by them in favor of continuing the war, although they had been the greatest sufferers from it.
These negotiations failed and Governor de Fron- tenac now resolved to coerce them to submission, to that end made arrangements to attack the Mo- hawks with the whole force of Canada. But learn- ing that the Mohawks had been advised of his in- tention by an escaped prisoner, and the prepara- tions that had been made to repel him, he changed his plan, and instead sent three hundred men to the neck of land between lakes Erie and Cadara- qui, the usual hunting place of the Iroquois, hoping to surprise them while carelessly hunting, and at the same time to observe the condition of Fort Cadaraqui, which was found to be better than was expected. In the summer of 1695, he sent a strong force to repair and garrison the fort, which then took his name. This fort was of great advantage to the French from its proximity to the beaver hunting grounds of the Iroquois, thus enabling the garrison to make incursions on them when so en- gaged. It was also important to the French trade with the western Indians, as a place of deposit for supplies ; and not less so as a place of refuge in time of war with the Iroquois. The French also succeeded in putting a stop to the peace negotia- tions then progressing between the Iroquois and Dionondadies ; but in order to accomplish that end perpetrated an act of cruelty, which, for fiend- ishness, parallels anything in the annals of Indian horrors. But notwithstanding the French oppo- sition a treaty was concluded covertly soon after.
The treaty of Ryswick, while it established peace between the English and French, left unsettled a question with regard to the Iroquois. The French,
48
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
while they insisted on including their own Indian allies in the terms, were unwilling to include the froquois, and made preparations to attack the lat- ter with the whole force of Canada ; but the Eng- lish as strenuously insisted on extending the terms of the treaty to their allies, and Earl Bellmont notified Count de Frontenac that he would resist an attack on the Iroquois with the whole force of his government if necessary. This put an end to French threats, and the question of sovereignty over that nation was relegated to commissioners to be appointed pursuant to the treaty. But the ques- tion arose in another form, with regard to the ex- change of prisoners. The French insisted on ne- gotiating with the Iroquois ; but the English refused to yield even by implication, the right of sover- eignty which they claimed, and demanded that the exchange be made through them. The Iroquois refused to negotiate independently of the English, and thus the French were obliged to yield the point .*
Peace, such as had not fallen upon the wilder- ness of the New World since the Europeans added their conflicting interests to the field of savage con- tests, prevailed at the opening of the eighteenth century ; for not only had the Europeans and their allies ceased to war, but the Indians themselves had buried the hatchet. It was of short duration, however; for with the succession of Anne to the English throne, on the death of King William in March, 1702, the war of the Spanish succession, or Queen Anne's war, was inaugurated and con- tinued till the treaty of Utrecht, April 11, 1713. Although New England was ravaged with ruthless hand, New York scarcely knew its existence ; not- withstanding the Province was put in a condition for defense.
Not until after the treaty of Utrecht did the set- tlements in New York make much progress, owing to the massacres that in King William's war were committed by the French and their Indian allies on the outskirts of the settlements. At its con- clusion, or soon after, settlements in the Mohawk were begun. By that treaty the French engaged not to attack the Five Nations, who were acknowl- edged to be the subjects of Great Britain, and a free trade with them was guaranteed to both Eng- land and France.
The Iroquois, being thus debarred from continu- ing their predatory raids on the northern and western Indians, extended their conquests in the South,
and chastised their old enemies, the Flatheads, liv- ing in Carolina. While on this expedition they adopted into their confederacy the Tuscaroras, of North Carolina, one of the most powerful Indian nations of the South, who, in resisting the encroach- ments of the proprietaries of Carolina, who assigned their lands to the German Palatines, were almost destroyed in their fort on the River Taw, March 26, 1713, having lost eight hundred in prisoners, who were sold as slaves to the allies of the English. They became the sixth nation of the Iroquois con- federacy, which was afterwards denominated by the English, the Six Nations. They were assigned ter- ritory in the country of and in close proximity to the Oneidas.
From 1774 to 1748, the French and English were again at war, which was concluded by the treaty of Aix-la-chapelle, April 30th, 1748, which virtually renewed the treaty of Utrecht.
The treaty of Aix-la-chapelle was very imperfect, as it left unsettled many important questions which must sooner or later demand adjustment. The contest was renewed in 1755. The French, imme- diately after the cessation of hostilities, had entered upon the vigorous prosecution of a policy inaug- urated by them as early as 1731, of connecting the St. Lawrence with the Gulf of Mexico by a chain of forts, and by the end of 1753, had a connected line of forts from Montreal to French Creek in Pennsylvania. The completion of the fort on French Creek provoked the resentment of Virginia, and a force was sent out by that colony under Major George Washington, with instructions "to make prisoners, kill or destroy all who interrupted the English settlements" in the invaded territory. The success was only temporary, for Washington was soon compelled to capitulate within the feeble breastworks of Fort Necessity.
The English colonies were wholly unprepared for the vigorous onslaught with which the French followed the overt act of Virginia; and being divi- ded in their counsels - lacking centralization-it required some time to collect themselves and to interpose an effectual resistance. Among the ear- liest measures concerted were four expeditions planned by General Edward Bullock, the first to effect the complete reduction of Nova Scotia, the second to recover the Ohio Valley, the third to expel the French from Fort Niagara and form a junction with the expedition to the Ohio, and the fourth to capture Crown Point. The latter was entrusted to Col. Johnson, who was to have the militia of New York, Massachusetts and Connec-
. This question was not fully settled till the treaty of Utrecht, April 11, 1713, by which the French surrendered all claims to the Five Nations who were acknowledged to be subjects of Great Britain.
49
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE "PROPERTY LINE."
ticut and the warriors of the Six Nations. He con- vened the latter in council at Mount Johnson on the 2 ist of June, 1754, hoping to induce them to join the expedition; but with all the art he was master of, he could obtain little else than excuses. Hendrick and his Mohawks, with here and there a warrior from the other nations, to the number of fifty, left Albany with him on the eighth of August. At the "carrying place" some two hundred war- riors joined him, giving him, with the militia, a force of about thirty-five hundred men. The French, marching in about equal force to Oswego, were called back and sent, under Baron Dieskau, to the defense of Crown Point. Leaving the larger portion of his forces at that fort, Dieskau pushed on to attack Fort Edward, cut off Johnson's retreat. and annihilate his army. Misled by his guides, he found himself on the road to Lake George, and only four miles distant from Johnson's encamp- ment at Ticonderoga. Leaving his position, John- son detached one thousand men and two hundred Indians to bring on an engagement. The oppos- ing forces met on the 8th of September. Finding the French too powerful, the English fell back to Ticonderoga ; the French pursued and resumed the battle under the walls of Johnson's position. After a severe engagement of four hours the French re- treated. 'The losses on both sides were heavy, that of the English being one hundred and fifty- eight killed, including King Hendrick and thirty- eight of his warriors, ninety-two wounded and sixty- two missing ; while that of the French was between three and four hundred. Johnson was wounded slightly, and Dieskau mortally. The French retreat was unmolested ; Crown Point was not reduced .*
For the most part the remainder of the war was a prolonged and sanguinary contest with the savage allies of the French, which brought the war to the doors of the colonists and gave them ample work to defend their homes. The border settlements of Pennsylvania were especially afflicted by this deso- lating scourge.
The war, which for many years threatened dis- aster to the English, finally resulted in their favor, and was concluded between the English and French, by the treaty of Paris, in 1763, leaving England in possession of Canada and the territory west of the Mississippi. It was continued, however, with un- abated fury two years longer by the Indians under Pontiac, king of the Ottawas, who in the summer of 1762, formed a league to drive the English from the country.
Following the cessation of hostilities, territorial disputes arose between the various Indian tribes and the colonies, to adjust which, Colonel John- son, in 1765, proposed the establishment of a line which should be recognized alike by the Indians and the English as a boundary beyond which neither should pass. To this the Indians assented; but its execution was delayed till the irritation of the Indians under the aggressions of European immi- gration, became threatening and alarming. The Senecas, smarting under these aggressions, and the humiliating treaty they had been forced to make, said by a large belt to the Lenapes and Shawanoes in 1768: " Brethren, these lands are yours as well as ours ; God gave them to us to live upon, and be- fore the white people shall have them for nothing, we will sprinkle the leaves with blood, or die every man in the attempt." Finding that the matter could not longer be safely delayed, a conference was called at Fort Stanwix, and the treaty by which the boundary line was established was concluded Nov. 5, 1768. This line, which was long known as the " Property Line," is indicated on a map accompanying the treaty. This treaty was ratified by Sir William Johnson in July, 1770.
But this action did not long suffice to preserve inviolate the Indian territory. The influx of new settlers and the avarice of traders led to encroach- ments which soon provoked complaints and gave rise to apprehension on account of the Senecas. At a Congress of the Six Nations at Johnson Hall, in June and July, 1774, a Seneca orator complained that the whites and traders encroached upon their territory, followed their people to their hunting grounds with goods and liquor, "when," he said, " they not only impose on us at pleasure, but by the means of carrying these articles to our scattered people. obstruct our endeavors to collect them." " We are sorry," he added, "to observe to you that your people are as ungovernable, or rather more so, than ours."
The continued and alarming encroachments on the Indian domain prepared the way for the hostil- ity which characterized the action not only of the Iroquois, but also the western Indians, against the colonists during the war of the Revolution, which soon followed. The Indians had adopted a settled and well-understood policy, involving resistance to further encroachments ; and the Iroquois, who had hitherto preserved a uniform friendship towards the colonists, now, with the exception of the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and possibly a few others, opposed them. Eighteen hundred of their warriors allied
· Ruttenber.
50
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
themselves with the British,* and only two hundred and twenty, with the colonists. The atrocities of of the former under the leadership of the redoubt- able Brant, will long be remembered by both New York and Pennsylvania.
The long list of Indian and tory atrocities on the border settlements of New York and Pennsyl- vania, including the terrible massacres of Wyom- ing, Cherry Valley and Minnisink, determined the action of Congress in projecting the successful ex- pedition of General Sullivan in 1779-an expedi- tion of paramount importance in its bearing on the subsequent settlements in Central and Western New York-and directed especially against the country of the Senecas, which the tories and their allies made a place of rendezvous, and from which issued forth many a band of stealthy, prowling sav- ages, and not less vindictive tories, to visit death and destruction upon the outlying settlements of the colonies.
Appeal after appeal went up from the exposed and desolated homes on the frontier, and though they reached the ears of Congress, that body was too deeply engrossed with other duties and its re- sources too heavily taxed to render the needed succor. They did not, however, fail to receive the attention and serious consideration of those guardi- ans of the nation's weal, though the censure with which some authors have visited them and the accusation ef culpable dilatoriness may not be en- tirely unmerited. It is fair to presume that they, in common with the general public, were lulled into a partial sense of security by the anticipated aid from French alliance. Not so, however, with the ever vigilant Washington, who had busied himself with plans to put an end to this desolating warfare- plans which he lacked the means to execute. The general inactivity which, in 1779, supervened the unconsummated military projects, owing to the failure of expected French aid the previous season, seemed to offer a favorable opportunity to strike a decisive blow against these border depredators-a measure which was made more imperative by the horrible massacre of Wyoming the previous sum- mer, in which Queen Esther, a Seneca half-breed, distinguished herself by the conspicuous part she took in those frightful orgies.t Washington urged
* Ruttenber says there were not more than eight hundred engaged at any time. Clinton says there were 1, 580.
t Catharin: Montour, the Queen Esther of the Senecas, was a half- breed, a native of Canada, and a putative daughter of one of the French Governors, "probably," says Lossing, "of Frontenac." Iler superior mind gave her great ascendancy over the Senecas, among whom she was indeed a Queen. At Wyoming she "assumed the office of executioner, and, using a maul and tomahawk, passed around the ring of prisoners. who had been arranged at her bidding, deliberately chanted the song of death and murdered her victims to its cadences in consecutive order. "- Lossing and Ruttenber.
its importance on the attention of Congress, and on the 25th of February, 1779, was directed by that body to protect the inland frontier and chas- tise the Senecas, thus seconding the efforts which the New York governor had put forth.
Having determined upon the expedition, Wash- ington tendered its command to General Gates, who declined the service "in a letter by no means creditable to himself or courteous to his superior."* It was finally entrusted to Major-General John Sullivan, who was instructed on the 31st of May to assemble the main body of his army at Wyom- ing, then recently devastated by Brant and Butler, t and proceeded thence to Tioga and onward into the heart of the Indian settlements. "The mode of fighting," says Hamilton, "was such as Wash- ington's early experience would suggest 'to make rather than receive attacks, attended with as much impetuosity, shouting and noise as possible, and to make the troops act in as loose and dispersed a way as is consistent with a proper degree of gov- ernnient, concert and mutual support. It shall be previously impressed upon the minds of the men, whenever they have an opportunity, to rush on with the war whoop and fixed bayonet. Nothing will disconcert and terrify the Indians more than this.'"# "The immediate objects of the expedition were set forth at large: they were, the total devas- tation and destruction of the settlements of the Six Nations, as well as of their adherents and asso- ciates, and the capture of as many prisoners as possible of every age and sex."s The country was not merely to be over-run. but destroyed ; and he was not to listen to any proposals of peace until this was thoroughly done.
General Sullivan's army consisted of three divi- sions: one from New Jersey, under command of Brigadier-General William Maxwell; another from New England, under command of Brigadier-Gen- eral Edward Hand ; and the third from New York, under command of Brigadier-General James Clin- ton. The New Jersey and New England divisions marched from Elizabeth, N. J., via Easton, to Wyoming, where General Sullivan awaited the re- ceipt of supplies for his army, which were not only poor in quality, but insufficient in quantity, so that, on his arrival at Wyoming, he was constrained to write, "of the salted meat on hand, there was " American Biography, New Series, Sparks, 111. 127.
t Hamilton's History of the Republic of the United States, 1, 543, 544. Col. Wm. L. Stone says it is doubtful whether Brant was at any time in company with this expedition, and certain that when the battle occurred he was many miles distant. - Life of Joseph Brant, [., 338.
# Hamilton's History of the Republic of the U'united States, I., 543, 344. § American Biography, New Series, Sparks, 111., 127.
5 1
SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION.
not a single pound fit to be eaten." A delay of several weeks was occasioned, says Dr. Gordon, "through the villainy or carelessness of the commis- saries." Sullivan has been widely censured for his extravagant requisitions on the board of war, and the tardiness in supplying them provoked from him unequivocal complaints, which subjected him to the retaliatory strictures of that body, and, whether justly so or not, to a general feeling of dissatisfac- tion .*
Washington became impatient, fearing the delay and the publicity it gave would imperil the success of the movement. He had repeatedly enjoined Sullivan to "move as light as possible, even from the first onset," adding, " should time be lost in transporting the troops and stores, the provisions will be consumed, and the whole enterprise may be defeated. Reject every article that can be dis- pensed with ; this is an extraordinary case, and re- quires extraordinary attention."t
While General Sullivan was wrestling with these embarrassments, Col. Van Schaick, with six hun- dred men from Fort Schuyler, on the 2 1st of April, 1779, surprised the Onondagas, destroyed their vil- lage, provisions and munitions of war, killing twelve and taking thirty or forty prisoners, and returned within three days without the loss of a man.
Having at length completed his arrangements General Sullivan left Wyoming on the 31st of July, and moved his army, consisting of thirty-five hun- dred men, up the east side of the Susquehanna. In transporting the baggage and stores, one hun- dred and twenty boats and two thousand horses were employed. The boats were propelled up the stream by soldiers with setting poles, and were guarded by troops. The provisions for the daily subsistence of the troops were carried by horses, which threaded the narrow path in single file, and formed a line about six miles in length. They ar-
* Says Bancroft, who sharply criticises his conduct during the entire ex- pedition, he "made insatiable demands on the Government of Pennsyl- vania," and "while he was wasting time in finding fault, writing strange theological essays, the British and Indian partisans near Fort Schuyler surprised and captured 29 mowers. Savages under Macdonell laid waste the country on the west bank of the Susquehanna, till the Indians, by his own report, * were glutted with plunder, prisoners and scalps.' Thirty miles of a closely settled country were burned. Brant and his crew con- sumed with fire all the settlement of Minnisink, one fort excepted. Over a party of a hundred and fifty men, by whom they were pursued, they gained the advantage, taking more than forty scalps and one prisoner." -History of the United States, X., 230-232.
t Bancroft's History of the United States, A., 230-232.
# Many of the horses furnished for the expedition were quite unservice- able, and some fifty were shot in the locality of Horseheads, being un- able to proceed further. The heads of these abandoned horses were after- wards gathered by the Indians and placed beside the route of the army- a circumstance from which the village of Horseheads derives its name. Many of the cattle furnished Sullivan were in even worse condition ; some, it is said, being unable to walk, while others could not even stand.
rived at Tioga Point on the 11th of August. The Indians had collected in considerable numbers at Athens, but on the arrival of the army, awed and dismayed by its formidable appearance, they yield- ed their stronghold with only a few inconsiderable skirmishes. The following day a detachment was sent forward to Chemung, twelve miles distant, and after dispersing a body of Indians, with the loss of seven of their number, destroved the village, and rejoined the army the next day. Here a fort was built and named in honor of the commander of the expedition, and here the army awaited the arrival of the forces under General Clinton.
General Clinton collected his forces at Canajo- harie. He endeavored to induce the Oneidas and Tuscaroras to join the expedition ; and his efforts would doubtless have proved successful, as he at first supposed they were, but for an address, written in the Iroquois language, and sent them by Gen- eral Haldimand, then Governor of Canada, which discouraged all but a few Oneidas from sharing in it. Bateaux to the number of two hundred and twenty, which had been constructed the previous winter and spring at Schenectady, were taken up the Mo- hawk to the place of rendezvous, and from thence transported by land to Otsego Lake, a distance of twenty miles. Each bateau was of such size that in its transit from the river to the lake, four strong horses were required to draw it, and, when placed in the water, was capable of holding from ten to twelve soldiers.
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