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 3
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The dismayed warriors cautiously returned to view the dismal scene. The bird was covered with beautiful plumage of snowy white, and each warrior plucked therefrom a plume to adorn his crown. From this incident the Iroquois braves forever af- ter made use of the plumes of the white heron, as their most appropriate martial decoration.
Hiawatha was disconsolate. He prostrated him- self with his face upon the ground and gave himself up to the most poignant grief for three days and nights, refusing to be consoled. His grief was shared by the whole assembly, who sincerely mourned his great and sudden bereavement.
At length he regained his composure and took his seat in the council, whose deliberations were participated in by the ablest counselors of the as- sembled nations. At the conclusion of the debate, Hiawatha, desiring that nothing should be done hastily and inconsiderately, proposed that the coun- cil be postponed one day, so that they might weigh
well the words which had been spoken, when he promised to communicate his plan for considera- tion, assuring them of his confidence in its success. The following day the council again assembled and amid breathless silence the sage counselor thus ad- ‹Iressed them :-
" Friends and Brothers :- You are members of many tribes and nations. You have come here, many of you, a great distance from your homes. We have convened for one common purpose. to promote one common interest, and that is to pro- vide for our mutual safety, and how it shall best be accomplished. To oppose these hordes of north- ern foes by tribes, singly and alone, would prove our certain destruction ; we can make no progress in that way ; we must unite ourselves into one com- mon band of brothers. Our warriors united, would surely repel these rude invaders and drive them from our borders. This must be done and we shall be safe.
"You, the Mohawks, sitting under the shadow of the 'great tree,' whose roots sink deep into the earth, and whose branches spread over a vast coun- try, shall be the first nation, because you are war- like and mighty.
"And you, Oneidas, a people who recline your bodies against the 'everlasting stone' that cannot be moved, shall be the second nation, because you give wise counsel.
"And you, Onondagas, who have your habita- tion at the 'great mountain,' and are overshadowed by its crags, shall be the third nation, because you are greatly gifted in speech and mighty in war.
"And you, Cayugas, a people whose habitation is the ' dark forest,' and whose home is everywhere, shall be the fourth nation, because of your superior cunning in hunting.
"And you, Senecas, a people who live in the 'open country' and possess much wisdom, shall be the fifth nation, because you understand better the art of raising corn and beans and making cabins.
"You, five great and powerful nations, must unite and have but one common interest, and no foe shall be able to disturb or subdue you.
"And you, Manhattans, Nyacks, Metoacks and others, who are as the 'feeble bushes'; and you, Narragansetts, Mohegans, Wampanoags and your neighbors, who are a 'fishing people,' may place yourselves under our protection. Be with us and we will defend you. You of the South and you of the West may do the same, and we will protect you. We earnestly desire your alliance and friend- ship.
"Brothers, if we unite in this bond the Great Spirit will smile upon us, and we shall be free, prosperous and happy. But if we remain as we are we shall be subject to his frown ; we shall be enslaved, ruined, perhaps annihilated forever. We shall perish and our nantes be blotted out from among the nations of men.
" Brothers, these are the words of Hiawatha. Let them sink deep into your hearts. I have said it."
+ In The Song of Hiawatha, Longfellow locates it on the south shore of Lake Superior, between the Pictured Rocks and the Grand Sable.
1.4
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
The council was adjourned one day to afford time to consider this weighty proposition, which made a deep impression on its hearers. It may seem strange, in the light of a century of our own federate existence, that time should have been required to reach a conclusion so obvious ; but it was a marked characteristic of the Iroquois to act only after mature deliberation on questions of grave importance, and in this lies much of that great power they exerted both in council and in war. Assembling the next day, the wisdom of the proposition was unanimously conceded, and then was formed that celebrated league of the five Indian nations which no external power has effectually brok- en. Whatever may have been the circumstances con- nected with its origin, which is invested in the hy- perbole and metaphor with which the Indian lan- guage abounds, its great effectiveness is a matter of history, and stamps the mind which conceived it a genius of a high order. Pending this action, Hia- watha, admonished by the death of his daughter that his mission on earth was accomplished, pre- pared to take his final departure. As the assem- bly was about to separate, he arose in a dignified manner and said :-
" Friends and Brothers :- 1 have now fulfilled my mission upon earth. I have done everything which can be done at present for the good of this great people. Age, infirinity and distress set heavy upon me. During my sojourn with you I have re- moved all obstructions from the streams. Canoes can now pass safely everywhere. I have given you good fishing waters and good hunting grounds. I have taught you the manner of cultivating corn and beans and learned you the art of making cabins. Many other blessings I have liberally bestowed upon you.
" Lastly, I have now assisted you to form an everlasting league and covenant of strength and friendship for your future safety and protection. If you preserve it, without the admission of other people, you will always be free, numerous and mighty. If other nations are admitted to your councils they will sow jealousies among you, and you will become enslaved, few and feeble. Remember these words, they are the last you will hear from the lips of Hiawatha. Listen, my friends, the Great Master of Breath calls me to go. I have patiently waited his summons. I am ready; farewell."
As his voice ceased, sweet sounds from the air burst on the ears of the multitude; and while their attention was engrossed in the celestial melo- dy, Hiawatha was seen, seated in his white canoe, rising in mid-air with every choral chant, till the clouds shut out the sight, and the melody, gradu- ally becoming fainter, ceased.
The political and social organizations of the Iro-
quois though simple in their structure were effect- ive in their operation. They were calculated to violate as little as might be the high regard this people had for individual liberty, which they re- quired should be the largest, consistent with the general welfare. The method by which they secured efficiency without imposing undue restraint was as unique as it was simple and happy. No light tie could hold to the harmonious development of a common interest so fierce and barbarous a people as these. The problem was eminently worthy of the genius which solved it ; for while it held them inflexibly, yet unrestrainedly, to all matters relating to their federate existence, it secured the utmost elasticity and freedom in their tribal and national relations. The entire control of all civil matters effecting the common interest was vested in a na- tional council of about fifty sachems, though in some instances as many as eighty, chosen at first from the wisest men in their several nations, and afterwards hereditary in their families. All met as equals, but a peculiar dignity was ever attached to the Atotarho, or war chief, of the Onondagas .* All the ' nations were represented, and each had one vote in the council. This general council was held by common consent in the principal village of the Onondagas. the central nation. Thither, if the inatter under consideration was of a deep and gen- eral interest, not the sachems alone, but the greater part of the population, gathered; and while the sachems deliberated in the council house, the chiefs and old men, the warriors, and often the women, were holding their respective councils apart, and their opinions, laid by their deputies before the council of sachems, were not without influence on its decisions. All questions of tribal, national and federal polity were discussed and decided in coun- cils. They had no written constitution, and no attempt was made to coerce a nation or individual. The authority of these sachems was measured by the estimate the people put upon their wisdom and integrity, and the execution of their plans rested upon the voluntary acquiescence of those whom they represented. But the Iroquois were actuated by a high regard for personal and national honor, which ever sufficed to impress them with a deep sense of duty. The impression has prevailed among authors that women were excluded from these councils ; this, however, is erroneous, though they did not commonly attend.t
* Parkman's Jesuits.
t Schoroyady, or the Half-King, an Oneida, said at a meeting at Fort Johnson, May 10, 1756, attended by four Oneida and Seneca chiefs and two Seneca women :- "It is no new thing to take women into our councils, particularly among the Senecas." Col. Ilist. I'11., to; ; also I'., 256.
15
CIVIL POLITY OF THE IROQUOIS.
A marked feature of the Iroquois civil polity was that which made the concurrence of all the nations necessary before any measure could be adopted. To secure this unanimity the most persuasive pow- ers of reason and eloquence were constantly em- ployed. Their speakers studied euphony in the selection and arrangement of their words, and their discourses were made highly impressive, if not al- ways eloquent and convincing, by the use of grace- ful attitudes and gestures. In this severe school were trained those orators, whose efforts have chal- lenged favorable comparison with the best in civil- ized nations, and reflected not less renown on the federation than its bravest warriors.
"There was a class of men among the Iroquois always put forward on public occasions to speak the mind of the nation or defend its interests. Nearly all of them were of the number of the sub- ordinate chiefs. Nature and training had fitted them for public speaking, and they were deeply versed in the history and traditions of the league. They were in fact professed orators, high in honor and influence among the people. To a huge stock of conventional metaphors, the use of which re- quired nothing but practice, they often added an astute intellect, an astonishing memory, and an el- oquence which deserved the name.
" In one particular. the training of these savage politicians was never surpassed. They had no art of writing to record events, or preserve the stipula- tion of treaties. Memory, therefore, was tasked to the utmost, and developed to an extraordinary de- gree. They had various devices for aiding it, such as bundles of sticks, and that system of signs, em- blems and rude pictures, which they shared with other tribes. Their famous wampum belts were so many mnemonie signs, each standing for some act, speech, treaty, or clause of a treaty. These repre- sented the publie archives, and were divided among various custodians, each charged with the memory and interpretation of those assigned to him. The meaning of the belts was from time to time expound- ed in the councils. In conference with them noth- ing more astonished the French, Dutch and Eng- lish officials than the precision with which, before replying to their addresses, the Indian orators re- peated them point by point."
All business between other nations and the Iro- quois was brought to the council fire at Ononda- ga,* and the conclusion there reached carried with it all the weight of a kingly edict. The delibera- tions of the sachems were conducted with the ut- most decorum and a rigid adherence to their no- tions of parliamentary usage which challenged the admiration of civilized nations. No speaker inter- rupted another. Each gave his opinion in turn, but not until he had stated in full the subject of
* This council fire was finally extinguished January 19, 1777, but the reason therefor has never been satisfactorily explained.
discussion, to prove that he understood it, and had repeated the arguments pro and con of previous speakers. Thus their debates were exceedingly prolix, but resulted in a thorough sifting of the matter in hand. Their sachems received no com- pensation for their services. Honor and esteem were their chief rewards; shame and being despised, their punishment. Their principal men, both sa- chems and chiefs, were generally poorer than the common people; for they affected to give away and distribute all the presents or plunder they got by treaty or in war." They held their office by reason of merit and the esteem in which they were held by the people, and forfeited this distinction when that esteem was lost. Thus while the sys- tem held out ample incentives to valorous achieve- ment, there was nothing to tempt the covetous and sordid. A respect for native superiority, and a wil- lingness to yield to it were always conspicuous. In his own nation each sachem was a civil magistrate and decided the differences between his people in public audiences of his tribe. In military matters he had no control ; these were confided to the chiefs of tribes. If he engaged in war he held on- ly the rank of a common warrior.
Each of the Iroquois nations was divided into nine elans or tribes, each having a specific device or totem. denoting original consanguinity. These totems were universally respected, and were often tatooed on the person of the Indian and were rude- ly painted on the gable end of his cabin, some in black, others in red. They entitled the wandering savage to the hospitality of the wigwam which bore the emblem corresponding with his own. These devices consisted of animals, birds, &e. They had various uses, but the most important was that which denoted tribal relation. Says E. B. O'Callaghan, M. D., the learned editor of the Colonial and Doc- umentary History t of New York :-
" The Iroquois Nation consists of nine tribes, which form two divisions, one of four tribes and the other of five.
" They call the first division Guey-Niotiteshes- gue, which means the four tribes; and the second division they call Quiche-Niotiteshesgue, which means the five tribes.
" The first is that of the Tortoise, which calls it- self Atimathin. It is the first because they pretend when the Master of Life made the earth, that he placed it on a tortoise ; and when there are earth- quakes, it is the tortoise that stirs.
" The second tribe is that of the Wolf, and calls itself Enanthavonni, or Cahenhisenhonon, and
* Colden's Five Indian Nations.
t Col. Hist. IX., 47 ; Doc. Hist. I., 3. (Paris Documents, 1666.)
.
16
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
brother of the Tortoise tribe. When there is ques- tion of war they deliberate together ; and if the af- fair is of great moment, they communicate it to the other tribes to deliberate together thereupon ; so of all the other tribes. They assemble in the hut of a war chief when the question is of war, and in the hut of a council-chief when it is for ordinary matters of state.
" The third tribe is that of the Bear, which they call Atinionguin.
"The fourth tribe is that of the Beaver, and brother to that of the Bear. These four tribes com- pose the first division.
SECOND DIVISION.
" The fifth tribe is that of the Deer, which they call Canendeshe.
" The sixth is that of the Potatoe, which they call Schoneschioronon.
" The seventh is that of the Great Plover, which they call Otinanchahe.
" The eighth is that of the Little Plover, which they call Asco, or Nicohes.
"The ninth is that of the Kilion, [Eagle .* ] which they call Canonchahonronon. [It] derives its origin from a cabin that was in the interior (dans les terres) and composed of several fires and establishments. In the middle of the cabin was a partition which divided [it] in two.
" Weary of knowing no one, and consequently unable to marry, they all married among them- selves ; which is the reason that their name signi- fies two cabins united together."
Parkman, in speaking of the ninth tribe, which he denominates the Potatoe, says, if it existed it was very inconspicuous and of little importance. Other authors name only eight tribes. Ruttenber designates nine.
Previous to the formation of the Iroquois Con- federacy, each of the five nations composing it was divided into five tribes. When their union was effected, each tribe transferred one-fifth of its numbers to every other nation, thus giving each nation nine tribes. Their tribal names were as follows: Tortoise, or Turtle, Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Potatoe, Snipe, Heron and Hawk.t
These tribes formed two divisions, the second subordinate to the first, which was composed of the four first named. The members of each divi- sion were regarded as brothers to those in that division to which they belonged, while they were only cousins to those in the other divisions. Each tribe constituted a family, and while all its mnem- bers were accounted brothers and sisters, they were
also brothers and sisters of the members of all the other tribes bearing the same device. The indis- soluble bonds thus formed by the ties of consan- guinity were still further strengthened by the mar- riage relation. Originally marriage was interdicted between members of the same division, but in time the restriction was limited to those of the same tribe. It was held to be an abomination for two members of the same tribe to intermarry ; hence every individual family must contain members from at least two tribes. 'The child belonged to the clan of the mother, not the father, from whom it could not inherit anything. All rank, title and posessions passed through the female. The son of a chief could never be a chief by hereditary title, though he might become one through personal merit ; but a grandson, great-grandson or nephew might succeed him.
The rule, though binding, was very elastic, and capable of stretching to the farthest limits of the tribe-each tribe being allowed to select its chief from among its own members. Almost invariably the chief was succeeded by a near relative, always on the female side; but if these were manifestly unfit, his successor was chosen at a council of the tribe from remoter kindred, in which case he was nominated by the matron of the late chief's house- hokl .* In any event the choice was never adverse to the popular inclination.f The new chief was inducted into office by a formal council of the sachems of the league ; and on assuming its duties he dropped his own name and substituted that which, since the formation of the league, had be- longed to his especial chieftainship .¿ The chief was required to be a skillful hunter, if not the best in his tribe, and liberal with his game. He must also be a good physician, and able to advise and assist the sick in every circumstance. It was his duty to take care of orphans, to harbor strangers, and to keep order in the town. But he, like the sachem, had no power of compulsion; and like him, also, must keep up his reputation by a pru- dent, courteous and winning behavior.,
The tribes were by no means equal in numbers, influence and honor, says Parkman. So marked were the distinctions among them that Colden and other early writers recognized only the three most prominent,-those of the Turtle, Bear and Wolf. They were eminently social in their habits; and without any law other than that of common usage, or means of enforcing justice, these rude, uncul-
· Signifies a hawk in some of the Iroquois dialects .- Col. Hist. I.Y.,
t These are the more modern names as given by Morgan, though he and other authors omit the Potatoe. The Snipe and lleron correspond with the Great and little Plover, and the Hawk, with the Eagle, of the French documents.
· Lafitau.
+ Parkman.
# Ibid. § Loskiel.
I7
WAR BETWEEN THE ADIRONDACKS AND IROQUOIS.
tured barbarians lived together in communities ag- gregating thousands, with a harmony civilization might envy.
There was another council, says the same author, between which and that of the subordi- nate chiefs the line of demarkation seems not to have been very definite. In its character it was essentially popular, but popular in the best sense, and one which can find its application only in a sinall community. Any man took part in it whose age and experience qualified him to do so. It was merely the gathered wisdom of the nation. The Jesuit Lafitau, familiar with the Iroquois at the height of their prosperity, compares it with the Roman Senate, and defines it as the central and controlling power, so far, at least, as the separate nations were concerned. He thus describes it :-
"It is a greasy assemblage, sitting sur leur derriere, crouched like apes, their knees as high as their ears, or lying, some on their bellies, some on their backs, each with a pipe in his mouth, discussing affairs of state with as much coolness and gravity as the Spanish Junta, or the Grand Council of Venice."
The young warriors also had their councils; so too had the women ; and the opinions and wishes of each were represented by means of deputies in this council of old men, as well as the grand con- federate council of the sachems. The government of this unique republic resided wholly in councils ; and by these all questions were settled, all regu- lations established-social, political, military and religious. The war-path, the chase, the council- fire,-in these was the life of the Iroquois; and it is difficult to say to which he was most devoted.
In this blending of individual, tribal, national and federal interests lies the secret of the immense power wielded by the Iroquois,-a power which successfully resisted for a century and a half the hostile efforts of the French; which made them for nearly a century (from 1664 to 1763,) an im- movable wedge between the contending French and English colonies in America, alike feared and courted by both ; and enabled them to ex- terminate or effectually subdue neighboring tribes with whom they had long waged war with varying success.
The Iroquois were not always the same fierce, rapacious and blood-thirsty people which they are now familiarly known to have been, but were once engrossed in the peaceful pursuits of the husband- man. Colden graphically relates the circumstances which lead them in a measure to forsake that occu- pation, and involved them in a war with the Adiron-
dacks, in which they were engaged when the French first settled Canada. We quote :-
"The Adirondacks formerly lived three hundred miles above Trois Rivieres, where now the Utawa- was are situated; at that time they employed themselves wholly in hunting, and the Five Nations made planting of corn their business. By this means they became useful to each other, by ex- changing corn for venison. The Adirondacks, however, valued themselves as delighting in a more manly employment, and despised the Five Nations in following business which they thought only fit for women. But it once happened that the game failed the Adirondacks, which made them desire some of the young men of the Five Nations to assist them in hunting. These young men soon became much more expert in hunting, and able to endure fatigue, than the Adirondacks expected or desired; in short they became jealous of them, and, one night, murdered all the young men they had with them. The Five Nations complained to the chiefs of the Adirondacks of the inhumanity of this action; but they contented themselves with blaming the murderers, and ordered them to make some small presents to the relatives of the mur- dered persons, without being apprehensive of the resentment of the Five Nations ; for they looked upon them as men not capable of taking any great revenge.
" This, however, provoked the Five Nations to that degree, that they soon resolved by some means to be revenged ; and the Adirondacks, being in- formed of these designs, thought to prevent them by reducing them with force to their obedience.
" The Five Nations then lived where Mont Real now stands ; they defended themselves at first but faintly against the vigorous attacks of the Adiron- dacks, and were forced to leave their own country and fly to the banks of the lakes, where they now live. As they were hitherto losers by the war, it obliged them to apply themselves to the exercise of arms, in which they became daily more and more expert. Their Sachems, in order to raise their people's spirits, turned them against the Satanas, a less war-like nation, who then lived on the banks of the lakes ; for they found it was diffi- cult to remove the dread their people had of the valor of the Adirondacks. The Five Nations soon subdued the Satanas, and drove them out of their country ; and their people's courage being thus elevated, they, from this time, not only defended themselves bravely against the whole force of the Adirondacks, but even carried the war into the heart of the Adirondacks' country, and, at last, forced them to leave it, and to fly into that part of the country where Quebec is now built." *
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