History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, Part 11

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 664

USA > New York > Fulton County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 11
USA > New York > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 11

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" Each of the tribes thus originated was independent of the others, and they warred with cach other as well as with the surrounding tribes. Thar- onhyjagon still remained with the tribes ; gave them seeds of various kinds, with the proper knowledge for planting them : taught them how to kill and roast game ; made the forests free to all the tribes to hunt, and removed obstructions from the streams. After this he laid aside his divine char- acter and resolved to live with the Onondagas, that he might exemplify the maxims he had taught. For this purpose he selected a handsome spot of ground on the southern banks of the lake called TEONTO, being the sheet of water now known as Cross lake. Here he built a cabin, and took a wife of the Onondagas, by whom he had an only daughter, whom he

tenderly loved, and most kindly and carefully treated and instructed. The excellence of his character, and his great sagacity, and good counsels led the people to view him with veneration and they gave him the name of HI-A-WAT-HA, signifying a very wise man. From all quarters people came to him for advice, and in this manner all power came naturally into his hands, and he was regarded as the first chief in all the land. Under his teachings the Onondagas became the first among all the original clans. They were the wisest counselors, the best orators, the most expert hunters, and the bravest warriors. Hence the Onondagas were early noted among all the tribes for their pre-eminence.

" While Hiawatha was thus living in quiet among the people of the hills, the tribes were attacked by a furious and powerful enemy from the north of the great lakes. This enemy advanced into the country and laid waste the villages, and slaughtered men, women and children, until the people had no heart to oppose the invaders. In this emergency they fled to Hiawatha for advice, who counseled them to call together all the tribes from the east and from the west, saying 'Our safety is not alone in the club and dart, but in wise counsels.' He appointed a place on the banks of the Onondaga lake for the meeting, and thither the chiefs, warriors and head men forthwith assembled in large numbers, bringing with them their women and children.

" The council had been waiting for three days, but as yet Hiawatha was absent. Messengers were dispatched to hasten his attendance, but they found him gloomy and depressed. He told them that evil lay in his path, and he felt that he should be called to make some great sacrifice ; nevertheless, he would attend the council. The talismanic white canoe in which he always made his voyages, and which the people had learned to reverence, was got out and Hiawatha and his daughter took their seats. Gliding silently down the deep waters of the Seneca, the canoe reached the outlet, and entered on the placid Onondaga. As the canoe of the venerated chief appeared he was welcomed with loud shouts, but while he was measuring his steps toward the council ground, a long and low sound was heard, and

instantly all eyes were turned upward, where a compact mass of cloudy darkness appeared, which gathered size and velocity as it approached, and appeared to be directed inevitably to fall in the midst of the assembly. Every one fled but Hiawatha and his daughter, who calmly awaited the issue. The force of the descending body was like that of a sudden storm ; and hardly had Hiawatha paused, when an immense bird, with long dis- tended wings, came down with a swoop and crushed the daughter to the earth. The very semblance of a human being was destroyed in the remains of the girl, and the head and neck of the bird were buried in the ground from the force of the fall.

"Hiawatha was inconsolable for several days; but at length took his place in the council, and the deliberations opened. The subject of the in- vasion was discussed by several of the ablest counselors, and various plans proposed to foil the enemy. Hiawatha listened to the debate, and at its

THE FIVE NATIONS IN COUNCIL-ADDRESS OF HIAWATHA-INDIAN CUSTOMS.

conclusion, bade the warriors to depart until the next day, when he would unfold his plan, which he felt confident would ensure safety.

"The council again met ; and with even more than ordinary attention the people listened to the words of their great chief. Hiawatha counseled them, that to oppose these hordes of northern tribes singly and alone would prove certain destruction ; that to oppose them successfully the tribes must unite in one common band of brothers ; must have one voice, one fire, one pipe, and one war club. In the confederacy which he proposed should be formed, the several tribes were assigned the position they were to thereafter occupy,and in conclusion he urged them to weigh well his words ; that if they should unite in the bond he had proposed, the Great Spirit would smile upon them, and they would be free, prosperous and happy; but if they rejected his counsel, they would be enslaved, ruined, and perhaps annihilated forever.

"The tribes received the address in solemn silence, and the council closed to deliberate on the plan recommended. Assembling the next day, the union of the tribes into one confederacy was discussed, and unanimously adopted. Pending this result, Hiawatha, warned by the death of his daugh- ter that his mission was accomplished, prepared to make his final departure from earth. Before the council dispersed he recounted the services he had rendered to his people, and urged them to preserve the union they had formed, telling them that if they preserved it, and admitted no foreign ele- ment of power by the admission of other nations, they would always be free, numerous, and happy. 'If other nations are admitted to your coun- cils, they will sow the seeds of jealousy and discord, and you will become few, feeble, and enslaved. Remember these words; they are the last you will hear from the lips of Hiawatha. The Great Master of breath calls me to go. I have waited patiently his summons, and am ready to go.' As his voice ceased, sweet sounds from the air burst on the ears of the multitude; and while all attention was engrossed in the celestial melody, Hiawatha was seen seated in his white canoe, in the mid-air, rising with every choral chant that burst out, till the clouds shut the sight, and the melody ceased."

This confederation, which was undoubtedly established for the purpose of common defence, was a very powerful and effective alliance. In the general council of the Confederacy the Senecas, who were much more numerous than the other nations, were represented by two delegates, and each of the others by one. The presiding officer at the council was always assigned to the Onondagas, and to the Mohawks the principal war-chief. Their power was in their union, which differed from that of other nations in its perpetuity, the latter frequently securing the same results by temporary alliances in case of war. The delegates spoke the popular will of the tribes they represented, and to determine their action they were not per- mitted to approve any measure which the tribe had not endorsed by a unanimous vote. Each nation was governed by its own chiefs, civil and military, who might declare war and conclude peace on their own account; claimed dominion over territory defined by general boundaries, and was perfectly independent of control by other members of the Confederacy, ex- cept when national or confederated action required the concurrence of all the tribes. When the united tribes in council made a decision, it was unanimous. The question then had to be referred to the warriors of each tribe, assembled in council, where a unanimous decision was also required; hence every resolve was clothed with the full popular will.

The matrons of the tribe in council could command a cessation of hos- tilities, and when they so determined, the chiefs and warriors returned from the war-path without compromising their character for bravery. For this purpose a male functionary, the messenger of the inatrons, who was a good speaker, was designated to perform an office which was deemed unsuitable to the female. When the proposition for a cessation of war was resolved upon, the message was delivered to this officer, and he was bound to en- force it with all the powers of eloquence he possessed. 'The following de- scription is given of their national council. "The council-house was built of bark. On each side six seats were placed, each containing six persons. No one was admitted besides the members of the Council, except a few who were particularly honored. If one arose to speak all the rest sat in pro- found silence, smoking their pipes. The speaker uttered his words in a singing tone, always rising a few notes at the close of each sentence. What- ever was pleasing to the Council was confirmed by all by the word nee, or yes. And at the end of each speech the whole company joined in applaud- ing the speaker, by calling Ho! Ilo! At noon two men entered, bearing upon a pole across their shoulders, a large kettle filled with meat, which was first

presented to the guests. A large wooden ladle as broad and deep as a common bowl, hung with a hook to the side of the kettle, with which every one might at once help himself to as much as he could eat. The whole was conducted in a very decent and quiet manner. Indeed, now and then, one would lie flat upon his back and rest himself, and sometimes they would stop, joke, and laugh heartily "

The Iroquois were divided into clans or families, distinguished by as many different sorts of arms or emblems, each being made to represent the clan or family to which it belonged. A sachem of one of these families when he signed an instrument of conveyance or public paper, put his em- blem upon it, representing the animal by which his family was designated. The first was that of the tortoise, and was first because they pretended that when the earth was made it was placed on a great turtle, and when there was an earthquake it was the turtle that stirred. Other families were designated by such names as the wolf and the bear.

All their affairs were under the direction of their chiefs, who obtained their authority by the general opinion of their courage and conduct, and whenever they failed to appear to the Indians in a praiseworthy light, their dignity ceased. Though the son was respected on account of valuable services performed by his father, yet without personal merit he could not attain his rank. Whatever pertained to hereditary descent was confined to the female line, and the chieftainship fell upon the son of a chief's daugh- ter, to the exclusion of his uncle ; but the chief's brother would succeed him instead of his own son in case there were no descendants through the female line. The language used by the Iroquois, both in their speeches and in ordinary conversation, was exceedingly figurative. Many of their chiefs were distinguished for their eloquence, and some of their speeches have scarcely been excelled by the greatest orators of enlightened nations. An early historian of New York, writing at the time when the Five Nations still constituted a powerful body, in regard to their manners and customs, says: " The manners of these savages are as simple as their government. Their houses are a few crotched stakes thrust into the ground, and over- laid with bark. A fire is kindled in the middle, and an aperture left at the top for the conveyance of the smoke. Whenever a considerable number of these huts are collected they have a castle, as it is called, consisting of a Square without bastions, surrounded with palisades. They have no other fortification, and this is only designed as an asylum for their old men, wives and children, while the rest are gone out to war. While the women culti- vate a little spot of ground for corn, the men employ themselves in hunt- ing. The men frequently associate themselves for conversation, by which means they not only preserve the remembrance of their wars and treaties, but diffuse among their youth incitements to glory, as well as instructions in all the subtleties of war." Before they went out they had a feast on dog's flesh, and a great war dance, at which the warriors, who were fright- fully painted with vermilion, rose up and sung their exploits, or those of their ancestors, and thereby kindled a military enthusiasm in the whole company. The day after the dance they would go out a few miles, in single file, observing a profound silence. The procession being ended, they stripped the bark from a large tree, and painted the design of their expedi- tion on the naked trunk. The figure of a canoe, with the number of men in it, indicated the strength of their party; and by a deer, fox, or some other emblem, painted at its head, it was discovered against what nation they had gone. On their return, before they entered the village, two her- alds advanced and set up a yell, which by its modulation intimated either good or bad news. If the news was gond the village was notified of it, and an entertainment provided for the conquerors, one of whom on their approach bore the scalps which they had taken, stretched over a bow, and clevated upon a pole. The boldest man in the village came out to receive it, and then ran at the top of his speed to where the rest were collected. If overtaken he was severely beaten, but if he outran the pursuers he was allowed to participate in the honor of the victors, who neither spoke nor received compliments until the feast was over. Then one of the victors was appointed to relate the whole adventure, while all the rest listened attentively till the close, when they all joined in a savage dance.

CHAPTER II.

THE MOHAWKS, AND THEIR WARS WITH THE FRENCH-FIRST COUNCIL IN THEIR COUNTRY-THEIR CASTLES.

The Mohawks were the most eastern of the Five Nations. They claimed dominion over a region extending from the vicinity of Albany, on the

MOHAWK WARS-JESUITS-GOV. DONGAN AND THE IROQUOIS.

Hudson, westerly to the head waters of the Susquehanna and Delaware, and thence northerly to the St. Lawrence river, and embracing all the land between this river and Lake Champlain. Their actual northern limits were not definitely fixed, but they appear to have claimed as hunting grounds all the lands between the St. Lawrence and St. Johns rivers. This was a subject of continual dispute between them and other tribes.

The French began the settlement of Canada in 1603, under a patent granted by Henry IV. to Pierre Du Gast, and were the first Europeans with whom the Mohawks came in contact. The circumstances were such as to make these Indians for a long period bitterly hostile to the French, the latter having been first met by them as allies of the Algonquins, enemies of the Mohawks. To overcome this hostility, which was most prejudicial to the commercial interests of France, was the task of the French priests. As soon as the settlement of Canada was fairly begun, La Carnon, a Francis- can, at the solicitation of Champlain, governor of the new colony, entered the field as a missionary, and as early as 1616 had penetrated the wilder- ness to the Mohawk country, being undoubtedly the first white man to be- hold the now famous river, and its beautiful valley. The Franciscans were succeeded in 1633 by the Jesuits, who, in the interest of trade as well as religion, went alone and unarmed among the savages, exhibiting in their exposure to perils and hardships the most striking examples of courage, patience, and self-denial. Among the Five Nations, however, the labors of the priests were for more than half a century of little avail, especially among the Mohawks, at whose hands three of the Jesuit mis- sionaries suffered martyrdom with the spirit of the primitive apostles. The captivity and fate of Jogues exemplify their persistence, and the heroism with which they met death. In 1642 he and a number of others were captured, by a party of the Iroquois, on the St. Lawrence. While being taken into the interior they came into the hands of the Mohawks near Lake George, and were compelled to run the gauntlet . On reaching the villages of the Mohawks Jogues was made to run the gauntlet twice more for their amusement. During his captivity he was frequently tormented with the most heartless cruelty. His fingers and toes were removed joint by joint, and his body and limbs mutilated with burning sticks and hot irons. He suffered in this way for fifteen months, when, through the influence of the Dutch, he was released, and returned to France. He afterward came back to this country, and in 1646 repaired to the scenes of his sufferings to prosecute his missionary work. He was immediately apprehended, and put to death by the most excruciating tortures, at the village of Caughnawaga, where Fonda now stands. However interrupted in their labors the Jesuits would not give them up, until they had finally, about 1670, converted these very Indians of Caughnawaga, and induced them to remove to Canada.

In 1659 the Mohawks, suffering from their conflicts with the French, and crippled by their warriors getting liquor from the Dutch, sent a dele- gation to Albany, then called Fort Orange, to ask for aid and a stoppage of the sale of liquor. The speaker of the tribe complained of the Dutch, saying that they called his people brothers, and were bound to them by a chain; but this continued only so long as they had beavers, after which they were no longer thought of. He complained because the gunsmith refused to repair their arms, and that ammunition was withheld from them when they had no wampum. He requested that men and horses might be fur- nished them, to cut and draw timber, so they could build forts for their protection. The commander at Fort Orange could give them no reply, but promised to submit their request to the governor, whose arrival was daily expected. The governor, however, not making his appearance in several days, the people at Fort Orange began to be alarmed, and deemed it prudent to send ambassadors to the Mohawks, to reply to their request. A formal council for this purpose was held at Caughnawaga in September, 1659, which was the first ever held in the Mohawk country.

In the spring of 1666, the Governor of Canada resolved upon the total destruction of the Mohawks, and invaded their country with the Adiron- dacks, and a strong French forre, but his success was not so complete as he hand contemplated. The march through the primitive forests was tedious. When the expedition had finally arrived near the Mohawk villages the In- dians abandoned them and retired to the woods,and all that the French were able to do in lessening their numerical force was to murder some of the old men who chose to die rather than desert their houses. Having planted the cross, the triumph and glory of which were made the pretence for this expedition, celebrated Mass, and sung the T'+ DrUM, the invaders set fire In the palisades and wigwams, and retraced their steps to Canada The

Indians, who were awed by the great number of the enemy, and their fire- arms, thought it proper to ask for peace, which was concluded the follow- ing year.

Not only were the Mohawks harrassed by the French and their Indian allies from the north, but they were involved in bloody war with the Mo- hicans, through which they became so much weakened and humbled, that in the spring of 1669 they sent an embassy to Quebec to solicit aid, ask- ing that their nation might be protected from the Mohicans by the King of France. They were so far successful as to secure the co-operation of the Jesuit missionaries, in resisting an attack upon them by the Mohicans. The latter, and their allies invaded the Mohawk country, and on the 18th of August, 1669, besieged the palisaded village of Caughnawaga. The re- sistance offered by the Mohawks was so spirited and effectual that they soon retreated. The Mohawks descended the river in pursuit, and getting in advance of them, formed an ambuscade at a place commanding the road to Schenectady, where they waited their approach. A conflict ensued, in which the Mohawks were at length repulsed. The Oneidas, Onondagas and Cayugas joined with the Mohawks and invaded the country of the Mohicans, but without success.

The French, having instigated some of the Iroquois to commit depre- dations on the frontier of Virginia, the latter were called to account at a council held at Albany, in 1684, at which Governor Dougan so completely won them over that they requested that the coat of arms of the Duke of York might be displayed in all their castles. Dongan gladly complied with a request which could be interpreted as submission to the English au- thority, if it should become desirable to put that construction upon it ; and he also presented some of the chiefs with medals showing that they were English subjects.

At the opening of the year 1690, France and England being at war, the converted Caughnawaga Indians, who had removed to Canada. joined the French under Count Frontenac in a descent upon the lower Mohawk set- tlements. Near midnight, on the 8th of February, the inhabitants of Sche- nectady were roused from their slumbers by the horrid yells of the savages as they burst into the town, broke open the doors and began an indiscrimi- nate slaughter of men, women and children. The torch was applied to complete the destruction, and only one of the eighty well built houses in

the village was spared. Sixty persons lost their lives in this massacre and twenty-seven were carried into captivity. The remainder fled, naked, toward Albany, through a deep snow, while a fierce storm was raging, and twenty-five of these poor fugitives were so badly frozen that they lost their limbs. The Mohawks residing in the village were spared in order to show that tribe, as well as the other nations of the confederacy, that it was not them but the English whom the French wished to afflict. But the Mohawks, instead of being won over to the French by terror of these scenes, only sympathized with their suffering and unfortunate neighbors, joined with a party from Albany in pursuit of the invaders in their retreat, and sent their war parties to again harrass the Canadian frontier.

But the civil commotions which the colony of New York continued to experience so engrossed public attention, that the Five Nations were left to contend with the common enemy without much assistance from the English, and consequently they became disaffected, insomuch that at the solicitation of the Caughnawagas. the Mohawks sent an embassy to Canada to confer with Count Frontence about peace. To defeat this purpose, a council was held at Albany with the other nations of the confederacy, who renewed the chain of friendship, and resolved to prosecute the war against the French. The Mohawks afterwards confessed to having had negotiations with the French, and hastened to join in renewing their league with the English.

Count Frontenac finally finding all his efforts for accomplishing a peace with the Five Nation- unavailing, determined to invade the country of the Mohawks. Collecting an army of six or seven hundred French and Indi- ans at Montreal for this purpose, he set out in January, 1693, and after a tiresome march through the snow, arrived at and surprised the lower castle of the Mohawks, situated near the confluence of the Mohawk and Schoharie rivers. This castle was captured without much resistance, and the middle castle was taken with equal ease, the warriors being mostly absent. On assnling the upper castle, however, the invaders met with more resistance. They found about forty warriors engaged in a war-dance preparatory to some expedition they were about to enter upon. A conflict ensued, in which the French lost about thirty men before they succeeded in subdu- ing their enemies. About three hundred of the Mohawks were taken

THE HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

prisoners in this invasion. The people of Schenectady, though apprised of the enemy's march, gave the Mohawks, their neighbors, no assistance nor informed them of the approaching danger. At this the Mohawks were much displeased. Immediately on hearing of this invasion, Schuyler, with the militia of Albany, joined by a party of the Indians, pursued and harrassed them in their retreat, and succeeded in retaking about fifty of the Indian captives.

It is difficult to locate the site of some of the Mohawk villages desig- nated castles, a term which implied places furnished with palisades or some other protection that distinguished them from more migratory and less defensible villages. At an early day these Indians built their huts near together. the better to resist an invading foe. Great danger from an enemy, however, sometimes compelled a migration of the camp, or con- venience of hunting or fishing dictated it. The Mohawks once had a strong castle nearly four miles south of Fort Plain, in a well chosen posi- tion, on an elevated tongue of land between two streams, called Indian Hill. This plateau presents on the west toward the Otsquene an impractic- able bluff. The northern declivity of the hill is more gentle, and thirty or forty rods below its termination the stream mentioned empties into the Otsquago. Upon the hillside the entrance of the casue may still be traced, as the ground has never been cultivated. The relics found here, including fragments of pottery, bones, bone implements, fresh water clam shells, etc., indicate that the place was probably early and long one of the chief strongholds of the tribe. It is believed that the occupancy of this site should be dated more than 250 years ago. The Mohawks also had a castle within the present limits of Fort Plain, at the termination of the high ground on the east side of the Otsquago, now called Prospect Hill. This site was occupied much later than the other, as shown by the dis- covery of rings, wampum shells, etc., introduced by the Jesuits, or others of the first white men who ventured into the valley. The position of this village was also well chosen for defence and observation. It is said to have been called by the Indians Ta-ragh-jo-rees-Healthy Place.

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History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, Part 11

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 664

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 664