USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 2
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
to the British. The decision made by the Oneidas at the beginning of the controversy between the colonies and the mother country cost that nation dearly, for in 1779 or 1780, their village and castle were entirely destroyed by the British troops and unfriendly Indians. At this time the Oneidas were driven down the Mohawk valley and remained near Schenectady, and were assisted by the United States government until the end of the war of the Revolution.
Perhaps centuries before the government of the United States was formed by white men, these savages had formed a national government which challenges our admiration, and has received high tribute by such writers as Lewis, Mor- gan, Halsey, Bloomfield, Beauchamp, and many others, and has attracted the attention of the foremost statesmen.
The Honorable Elihu Root, in his address at the Tercentennial Celebration of the discovery of Lake Champlain, July 7, 1909, referring to this extraordi- nary confederation, said :
"A century or more before the white settlement, five Indian nations of the same stock and language under the leadership of extraordinary political genius had formed a Confederacy for the preservation of internal peace and for com- mon defense against external attack. Their territories extended in 1609 from the St. Lawrence to the Susquehanna, from Lake Champlain and the Hudson to the Genesee, and, a few years later, to the Niagara. There dwelt side by side the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, Cayugas, and the Senecas in the firm union of Ho-de-no-sau-nee, the Long House of the Iroquois.
"The Algonquin tribes that surrounded them were still in the lowest stage of industrial life, and for their food added to the spoils of the chase wild fruit and roots.
"The Iroquois had passed into the agricultural stage. They had settled habitations and cultivated fields. They had extensive orchards of the apple, made sugar from the maple, and raised corn and beans and squash and pumpkin. The surrounding tribes had only the rudimentary political institution of chief and followers. The Iroquois had a carefully devised constitution, well adapted to secure confederate authority in matters of common interest, and local au- thority in matters of local interest. * * *
"The government was vested in a Council of fifty sachems, a fixed number coming from each nation. The sachems from each nation came in fixed propor- tions from specific tribes in that nation; the office was hereditary in the tribe, and the member of the tribe to fill it was elected by the tribe. The sachems of each nation governed their own nation in all local affairs. Below the sachems were elected chiefs on the military side and Keepers of the Faith on the religi- ous side. Crime was exceedingly rare; insubordination was unknown; courage, fortitude, and devotion to the common good were universal.
"The territory of the 'Long House' covered the watershed between the St. Lawrence basin and the Atlantic. From it the waters ran into the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Ohio. Down these lines of communication the war parties of the confederacy passed, beat- ing back or overwhelming their enemies until they had become overlords of a vast region extending far into New England, the. Carolinas, the valley of the Mississippi, and to the coast of Lake Huron. * * #
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5
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
"Of all the inhabitants of the New World, they were the most terrible foes and the most capable of organized and sustained warfare, and of all the in- habitants north of Mexico; they were the most civilized and intelligent."
Whoever became acquainted with the Iroquois in early days realized that they were an extraordinary people. Sir William Johnson, who knew them as well as any Englishman and had, perhaps, more dealing with them than any other officer of the crown, said of them: "They are the most formidable of any uncivilized body of people in the world."
The nation for which the county is named consisted of about 3,000 in 1776. They are said to have been lovers of peace, were more refined in manners than the other nations, and were the diplomatists of the confederation. Long before the beginning of the 18th century, they had a fixed dwelling place on the west- ern border of what is now Oneida county.
In 1904 the regents of the university of the state of New York caused a history of the New York Iroquois to be prepared by W. M. Beauchamp, S. T. D. The book is known as Bulletin 78, and it contains a map of the territory occu- pied by the different nations belonging to the league. From this, it appears that the territory of the Oneidas was bounded on the east by a line extending from the St. Lawrence river to a point about 25 miles below Ogdensburg; southerly to Trenton Falls; thence bending slightly easterly to Herkimer and to Oneonta; thence along the northwesterly line of Delaware county to Broome county; thence along the northerly line of Broome county to the Chenango river; thence northwesterly about 15 miles; thence northerly to a point about 3 miles from Oneida lake; thence westerly about 3 or 4 miles; thence northerly across the westerly part of the lake and bearing westerly slightly about 25 miles; thence north bearing slightly eastward to Carthage; thence northwest- erly to the St. Lawrence river between Alexandria Bay and Clayton; thence along the river to the place of beginning, the territory being somewhat be- tween 7,000 and 8,000 square miles.
A study of the life and manners of this most interesting people reveals the fact that their comforts were greater and they lived upon a higher plane than is generally supposed. Their food was more abundant and of greater variety than many other of the aborigines. In the spring they made, from the maple trees, their supply of sugar for the year. In the summer there were berries of many varieties and fish of the finest species. In autumn there were nuts, apples, plums, cherries, corn, potatoes, pumpkin, squash and other vege- tables, and an abundance of such game as makes the sportsmen of our age most envious of their day. There were bear, moose, deer, wild turkeys, geese, ducks, grouse, wild pigeons, rabbits, squirrels and other game of which they could lay by a supply without serious effort, for their time of need. For cloth- ing, against the rigors of winter, they had the fur of the beaver, otter, fisher, sable, mink and other fur bearing animals, for which the wealthy of the present day pay such prices as would have purchased almost a kingdom in that early period. In fact, no part of the colonies presented better facilities for the com- forts of life to the savage than the Mohawk valley.
Not until the ravages of war had swept their valley was want necessarily known among the Indians in this region. Their wigwams or houses were gen-
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
erally built of bark, and were comfortable even in the severest winter weather. A fire was continually kept burning in them in cold weather, and these peo- ple, robed in their furs in the daytime, and lying upon the skins of the moose, bear and deer at night, rested more quietly than the prince in his palace. Their musical instruments were the flute, kettle-drum, and various kinds of rattles. They used nets and bone harpoons, and sometimes lines and bone hooks for fishing. Their boats were dugouts and bark canoes. They made baskets, mats, wooden dishes, including spoons, and many vessels of clay, some of which were ornamented. Some of their clay pipes were ornamented with a figure on the bowl facing the smoker. They used a wooden mortar and pestle for making their corn meal. They buried their grain in the ground, when it would keep for several years. Wampum was used for money, ornaments and other pur- poses; it was made of shells and of different colors, white, black or dark purple.
Their domestic relations were peculiar. Property was transmitted through the female line. A man was not permitted to marry a woman of his own tribe, and the marriage relations were sacred. Marriage was not founded upon af- fection, but was recognized as a necessity, and was arranged usually by the mothers of the parties. Polygamy was unknown among them. Although di- vorce was easily obtained, it was not frequent. Relationship was recognized as far as uncle, aunt and cousin. Sachems were the Head Chiefs, and had great influence among their people.
They had religious leaders who were called "Keepers of the Faith," and they had charge of the festivals and religious services. They believed in a Great Spirit, the Creator of all things; also in the immortality of the soul and an exclusive heaven for the Indians; but, in their admiration of Washington, they accorded him a place in their future celestial abode. They also believed in a place of future punishment for the wicked and in an Evil Spirit who had created reptiles, noxious weeds and monsters. There has been much specu- lation as to the origin of their religious belief, whether from the Lost Tribes of Israel or otherwise, and it will, in all probability, remain a mystery. It is, however, a singular circumstance that these dwellers in the American wilder- ness should more nearly attain to the conception of the Christian God than any other nation untaught by revelation. It is stated by Rev. Thomas Donahue, D. D., in his book entitled "The Iroquois and the Jesuits," that "the first foundation of their religious belief is the same as that which formed the prin- cipal feature of the religion of the Barbarians who first occupied Greece, and spread through Asia, and which forms the groundwork of all Pagan Myth- ology." However this may be, it is not our purpose now to inquire, for the Iroquois are taken, for the purpose of this work, as they were in 1700. At this period the belief of these Indians was neither pantheistic, nor idolatrous. They held religious and other assemblies, and had many different modes of recreation. Many of these were called dances. There were about 33 of these dances, some of which were religious, some had reference to war, and some would seem to be solely recreative. Morgan gives a description of them in his work on the Iroquois.
Their game which was held in highest esteem was la crosse. It was played
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
by chosen representatives from different nations or tribes with as much enthu- siasm, and was enjoyed by the large audiences which assembled, as much as are the college football contests of the present day. Another game was called the peachstone game, and was somewhat similar to the game of dice. These peach stones were of different colors, white, black or dark purple. Betting on games was common, and the Indian at times found himself in as sad a plight as the college boy, who bet his last cent on his team and lost, without reserv- ing a sufficient amount of funds to pay his fare back to his alma mater.
Crimes were seldom committed among these Indians. Witchcraft and mur- der were punished by death, unless the witch confessed and was forgiven, and unless the murderer made atonement to the tribe to which the victim belonged. Adultery was punished by the whipping of the woman. The transgression, however, was very rare. Theft was substantially unknown, but after the white man introduced rum among them, drunkenness was not in- frequent. The best men among the Iroquois strenuously opposed the traffic in rum, and pleaded with the white men to desist from selling it to their people. Addressing several of the governors of the colonies, one of the Mohawk chiefs said: "We request of all governors here present that it may be prohibited to carry it (rum) among any of the Five Nations." They had no prisons, and in case of a first offense, if the culprit promised good behavior, he was allowed to go on parole. They had no locks to their houses, no secret places, and larceny was unknown among them.
The Sacred Stone of the Oneidas demands special attention. The Oneida nation was called "People of the Stone," or the "Upright Stone," or the "Granite People," and there is one reference to them in the Indian legends as the "People who lean their backs against the Everlasting Stone." This has reference to their Sacred Stone or altar. The legend in regard to the Stone is as follows: A settlement was made by the Indians on the north shore of Oneida river at the outlet of the lake. One morning there appeared at their camp a granite boulder, which was unlike any other stone in that locality. The In- dians were informed that it should be their altar and that it would follow them forever. They moved their habitation to the mouth of the Oneida creek. The Stone, unaided, followed them, and appeared in their midst. From here they removed to near what is now Oneida castle, in Oneida county, and again the Stone appeared among them, unaided. Here it remained as the altar of the nation for hundreds of years. It was around this Stone their great councils were held and their warriors, sages and orators resolved the great questions presented to them, and they here worshipped the Great Spirit.
When the Oneidas left their home and took up their abode in Wisconsin, the Stone did not follow, but remained, a deserted altar.
With the consent of the remnant of the nation which tarried at the "castle," it was removed in 1849 to Forest Hill cemetery in Utica, where it now rests upon a substantial foundation as an everlasting memorial to the Oneida nation. Its weight has been estimated as somewhat less than a ton, and it bears an appropriate tablet.
Beauchamp, in his history of the New York Iroquois, page 160, says that one of their early villages was on Cazenovia lake, but that the earliest village iden-
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
tified with their name was a mile southeast of Perryville, N. Y., at a remark- able stone, now destroyed, but long venerated by them. He also says that it was from this stone they took the name of the "People of the Stone." How- ever this may be, it is certain that the Oneida Stone, now in the cemetery at Utica, is really all that is claimed for it-the altar of the Oneidas.
Long before the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Catholics had es- tablished missions among the Iroquois, but they had not been successful. These early missionaries labored under unusual difficulties. The Iroquois were friendly to the Dutch and English, and the early Catholic missionaries were Frenchmen. This fact was a barrier which was difficult to pass.
There was later, also, another reason, which, to the present generation, may seem most extraordinary. The colonial legislature, on August 7, 1700, passed an act excluding Catholic priests, clergymen and teachers of all kinds from the colonies, and requiring them to leave the country before the first day of No- vember of that year on pain of being "adjudged to Suffer perpetuall Imprisonm't and if any person being So Sentenced and actually Imprisoned shall break prison and make his Escape and be afterwards retaken he shall suffer such pains of Death penalties and forfeitures as in Cases of felony." Any one who harbored a priest or other Catholic teacher was subject to a fine of two hun- dred and fifty pounds and to sit in pillory for three days and also to be bound to good behavior at the discretion of the court.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Catholics had practically withdrawn their missionaries, as the circumstances seemed to be such that their efforts could not be successful. The fierce opposition did not, however, deter them from re-entering the field some years after.
The first successful mission of the Catholic church during the 18th century was established by Abbe Francis Piquet at Fort Presentation, now Ogdens- burg. He was so effective that within two years he had won, from the Ononda- gas and Cayugas, about three thousand of the Indians to his cause. The ef- fect of the English and French war was so disastrous to this work as to destroy what had been accomplished by the Frenchmen in evangelizing the Iroquois, and about 1760 this mission was abandoned.
In his introduction to the "History of the Diocese of Syracuse," Monsignor J. S. M. Lynch says, "Bishop Du Breuil de Pontbriand, of Quebec, visited the mission in May, 1752. He baptized one hundred and twenty and confirmed a large number. This was, undoubtedly, the first confirmation administered within the limits of the state of New York."
Morgan, in his work entitled "Iroquois Confederation," pays the highest tribute to these early Catholic missionaries. He says: "They traveled the forests of America alone and unprotected; they dwelt in the depths of the wilderness, without shelter and almost without raiment; they passed the perils of Indian captivity and the fires of the torture; they suffered from hunger and violence, but, in the midst of all of them, never forgot the mission with which they were entrusted."
The first Congregational missionary among the Iroquois was Elihu Spencer, who began his work among them in 1748. One of his converts was Peter Agwrondougwas, or "Good Peter," who was an eloquent Oneida.
THE GREAT CHIEF OF THE ONEIDAS, SKENANDOAH
THE HISTORIC STONE OF THE ONEIDA NATION OR THEIR ALTAR
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
In 1761 Reverend Samson Occum came from the school of Dr. Wheelock at Lebanon to the Oneidas, and Samuel Kirkland, then a young man, accompanied him. In 1766 there were 127 Oneida and Mohawk boys in the Wheelock school. Reverends C. J. Smith, Theophilus Chamberlain, Eleazer Moseley, Peter and Henry Avery served as missionaries between 1764 and 1774.
Foremost among Protestant missionaries was Samuel Kirkland. He was educated at the school of Dr. Wheelock at Lebanon and at Princeton college. While at these institutions he had Indians as well as white men for his fellow students. Among them, at Dr. Wheelock's school, was the renowned Joseph Brant. He became greatly interested in the welfare of the Iroquois, and, in 1764, Mr. Kirkland commenced his work first among the Senecas. In conse- quence of a famine among them, he returned East for a time, and during his visit was ordained a minister of the Congregational church. He then returned and took up his work among the Oneidas, and in 1769 he organized a church among them. The famous chief, Skenandoah, was among the converts to Chris- tianity.
It was owing to the influence of Samuel Kirkland, more than to any other cause, that induced the Oneidas to take sides with the colonies against the mother country in the Revolutionary war.
At a meeting of the Sons of the Revolution held February 22, 1911, Rever- end Dana W. Bigelow, D. D., in a speech referred to Mr. Kirkland as follows:
"In 1763 one of the college boys at Princeton, a sophomore from Connecti- cut, son of a Congregational minister, was Samuel Kirkland. He had attended a preparatory school where Indians and white studied together. There he formed with Joseph Brant a friendship which lasted through life. At Prince- ton he was in a class with Indian boys and he learned something of the Mo- hawk language. Before his college course was finished, his fixed zealous pur- pose carried him out for his life work. In January, 1764, he called on Johnson, who gave him counsel and belt of wampum. He went on snowshoes to the most distant and warlike tribe, the Senecas. He did not meet with a warm recep- tion, but was adopted as a member of the tribe. Famine came, and he was obliged to return to the eastern settlements for a brief time. Then he went back to his post for another year. Having been ordained a minister in New England, he settled among the Oneidas for his life work, and here he lived and labored until his death in 1808.
"For five years he received no financial aid; he built his own cabin and tilled his own field. The great enemy he had to fight was the white man's rum. Among the converts were some chiefs, the most noteworthy of all, Skenandoah, great in stature, eloquent in councils, faithful unto death.
"When the Revolutionary war came on, the English tried to get the aid of the Iroquois. Sir John Johnson, Guy Johnson and Joseph Brant represented the British ministry in a mighty endeavor to win the Indian nations to their side. One rock sheltered the people of the frontier. It was the person and influence of Samuel Kirkland. He, too, attended council after council, far and near. He argued and pleaded. It was out of his own heart and his efforts were also in response to urgent requests from the colony that he should exert his ut- most influence for the cause of independence. His Oneidas and Tuscaroras fol-
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
lowed his leadership, and, as far as possible, remained neutral. The stand they took broke the unity of action which was a fundamental law of the confederacy. How great aid he gave to the cause of the American patriots at this crisis of the war in this valley of the Mohawk where the battle of Oriskany was fought that the victory at Saratoga might follow, cannot be set down in figures or told in few words. Over against great forces of evil, appealing to every motive, good and bad, in savage hearts, his influence was on the right side, was exerted to the utmost, and was not in vain.
"After the battle and massacre at Wyoming, in 1779, he was a minister of comfort to 150 widows and their children. Under General Sullivan, in his famous expedition, Kirkland was brigade chaplain to his forces.
"At the close of the war New York state united with his faithful Indians in appreciation of what had been wrought by him, and presented him with a most valuable tract of land or nearly 5,000 acres-the Kirkland Patent, as then known.
"His strenuous life was not yet done. He lived after this for 20 years and near Clinton, still ministering to his scattered people. His heart was not with- out hope that they might be gathered together and made part of the fabric of civilized society. With this in view, seeking counsel and co-operation with chief men of the state and of the national government, he gave freely of his lands, that on them might be founded an institution that would educate and uplift Indian and white youth.
"On a beautiful September afternoon in the year 1793, a procession left his home and marched to the hill where the corner stone was laid of the Hamilton- Oneida academy, a service rendered by Major-General Baron von Steuben.
"His hopes for the Indians were not realized, for the fragments of the tribes not long after migrated to the distant West. But he had builded wisely, for in 1812 the academy became Hamilton college, whose record in church and state is known to us, and whose future is bright in promise of greater results in promoting the interests of mankind of every land or every race.
"In the college cemetery are the monuments to Kirkland and Skenandoah, who was the noblest trophy of victory over darkness, and we repeat the words once well spoken there: 'Brothers, here sleep the good and the brave.'"
Foremost among the chiefs of the Oneidas was Skenandoah. This is Beau- champ's way of spelling the name, although it has been spelled several different ways by other writers. He is said to have been savage and intemperate in his youth, but he reformed in after life, and was called the noblest counselor among the North American Indians. He was of powerful frame, but mild in manner, yet terrible in conflict. He became a Christian under the ministry of Samuel Kirkland, lived a noble life, and had great influence among his people. It was he, with Kirkland, who influenced the Oneidas first to be neutral, and then to take sides with the colonies against the mother country in the war for inde- pendence. He died at Clinton, March 11, 1816, at the age of 110 years, and was buried upon the land of Mr. Kirkland. He was dignified in his bearing, courteous, and a shrewd and able diplomatist. In conversation he avoided saying anything to give offense. As a public speaker he was one of the most eloquent in the nation, and his words were potent in influencing his own peo-
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BARON STEUBEN
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
ple. His speech to a friend shortly before his death is one of the choice pieces of literature. He said, "I am an aged hemlock; the winds of a hundred win- ters have whistled through my branches; I am dead at the top; the generation to which I belong have run away and left me; why I live, the Great Spirit only knows; pray to my Jesus that I may have patience to wait for my appointed time to die."
In 1700, the Earl of Bellomont, then governor of the colonies, sent a com- munication to Queen Anne advising the establishing of the Church of Eng- land in the colonies to counteract the influence of the Catholics among the Iroquois. King William sent over plate and furniture for a chapel.
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