History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920

USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 5

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One of the most remarkable features of the confederation was the law which vested all rights, titles, and property in the female line.

" By the operation of this principle, also, the certainty of the descent in the tribe of their principal chiefs was se- cured by a rule infallible; for the child must be the son of its mother, although not necessarily of its mother's hus- band. If the purity of blood be of any moment, the law- givers of the Iroquois established the only certain rule the ease admits of, whereby the assurance might be enjoyed that the ruling sachem was of the same family or tribe with the first taker of the title."*

At all their councils the nations were divided into two elasses, and arranged upon opposite sides of the council. fire. The Onondagas, Mohawks, and Senecas, who were re- garded as brothers, and fathers of the other nations, were ranged upon one side, and the Oneidus and Cuyugus, and subsequently the Tuscaroras, who were likewise regarded as brothers, but children of the others, upon the other side.

Order of precedence .-- In enumerating the nations, for some unexplained reason the Mohawks were first named. In the general councils they were styled Da-gu-e-o'-ga, which is interpreted to mean " Neutral," and sometimes " the Shield," which latter seems the more appropriate, on account of their location. This designation finally became their national title.

The Onondagas were placed next in the order of pre- cedence, and were known in the council by the title or appellation of Ilo-de-san-no-ge-ti, which is translated to mean " Name-Bearer," conferred in commemoration of the fact that the Onondugas bestowed names upon the fifty original sachenis.

Next in order were the Senecas, who were prond of their national designation, Ho-nan-ne-ho'-ont, or the " Door- keepers." They were the hereditary guardians of the door of the " Long House," and in the many wars waged with the Hurons and other Canadian nations, as well as with the French, probably suffered more than the other nations.

The Oneidu nation occupied the fourth place, but orig- inally had no special appellation. At a comparatively re- cent period the name Ne-ar-de-on-dar-go'-war, signifying " Great Tree," was conferred upon them, it is supposed, from some circumstance occurring at a treaty with the people of Was-tow, or Boston.

Among the 'five original nations the Coyugas occupied the lowest rank, or at least were placed last in the list. Their appellation in the council was So-nees'-ho-gwu-to-war, signifying " Great Pipe," said to have been bestowed be- cause the leading Cuyuga chief, at the great council which formed the league, smoked a pipe of uncommon dimensions and beautiful work manship.

Morgan states that the Tuscaroras had no national desig- nation in the councils of the league, but in another con- nection he also states that they were called Dus-gu-o'-weh, meaning " shirt-wearing people," a name which is said to have been adopted by them before their expulsion from Carolina.

The signifieation of the names of the different nations, according to Morgan, is as follows: Gu-ne-ii'-ga-o-no, or Mohmoks, signifies " the possessor of the flint," but the real meaning is not certainly understood.

The O-na-yote'-ga-o-no, or Oneidlas, signifies " the people of the stone," or perhaps more literally " the granite people," from the fact that their territory extended into the region of the primary formation.

O-nun-dih'-ga-o-no, the Indian name of the Onondagas, is said to signify "the people of the hills," and it would seem to have been very properly bestowed.

Gud'-u-gweh-o-no, the name of the Cuyugas, signifies " the people of the mucky land," in allusion to the marshy region of their country.

Nun-du-wak-o-no, the Sencca name, was the name of

# Morgan.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

their oldest village, situated upon a hill at the head of Can- andaigua Lake, and literally means " the great hill people ;" Nun-da-wüh' meaning " great hill," and the terminal syl- lables o-no signifying " people."

Dus-ga-o'-weh, the name of the Tuscaroras, means " shirt- wearing people," as before mentioned.

The Oneidas, as heretofore shown, occupied a strip of country which included the present territory of the county of Oneida, and of about the same width east and west, and extending north and south through the State. So far as known, inost of their villages were within the limits of the county, their principal one, called Gi-no-a-to'-hale, being located at what is now known as Oneida Castle, in Vernon Township. They were very fortunate in the allotment of territory, possessing as they did some of the finest agricul- tural districts in the State, interspersed with beautiful scenery. They occupied the head-waters of the streams which flow into the Mohawk, Black, Susquehanna, and Oswego Rivers, and controlled the " carrying-place" between the east and the west. Their hunting- and fishing-grounds extended from the Pennsylvania line to the St. Lawrence and the Adirondacks, and from the centre of their domain they could travel in their bark canoes into the territory of every one of the Six Nations. Geologically speaking, their territory covered the outerop of every formation, from the Archaan to the Permian, a feature not to be found perhaps in any equal extent of country on the globe. Here are the oldest formations of the earth's crust and the latest addi- tions to the structure. Here are granite, and sandstone, and limestone, and slates, and shales; here are lime, and salt, and gypsum, and clays, and roofing materials; and, over all, a soil yielding bountifully of food for animals and men. A richer country, naturally, can scarcely be found, and lying as it does in the great highway of travel and commerce, it would seem that under a beneficent form of government it must continue for ages to be the " seat of empire."

In Volume III. of the " Documentary History of New York" is the journal of Wentworth Greenhalgh, written while on a journey through the Mohawk Valley, in May and June, 1677. He relates that the Muqnues, or Mohawks, had then four towns, Co-hawi-u-ga, Can-a-go-r (Can-a-go- "ha), Ti-on-do-gue, and a fourth, not named.

He estimates the Mohawk fighting force at 300 men.

The Oneidas then occupied a single town, located about 30 miles from the Mohawk River, and about 20 miles south of Oneida Lake, on a small river which runs into Oneida, or Tesh-i-rogue, Lake. According to his description it was theu a newly-settled town, fortified by a double stockade, and well calculated for defense against anything except artillery.

The Oneidas did not seem to be cultivating the land very extensively, and were accustomed to purchase their corn of the Onondugus. Their village, or town, contained about 100 houses, and they could muster 200 warriors.

The Onondagas had one town, containing about 140 houses, and he estimates their warriors at 350. This nation were cultivating the soil, and had abundance of corn. Their town was situated on a very large hill, and was not fortified.

The Cui-ou-gus ( Cuyugas) were occupying three towns, altogether containing 100 houses, and had an estimated

fighting force of 300 warriors. Their villages were located near Lake Tichero ( Cuyuga), and were not at that time for- tified. The Cayugas also had plenty of corn.

The Senecas, or, as he wrote it, Senecques, had four towns, Canagora, Tiotohatton, Cuuvenada, and Kienthe. The first two were located within 30 miles of Lake Frontenac (Ontario), and the others farther to the southward.

Canagora, the largest town, and evidently the capital of the nation, was, like Onondaga, located on a high hill, and contained 150 houses. Tiotohatton was situated about 30 miles to the west of the first-mentioned town, and contained 120 houses, some of which were from 50 to 60 feet in length, and contained 13 or 14 fires. Cauvenada contained 30 houses, and Kienthe about 24. This nation also culti- vated their lands quite extensively along the Genesee River, and had a large store of corn. He estimates their warriors at 1000, making them by far the most powerful of the nations, and mustering nearly as many warriors as all the others combined.

The names given these nations by the French, according to this writer, were as follows: Mohawks, Les Anniez ; Oneidas, Les Onoyants ; Onondagas, Les Montagneurs, or Onmontagues ; Cuyugas, Les Petuneurs ; Senecas, Les Piasans.

The date of this visit was about 34 years previous to the admission of the Tuscarora nation, and about 23 years after the first Jesuit missionaries had visited them.

The following additional particulars concerning the In- dians who formerly resided, or at present do reside, in the county of Oneida, is taken from Hon. P. Jones' " Annals of Oneida County."

" Early travelers and writers speak of the Oneidas as the most polished, possessing the finest forms, and as being the most prepossessing in manners and appearance of any of the Iroquois tribes. Smith, the historian, quotes from a letter written in 1748 by the Rev. Mr. Spencer, a mission- ary among the Oneidas at Oquago (formerly a village in the town of Windsor, Broome County ), as follows: 'The dialect of the Oneidus is softer than that of the other nations, and the reason is because they have more vowels, and often supply the place of harsh letters with liquids.'

" According to the tradition of Cusick, the Oneidas first settled upon one of the head-waters of the Susquehanna, called Kuw-nuw-taw-te-ruk, about ten miles south of Oneida Castle. The earliest recollected residence of the Oneidas was upon the southern shore of Oncida Lake, near the mouth of the Oneida Creek. Here they constructed forti- fications, remains of which have been found since the country was settled by whites. From the last-named place the Oncidas removed to the neighborhood of the recent* location of the Stone, in the present town of Stockbridge, Madison County, to a place called Cu-nagh-tu-sagh-gu-sugh. From similarity in the names, there is some reason for suppos- ing that this is the location mentioned by Cusick in the tradi- tion of the origin of the tribes. It is believed that their removal to this place was before the formation of the Iro- quois Confederacy. Pyrlans, a Dutch missionary among the Mohawks at Fort Hunter, wrote, between 1742 and 1748,

& Written in 1851.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

that the result of his best conjectures and information was that the Iroquois leagne or confederacy was formed about 'one age, or the length of a man's life,' prior to the arrival of the Dutch, in 1609,* which would fix the date at about 1530-35. The town of the Oneidas at this place was in a valley south of the commanding eminence upon which the Stone rested, but in the immediate vicinity.

" The corn-hills upon their ancient fields are still (1851) visible, although a new forest has grown up since those fields were cultivated. Upon counting the rings showing the annual growth of trees in this forest, we are taken back to the year 1550, showing that it is over 300 years since the Oneidas ceased to cultivate those fields. The next remove of the Oncidas was to Ca-no-wa-lo-a,+ the site of Oneida Castle. The signification of this name is ' enemy's head on a pole,' and it is spelled in a great variety of ways by different persons. The Oneidas resided in this place when the Dutch settled upon the Hudson, in 1609 (1613).

"The Iroquois all believed in witches, and about 1805 oc- cnrred the last execution in Oneida for witchcraft. Two women suffered for this supposed crime. Han Yost, an Indian somewhat noted in the Revolution, was chosen exe- entioner, and he entered their lodge and tomahawked them according to a decree of council.

" Celebrated Oncida Chiefs .- If the pages of history do not show as long a list of most distinguished chiefs and warriors of the Oneida nation as some of the others, it is because the names and deeds of their great men have not been preserved. Early writers upon the Iroquois speak of the Oneidas as displaying the greatest talents in council and diplomacy, while in prowess and courage they were the equals of any of the Six Nations. According to tradition, O-tat-scheck-ta was the chief or delegate from the Oneidas who aided in forming the Confederacy of the Five (original) Nations ; and the Good Spirit, who presided over and directed their councils, addressed the Oneidas in concluding the ceremonies : 'And you, Onridas, a people who recline your bodies against the everlasting stone that cannot be moved, shall be the second nation, because you give wise counsel.' In 1655, Atonelutochan is mentioned by the French as a distinguished Oneida chief, who had visited Canada and exerted a powerful influence among the Iro- quois."

At the great Indian treaty at Fort Stanwix in the au- tumn of 1768, the articles were signed on the part of the Oneidas by Ca-nagh-qui-e-son, who must have been at the time principal chief of the nation, for this was a very im- portant treaty. Iu August, 1775, a delegation from the Six Nations held a conference at Albany with the Commis- sioners for Indian affairs, General Philip Schuyler, Colonel Wolcott, Colonel Francis, and Mr. Douw. At this confer- ence Seugh-na-gen-rat, an Oneida chief, spoke in behalf of the Six Nations.

" Among the chiefs who aided in enlisting the Oneidas in behalf of the Americans during the Revolution was one who has usnally worn the soubriquet of Plattcopf. He was the junior of Skanandoa, and is said not to have ex-

erted an equal influence ; but notwithstanding, by the fire of his eloquence and the force of his reasoning, he often bound the attention and swayed the passions of the Oneida nation. British gold and ancient friendships often tempted the cupidity and loyalty of the Oncidas, but were as often met by the appeals and invectives of their orators, who served the cause of truth and justice by a recital of the wrongs, injuries, and rights of the colonists. Messrs. Kirk- land and Dean kept these orators fully prepared with ma- terials for their speeches.

" But the name which stands more prominently upon the page of history, and which will be remembered until the original (?) inhabitants of the country are forgotten, is that of Skunandoa, 'the white man's friend.' He was boro about the year 1706, but of his younger days little or nothing is known. It has been stated, but upon what anthor- ity the writer does not know, that he was not an Oneida by birth, but was a native of a tribe living a long distance to the northwest, and was adopted by the Oneidas when a young

man.# In his youth and early manhood Skanandoa was very savage and intemperate. In 1755, while attending upon a treaty at Albany, he became excessively drunk at night, and in the morning found himself divested of all his ornaments and clothing. His pride revolting at his self-deg- radation, he resolved never again to place himself under the power of 'fire-water,' a resolution which it is believed he kept to the end of his life. In appearance he was noble, dignified, and commanding, being in height over six feet and the tallest Indian in his nation. He possessed a powerful frame, for at the age of eighty-five he was a full match for any member of his tribe, cither as to strength or speed of foot, and his powers of endurance were equal to his size and physical power. But it was to his eloquence and mental powers that he owed his reputation and influence. His person was tattooed or marked in a peculiar manner. There were nine lines, arranged by threes, extending downwards from each shoulder and meeting upon the chest, made by introducing some dark coloring matter under the skin. He was in his riper years one of the noblest counselors among the American tribes; he possessed a vigorous mind, and was alike sagacious, active, and persevering. As an enemy he was terrible, as a friend and ally he was mild and gentle in his disposition and faithful to his engagements. His vigi- lance once preserved from massaere the inhabitants of the little settlement at German Flats, and in the Revolutionary war his influence induced the Oneidas to take up arms in favor of the Americans.

" Soon after Mr. Kirkland established his mission (1766)

# Mr. Jones says he may have belonged to a tribe called Necuria- guas, who lived north of Mackinaw, but we are unable to find such a tribe named. They are said to have joined the Iroquois in 1722.

Shenandoa was the head of an embassy which visited Col. Van Schaick at Fort Schuyler (Rome), in April, 1799, on the occasion of the destruction of the Onondaga villages. It is stated in Col. Stone's Life of Brant, vol. i. p. 401, in a foot-note, that on the 9th of April, 1779, Congress passed a resolution granting captains' commissions to four of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, and eight commissions as lieutenants. A few of the commissions were subsequently issned. The most of them served faithfully, and several were killed. Three of the lieutenants deserted to the enemy, and exchanged their com - missions for those of a like rank in tho British service.

# Date of Hudson's voyage.

t Morgan gives this name Gu-no-alo'-hale, "head on a pole."

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

at Oneida Skanandoa embraced the doctrines of the gospel, and for the rest of his life lived a consistent Christian. He often repeated the wish that he might be buried by the side of his old teacher and spiritual father, that he might ' go up with him at the great resurrection ;' and several times in the latter years of his life he made the journey from Oneida to Clinton, hoping to die there.

" Although he could speak but little English, and in his extreme old age was blind, yet his company was sought. In conversation he was highly decorous, evineing that he had profited by seeing civilized and polished society, and by mingling in good company in his better days. He evinced constant care not to give pain by any remark or reply. Upon one occasion he was visited by a party of young ladies, who found him at home, reclining upon a couch. He was then blind. After the introduction by Miss Kirkland, who was one of the party, Skanandou aske 1, ' Are these ladies married ?' Upon being answered in the negative, he responded, 'It is well, for there are many bad men.' Miss Kirkland, who had seen much of the chief, said to her friends that if he had received an affirmative answer he would probably have responded, ' It is well, if you have got good husbands.' To Professor Norton, of Hamilton College, upon receiving a similar answer, he responded, 'It is well ; there are many bad women !'

" 'To a friend who called upon him a short time before his death, he thus expressed himself by an interpreter : 'I am an aged hemlock ; the winds of a hundred years have whistled through my branches ; I am dead at the top. The generation to which I belonged have run away and left me. Why I live the Great, Good Spirit only knows. Pray to my Jesus that I may have patience to wait for my appointed time to die.' An eloquence and beauty of sentiment which have been admired by millions in many lands, and which have been seldom equaled by the most eloquent and best of ancient or modern times.

" After listening to the prayers read at his bedside by his great-granddaughter, Skanandoa yielded up his spirit on the 11th of March, 1816, aged about one hundred and ten years. Agrecably to a promise made by the family of Mr. Kirk- land, his remains were brought to Clinton and buried by the side of his spiritual father. Services were attended in the Congregational meeting-house in Clinton, and an ad- dress was made to the Indians by Dr. Backus, president of Hamilton College, interpreted by Judge Dean, and after prayer, and singing appropriate psalms, the corpse was car- ried to the grave, preceded by the students of the college, and followed in order by the Indians, Mrs. Kirkland and family, Judge Dean, Rev. Dr. Norton, Rev. Mr. Ayres, offi- cers of the college, citizens.

"Skanandoa was buried in the garden of Mr. Kirkland, a short distance south of the road leading up to the college. A handsome monument stands in the college burying-ground, with the following inscription :

"SKENANDOA .*

" This monument is erected by the Northern Missionary Society, in testimony of their respect for the memory of Skenandoa, who died in the peace and hope of the Gospel, on the 11th of March, 1816. Wise, eloquent, and brave, he long swayed the councils of his tribe, whose confidence and affection he eminently enjoyed. In the war

which placed the Canadas under the crown of Great Britain, he was actively engage l against the French ; in that of the Revolution he espoused that of the colonies, and ever afterwards remained a firm friend of the United States. Under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Kirk- land he embraced the doctrines of the Gospel : and, having exhibited their power in a long life, adorned hy every Christian virtue, he fell asleep in Jesus, at the advanced age of one hundred years."

The following description of the annual Indian fishing- feast, at the forks of Fish ereek, is from Hon. P. Jones' " Annals of Oneida County":

" It was held in the opening of the year, when the leaves on the trees had acquired the size of a fox's ear. In their estimation it was an occasion of importance, and was eon- ducted with much ceremony. Every family in the tribe was expected to be present by one or more representatives. Until after the feast, by their laws, none were allowed to fish for salmon. When the whole party had convened, op- erations were commeneed by driving a row of sticks aeross the stream, just below the fishing-ground, and filling the interstices with brush, so as to entirely prevent the eseape of a fish. They then went quite a distance above the fish- ing-ground, and by various devices searched out and drove all the salmon down to the ground selected. Then another row of stakes and brush, like the first, was placed aernss the stream, above the fish. All being thus made ready, the taking of the fish commeneed. The old men, women, and children were stationed at the lower obstruction and along the margin of the stream to secure the wounded and dying, while the more effective portion of the party, with spears and sharpened stakes, commeneed taking their now doomed captives. Their aim was to spear them and carry them ashore; but, from the imperfection of their instruments, they more frequently failed than were successful, and se- euring the wounded at the lower weir was an operation full as exciting to the old men and boys as was the spearing to the fishermen in the stream above. When all were taken that were within the inclosure,-which frequently amounted to hundreds, -the cooking and feasting commenced. It was comparatively a feast of ' first fruits,' and lasted until all were satisfied with the boiled, roasted, and broiled, when the remnant was apportioned to each family in the tribe, according to its number of souls."

The following paragraphs, illustrative of various expe- rienees with the Indians, are also extracted from Mr. Jones' work.

" In March, 1787, Moses Foot, Esq., with eight other families, removed from New England to the village of Clinton, and commeneed the settlement of that section of the county. A short time after their arrival they held a eouneil with the chiefs of the Oneida tribe, which resulted in the following covenant : ' If the cattle of the whites, for the purpose of grazing in the woods, went on the In- dian grounds, or the cattle of the Indians eame on the lands of the whites, that were not inclosed, they were not to be molested ; but should the cattle of either party stray away and the other party know where they were, notice was to be given to the owners, that the cattle might be reclaimed. Either party might dig ginseng on the other's laud, but neither party was to cut any timber belonging to the oppo- site party.'

"One or two years afterwards, a party of the Oneidas,

# The name is variously written.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

headed by the celebrated Sauey Nick, came and formed a eamp about two nules west of the village, for the purpose of digging ginseng, where they remained several days. One of the settlers missed a fine fat stoer, and on making search found some of the offals secreted near the Indian camp, but the birds had flown,-not an Indian was to be found.

" This was on the morning of the day appointed for the inspection of the militia. The Governor, to prevent the trouble and expense of going some thirty or forty miles to meet their regiment at the German Flats, had issued his orders that a major should attend at Clinton, and inspect the two small companies, then all the organized military in the State west of the said German Flats. These two com- panies were the germs of the 20th and 134th Regiments, the two oldest regiments in the county. On the news of the Indian depredation reaching the settlement, a party of some ten or twelve armed young men started in pursuit.

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History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 920

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920