History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents, Part 11

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages:

USA > New York > Wyoming County > History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents > Part 11

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

It is not necessary, and it would be improper, to discuss this question here. These mementos of the long ago exist, and as archaeologists become more skilled in searching after them more are discovered, notwithstanding the fact that

time, the ax and the plow tend constantly to obliterate the traces of their existence.

In recent times individuals, associations and public insti- tutions have become impressed with the importance of pre- serving these relics of bygone ages, and with commendable zeal they are engaged in collecting them in cabinets and museums, where they may be preserved and studied in future. The national museum at Washington contains many thousands of these relics, and the cabinets of histori- cal societies are constantly being enriched by accessions of them. Recently Mr. W. P. Letchworth, of Glen Iris, near Portage, has at his own expense established such a museum.

Want of space prevents even a catalogue of all the works that have been discovered in western New York, of the ori- gin and builders of which there exists not even a tradition. Probably many others have been leveled by the plow, and forgotten, if their character was ever known, and perhaps still others, the relics of periods antecedent to these, have been obliterated by time.

There are regions the peculiar topography of which ren- ders them well adapted to the wants of people, and which at the same time does much toward shaping and molding the character of that people. Western and central New York appear to have long been the habitat of a wild, inde- pendent and warlike race, and the physical features of the region are adapted to the wants of just such a people as the works and relics found in it indicate, and as were repre- sented by its inhabitants at the time of its settlement by Europeans.

Of these ancient works, one of the most interesting in western New York is in the town of Genesee Falls, in this county, on the Genesee river, three miles above Portage- ville. It is on a large farm owned by Messrs. T. Dunn and H. T. Mills, on lot 107 of the Cotringer tract. It is called Fort Hill, because of its location on the top of a hill that rises from near the middle of the valley, which is here about a mile in width.

Although this is evidently a drift hill, there are reasons for the belief that in some past period it was the eastern extremity of a spur that extended from the hills on the western boundary of the valley; and that its connection with these hills was severed by the action of the current, which, after breaking through, carried away, little by little, the

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF WYOMING COUNTY, NEW YORK.

whole of this spur, except this solitary hill and the short spur of about the same height which still projects from these hills half a mile west from it. When the evidences of past mutations which everywhere present themselves in this valley are considered, it will not be deemed incredible that in the lapse of immense time this spur may have been deposited there; then, by the action of the current which beat against its base, doubled back and swept around to the east of it, been cut through, and afterward, as before stated, washed away by the shifting stream till only this hill and the distant headland remained. The river now runs half a mile east from the hill, but it is known that in 1820 it washed its southeastern base, and evidences of comparatively recent erosive action are plainly visible there. Along its southwestern base a former river bed is easily traceable where the stream passes west of the hill. From the plain on the north side the hill rises to a height of 60 or 70 feet, and from the south about 90. The sides are so steep as to render ascent extremely difficult, except at its eastern and western extremities, where narrow points or " hog backs" extend northeasterly and northwesterly, which afford easier access to its summit.

The top is quite level, 'and includes an area of about three-quarters of an acre. It is surrounded at the brow of the hill by a mural embankment, which is now about two feet in height. This wall encloses, or rather enclosed, a surface which had the form of the cut surface of a pear divided longitudinally; its base lying toward the east, and its long axis running about twelve degrees south from east. When the. river had its course along the southeast base of the hill it undermined or washed away a portion of this base, and a part of the wall, with some of the surface which it included, "slid" away. Elsewhere the continuity of the wall is unbroken, except at the eastern and western "hog backs," where there are sallyports or passageways. A ditch once surrounded the work just without the embankment, but where the sides of the hill have worn away scarcely a trace of this ditch can be seen. It is very distinct where it crosses the eastern and western points of the hill. A short distance east from the center of this work is a de- pression which marks the site of a former cache, or place of concealment or storage. By some who have visited and described this work this has been spoken of as a well for supplying water. A moment's reflection, however, will con- vince any one that without a reversal of the law of gravity a supply of water at the top of an isolated hill like this is impossible. A few trees are standing within this embank- ment, and they are not of a large size. Their growth is said by those who have known them for sixty years to be scarce- ly perceptible. Such is the present appearance of this work.

At the time of the settlement of this valley an artificial mound rose from the plain some thirty rods north from the hill. This mound was circular, with a diameter at its base of about sixteen yards, and a height of six yards. In 1870, with the consent of the proprietors, Messrs. O. H. Mar- shall and W. C. Bryant, of Buffalo, and W. P. Letchworth made a thorough examination of this work by excavating trenches across it through the center at right angles, and 'carefully noting everything that was disclosed. Ashes and charcoal, with fragments of bones, doubtless human, so much decayed as to indicate great antiquity, were found.

Partial and careless examinations had before resulted in the discovery of a few stone implements and ornaments. It was a burial mound.

Several "bone pits," which contained very large quan- tities of human ossements, have been found in the vicinity. The significance of these will be at once recognized when the custom which prevailed among the ancient Indians, of periodically gathering and depositing the bones of their kindred, is remembered. This is admirably described by Parkman in his "Jesuits of North America," under the caption "Feast of the Dead." In the vicinity are several burial places of more modern Indians.

Relics in abundance have been unearthed by the plow in different localities in the neighborhood of this work. Some of these relics belonged to what archaeologists terin the paleolithic, or ancient stone age; while others were of more recent origin. The places where they were found thickly strewn were ancient camping grounds or villages; and could investigations have been made by competent archeologists before they were disturbed by the plough, many of the hut sites might have been pointed out.

Of course different opinions are entertained of this and other similar works, in accordance with the views which are held concerning the ancient inhabitants of the country. That it was a defensive work, strong both by reason of its character and its well chosen site, of course no one will doubt. It appears probable that it was used as a defensive stronghold during a long succession of generations; and that many villages sprang up and decayed in the valley, and perhaps on the hills in its vicinity.

Concerning the antiquity of the work there is room for great diversity of opinion. By reason of the unstable character of the valley around it no inference of great age can be drawn from appearances there. The character of the work itself is such as it might assume in a few, and re- tain during many centuries. Reasonable conclusions may, however, be drawn concerning its possible age from what has been learned of other similar works in western New York, the appearances and surroundings of which afford more nearly definite information concerning their antiquity.

Near Medina, Orleans county, N. Y., there exist the re- mains of an ancient fortification similar in many respects, though more extensive and elaborate than this. The walls or embankments of that fortification do not have so much the appearance of great age as the embankment at Fort Hill shows; yet evidences in and around that work indicate that from eight to twelve centuries have passed since it ceased to be used, and the period of its occupancy, though not definitely indicated, was fully as great. The embank ments in both these works were better preserved than in any other in this region. That of Fort Hill probably had a height of four or five feet, and though no traces of palisades are now to be seen, they probably surmounted this wall, as well as those of similar works where remains of them can be found. It is also probable that in this work, as in ot !: ers, exca- vations would disclose accumulations of stones of a few pounds weight, for hurling at assaulting foes.

Concerning this and other ancient works in this country, or their uses, none of the post-Columbian Indians seem to have had the slightest tradition. This fact is regarded by some as evidence of their great antiquity; and by others of their construction by a race antecedent to the ancestors of

Digitized by Google

VILLAGES OF THE SENECA INDIANS.

the present Indians. Though these works probably have great antiquity, and though they may have been constructed by a race now extinct, the absence of tradition concerning them is not to be regarded as evidence of either.

The following, from the pen of Dr. Myron H. Mills, of Mt. Morris, illustrates the facility with which historic events pass into oblivion among the Indians:

"Mt. Morris was called among the Indians Sanungewage, after an early settler, a 'white man ' (the late Major-General William A. Mills), whose Indian name was Sanungewa. . Those who were youths and young men when the Seneca tribe moved from the Genesee river in 1825 still call the vil- lage by the Indian name and have well preserved recollec- tions of the 'white man' after whom it was named. But upon conversing with the young Indians at the present day about Sanungewa, the Indian's 'great white friend,' or Sa- nungewage, the village named after him, they will look strangely at each other, and smile or laugh in one's face, not comprehending what is said to them. They will at the first opportunity ask the older Indians what it means. In fifty years more the traditions both of Sanungewa and Sanun- gewage, the village named after him, will be entirely lost."

CHAPTER II.

NUMBERS AND LOCATION OF THE SENECAS-THEIR RELIG- JOUS BELIEFS.

HE first settlements in western New York were made subsequent to the year 1640. At that time the region was inhabited by a people who termed themselves Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or People of the Long House. By the southern Indians they were called Massowamacs; by the Dutch, Maquaas, and by the French, Iroquois, by which designation they have since usually been known.

Charlevoix says of the word Iroquois: "It is formed of the word kiro, or hero, which signifies 'I have said,' and by which these savages always ended their speeches, as the Latins did theirs by dixi ; and of kowe, which is a cry of melancholy when its pronunciation is prolonged, and of joy when it is pronounced short."

Nothing is known of the history of the Iroquois previous to the settlement of the country by the whites. According to their traditions, they once occupied a region north from the St. Lawrence, were they were weak in numbers and subject to the Algonquins, who occupied the country further north from that river. Having been vanquished in a war with the Adirondacks, they fled from the country, and came by way of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario to the Oswe- go river, through which they entered central New York. As nearly as can be learned from their traditions, they lived together for a time near Seneca river. As they increased, however, they sought new territory, scattering east and west through the State.

The brief sketch of the Iroquois confederation which has been given on pages 9 and 10 will enable the reader to com- prehend the character of the Senecas, who inhabited west-

ern New York, and the elements of that strength which ren- dered them a terror to the savage nations north, west and south from them, and a serious obstacle in the way of the ambitious projects of the French in Canada.

The original habitat of the Senecas was between Cayuga lake and the Genesee river. They terined themselves Nun- da-wa-o-no, or " People of the Great Hill." They knew noth- ing of the name Seneca, except as applied to them by out- siders. As with other Indian proper names the spelling for a long time varied; the nation being often called in old docu - ments the Sinnekes, and given some sixty other names, mostly similar. The later classical form of the word is certainly an improvement, in spite of its coincidence with the name of the ancient philosopher. Though the same name is applied to this division of "the Romans of the new world " that was great among the Romans of the seven hills, it is pleasant to be able to consider it a slight modification of a native word, and not an instance of the stupid wholesale application of classic titles in the geography of western New York. The French sometimes called the Senecas Tsonnontouaps or Sonnonthouans.

One of the first allusions to the nation by Europeans occurs in a Jesuit "relation " dated 1644-45, and is as follows: "Toward the termination of the great lake called Ontario is located the most numerous of the Five Nations, named the Senecas, which contains full twelve hundred men, in two or three villages of which it is composed." In 1677 Wentworth Greenhalgh passed through the "long house " of the Iroquois from end to end and made a detailed report of his journey and observations, from which the following is extracted:

"The Senecas have four towns, viz., Canagora, Tiotohat- ton, Canoenada and Keint-he. Canagora and Tiotohatton lye within 30 miles of ye Lake ffrontenacque [Ontario], and ye other two ly about four or five miles apiece to ye south- ward of those. They have abundance of corne; none of their towns are stockadoed.

"Canagorah lyes on the top of a great hill [ Boughton hill, near Victor, Ontario county], and in that, as well as in the bignesse, much like Onondago, containing 150 houses, northwestward of Caiouga 72 miles. Here ye Indians were very desirous to see us ride our horses [probably the first they ever saw], wch wee did; they made great feasts and dancing.

"Tiotohatton lyes on the brincke or edge of a hill; has not much cleared ground: is near the river Tiotohatton, wch signifies bending. It lies to the westward of Canagorah about 30 miles, containing about 120 houses, being ye largest of all the houses wee saw, ye ordinary being 50 @ 60 feet long, with 12 @ 13 fires in one house. They have good store of corne, growing about a mile to the Northward of the town.

"Being at this place the 17th of June, there came 50 pris- ners from the southwestward. They were of two nations, some whereof have few guns; the others none at all. One nation is about 10 days' journey from any Christian and trade only with one great house, not far from the sea, and the other trade only, as they say, with a black people. This day of them were burnt two women, and a man and a child killed with a stone. All night we heard a great noyse as if ye houses had all fallen, butt itt was onely ye Inhabitants driving away ye ghosts of ye murthered.

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF WYOMING COUNTY, NEW YORK.

"The 18th going to Canagorah we overtook ye prisoners; when the soudiers saw us they stopped each his prisoner and made him sing, and cutt off their fingers and slasht their bodies with a knife, and when they had sung each man confessed how many men in his time he had killed. Thatt day att Canagorah there were most cruelly burnt four men, four women and one boy. The cruelty lasted aboutt seven hours. When they were almost dead letting them loose to the mercy of ye boys, and taking the hearts of such as were dead to feast on.

"Canoenada lyes about four miles to ye Southward of Canagorah, conteynes about 30 houses well furnished with corne.

" Keint-he lyes about four or five miles to ye Southward of Tiotohatton; contayns about 24 houses well furnished with corne.

"The Senecques are counted to bee in all aboutt 1,000 fighting men."

In 1684 Father Lamberville, dissauding La Barre from at- tacking the Senecas, gave the number of their warriors at 1,500. In 1698 there was made an official census of the Five Nations, in which it was reported that the "Sinnikes" had dwindled to 600 from 1,300, their number in 1689. In 1763 Sir William Johnson estimated the men of the nation as numbering 1,050, and mentioned that it had "several vil- lages, beginning about 50 m. from Cayuga, and from thence to Chenussio [Geneseo], the largest, about 70 m. from Niagara, with others thence to the Ohio." In 1770 he reported that there were 1,000 of the Seneca warriors. The fighting strength of this nation was generally equal to that of all the other Iroquois. This was stated by Governor Tyron to be the case in 1774, when, on the excellent authority of Sir William Johnson, he reported the total number of Iroquois warriors at 2,000.

A tradition of the Senecas says that at the time of their greatest prosperity a census of the nation was taken "by placing a kernel of white flint corn for each Seneca in a corn husk basket, which, from the description of its size, would hold ten or twelve quarts. Taking the smallest size, and making the estimate accordingly, will give the number of Senecas alone at 17,760."

When the Senecas were first known to the whites their villages were scattered from Seneca lake half way to the Niagara. In 1669, when La Salle made his first visit to their country, their four principal villages were from ten to twenty miles south of the falls of the Genesee, and to the eastward of that river. Mention is made of cabins of the Senecas on the Niagara in 1678 and 1736. General Am- herst, writing in 1763, mentions the Kanadaseegy and Cana- daraggo castles, the former of which, more commonly spelled Kanadaseaga, stood on the site of Geneva. These are presumably the villages which Sir William Johnson, in his enumeration of the Indians in 1763, calls Kandasero and Kanadaragey, and mentions as being in the English interest, while the rest of the nation was hostile. There were, in Sir William's time, two castles of the tribe at Chenussio (Gene- seo), once their western outpost, and a village called Che- nondonah stood on the west bank of the Genesee, some fif- teen miles from its mouth.

Previous to the settlement of this country by the whites, the roads over which the Indians passed in going from vil- lage to village, or from one region to another on hunting ex-

cursions or hostile expeditions, were termed trails.

These consisted of paths, sometimes from twelve to eighteen inches in width, and often they were worn to a depth of from six to twelve inches, according to the charac- ter of the soil. These trails connected village with village, and many of the main ones ran along the sides of rivers, in or near the valleys of which these villages sprang up. The same trails were probably used during centuries; for the routes were determined, as were the locations of the villages, by a sort of natural selection, and the habits and customs of the Indians were not such as to effect changes that would in their turn require changes in these locations. An inspection of a map on which these trails are traced will show that they very nearly coincided with the present main avenues of travel through the State.

A main trail extended from the site of Albany to that of Buffalo, over almost the same route subsequently followed by the main turnpike, and later, generally, by the Central railroad. From this trails branched, traversing valleys, skirting lakes, and connecting with the main trails.

From the site of Rochester two trails ran through the Genesee valley-one on each side of the river-through the villages along the valley as far as Caneadea, the last of the Seneca villages in it. Thence it extended south and west to the O-hee-yo, or "beautiful river," as the Senecas termed the Allegheny. It was one of the routes from the main trail which passed through Rochester and Avon (Canawa- gus), to the Allegheny river and the southwest.

There were, of course, other trails which led from place to place in various directions, the traces and memory of which are now obliterated; but those of which mention has been made were some of the main thoroughfares over which the Indians had traveled, singly or in long files, probably during many centuries.

Along the southern shore of Lake Erie, west of the Sen- ecas, dwelt the powerful "Eries or Cat nation," as the French for an unknown reason called them. About 1654 or 1655 they fell victims to the conquering Iroquois. Tradition says that the immediate occasion of the war in which the Iroquois exterminated the Eries was the defeat of the latter by the former in a series of athletic games. The Eries, having learned with alarm of the confederation of the Five Nations, proposed, as a test of the power of the new alliance, that a hundred of the Seneca braves should contest with as many of their own for a suitable prize in the native game of ball. The challenge was twice declined. but on its third presentation the eagerness of the young warriors overcame the caution of their elders, and it was accepted. The flower of the Five Nations presented them- selves. After a desperate struggle the match was won by the picked men of the Iroquois. The Eries, burning to retrieve their reputation as athletes, thereupon challenged their adversaries to a foot race in which ten of each party should compete. The young Iroquois assented, and were again the victors. Smarting with mortification from their double defeat, the Eries in desperation dared the champions of the Five Nations to a last and more serious contest, namely, a wrestling match, ten on each side, in which the vanquished should be slain by the victors. The first of the Eries was thrown by his Seneca antagonist, and on the refusal of the latter to dispatch his fallen adversary, the Erie chief himself brained him. Thrice was this scene of

Digitized by Google

THE SENECAS' RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND CEREMONIES

butchery repeated, when the rage of the defeated nation had risen to such a pitch that the Iroquois, to avoid a battle, for which they were not prepared, withdrew and returned to their homes.

The result convinced the Eries that the Iroquois nations had made common cause, and their only hope lay in de- stroying the Senecas, by a sudden blow, before they could be supported by their confederates. Their purpose to do so was frustrated by a Seneca woman, a captive among the Eries, who escaped to her kindred in time to warn them of their danger. The Iroquois rallied and marched out to meet the invaders. They encountered near the foot of Honeyoye lake, and after a fierce conflict the Eries were routed and almost annihilated. A remnant which escaped attacked the Senecas years after, near Buffalo, but were de- feated. Such is the attempt of tradition to account for the extinction of the most powerful native foe that ever crossed the path of the all-conquering Iroquois.

It is remarked in the life of Mary Jemison that "perhaps no people were more exact observers of religious duties than those Indians among the Senecas who were denomi- nated pagans, in contradistinction from those who, from having renounced some of their former superstitious no- tions, have obtained the name of Christians. They believed in a Great Good Spirit, whom they called in the Seneca language Now-wah-ne-v, as the creator of the world and of every good thing; that he made man and all inoffensive an- imals, that he supplied men with the comforts of life, and that he was particularly partial to the Indians, who, they said, were his particular people. They also believed that he was pleased in giving them [the Indians] good gifts, and that he was highly gratified with their good conduct; that he abhorred their vices, and that he was willing to punish them for their bad conduct, not only in this world, but in a future state of existence. His residence, they supposed, lay at a great distance from them, in a country that was perfect- ly pleasant, where plenty abounded even to profusion. * * * To this king they addressed prayers, offered sacri- fices, gave thanks for favors, and performed many acts of devotion and reverence.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents, Part 11

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co. Number of Pages:

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: