USA > New York > Yates County > History of Yates County, N.Y. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 3
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It is difficult to learn the truth regarding a political and social system
35
IROQUOIS LAWS OF DESCENT AND INHERITANCE.
which was not preserved by any written record. A's near as can be as- certained the Onondagas had a certain pre-eminence in the councils of the League, at least to the extent of always furnishing the grand sachem, whose authority, however, was of a very shadowy description. It is not certain that he ever presided in the congress of sachems. That con- gress, however, always met at the council fire of the Onondagas. This was the natural result of their central position, the Mohawks and Oneidas being east of them, the Cayugas and Senecas to the west. The Senecas were unquestionably the most powerful of all the tribes, and as they were located at the western extremity of the Confederacy they had to bear the brunt of war when it was assailed by its most formida- ble foes who dwelt in that quarter. It would naturally follow that the principal war chief of the league should be of the Seneca nation, and such is said to have been the case, though over this, too, hangs a shadow of doubt.
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As among many other savage tribes the right of heirship was in the female line. A man's heirs were his brother and his sister's son ; never his own son nor his brother's son. The few articles which constituted an Indian's personal property, even his bow and tomahawk, never de- scended to the son of him who had wielded them. Titles, so far as they were hereditary at all, followed the same law of descent. The child also followed the clan and tribe of the mother. The object of this was evi- dently to secure greater certainty that the heir would be of the blood of his deceased kinsman.
The result of the application of this rule to the Iroquois system of clans was that if a particular sachemship or chieftiancy was once estab- lished in a certain clan of a certain tribe, in that clan and tribe it was expected to remain forever. Exactly how it was filled when it became vacant is a matter of some doubt, but as near as can be learned the new official was elected by the warriors of the clan, and was then " raised up," i. e., inaugurated by the congress of sachems. If, for instance, a sachemship belonging to the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe became vacant it could only be filled by some one of the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. A clan council was called, and as a general rule the heir of the deceased was chosen to his place, to-wit .: One of his brothers, reckon- ing only on the mother's side, or one of his sister's sons, or even some
36
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
more distant male relative in the female line. But there was no positive law and the warrors might discard all these and elect some one entirely unconnected with the deceased. A grand council of the Confederacy was then called, at which the new sachem was formally " raised up," or as we should say " inaugurated " in his office. And while there was no unchangeable custom compelling the clan-council to select one of the heirs of the deceased as his successor the tendency was so strong in that direction that an infant was frequently chosen, a guardian being ap- pointed to perform the functions of the office till the youth should reach the proper age to do so. All offices were held for life unless the incum- bent was solemnly deposed by a council, an event which very seldom occurred.
Notwithstanding the modified system of hereditary power in vogue the constitution of every tribe was essentially republican. Warriors, old men, and even women attended the various councils and made their in- fluence felt. Neither in the government of the Confederacy nor of the tribes was there any such thing as tyranny over the people, though there was a great deal of tyranny by the League over conquered nations. In fact there was very little government of any kind and but little need of any. There were substantially no property interests to guard, all land being in common and each man's personal property being limited to a bow, arrows, tomahawk, and a few deer skins. Liquor had not yet lent its disturbing influence and few quarrels were to be traced to the influence of woman, for the American Indian of that day was singularly free from the warmer passions. His principal vice was an easily aroused and unlimited hatred, but the tribes were so small and enemies so convenient that there was no difficulty in gratifying this feel- ing outside his own nation. The consequence was that, although the war parties of the Iroquois were continually shedding the blood of their foes, there was very little quarreling at home. They do not appear to have any class especially set apart for religious services, and their re- ligious creed was limited to a somewhat vague belief in a " Great Spirit " and several inferior but very potent evil spirits. They had a few simple ceremonies, consisting largely of dances, one called the "green corn dance," performed at the time indicated by its name, and others at vari- ous seasons of the year. From a very early date their most important
37
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IROQUOIS,
religious ceremony was the "burning of the white dog," when an un- fortunate canine of the requisite color was sacrificed by one of the chiefs. To this day the pagans among them still perform this rite.
In common with their fellow savages on this continent the Iroquois have been termed "fast friends and bitter enemies." They were a great deal stronger enemies than friends. Revenge was the ruling pas- sion of their nature and cruelty was their abiding characteristic. Re- venge and cruelty are the worst attributes of human nature and it is idle to talk of the goodness of men who roasted their captives at the stake. All Indians were faithful to their own tribes and the Iroquois were faithful to their Confederacy, but outside of these limits their friendship could not be counted on and treachery was always to be apprehended in dealing with them. In their family relations they were not harsh to their chil- dren and not wantonly so to their wives, but the men were invariably indolent, and all labor was contemptuously abandoned to the weaker sex. They were not an amorous race, but could not well be called a moral one. In that respect they were merely apathetic. Their pas- sions rarely led them into adultery and mercenary prostitution was en- tirely unknown, but they were not sensitive on the question of purity and readily permitted their maidens to form the most fleeting alliances with distinguished visitors. Polygamy, too, was practiced, though in what might be called moderation. Chiefs and eminent warriors usually had two or three wives, but rarely more. They could be divorced at will by their lords, but the latter seldom availed themselves of their privileges.
Such was the character of the Iroquois Confederacy and such were the characteristics of its tribes and people. For 130 years they were undisputed masters and for upwards of two centuries they were in pos- session of the territory now included within the county of Yates.
After the overthrow of the Kahquahs and Eries the Iroquois lords of this region of country went forth conquering and to conquer. Stimu- lated, but not yet crushed by contact with the white man, they stayed the progress of the French into their territories, they negotiated on equal terms with the Dutch and English, and having supplied them- selves with the terrible arms of the pale- faces they smote with direst vengeance whomsoever of their own race were so unfortunate as to pro-
38
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
voke their wrath. On the Susquehanna, the Allegheny, the Ohio, even to the Mississippi in the West and the Savannah in the South, the Iro- quois bore their conquering arms, filling with terror the dwellers alike on the plains of Illinois and in the glades of the Carolinas. They strode over the bones of the slaughtered Kahquahs to new conquests on the Great Lakes beyond, even to the foaming cascades of Michillimacinac and the shores of the mighty Superior. They inflicted such terrible de- feat upon the Hurons, despite the alliance of the latter with the French, that many of the conquered nation sought safety on the frozen borders of Hudson's Bay. In short they triumphed on every side save only where the white man came, and even he for a time was held at bay by these fierce Confederates.
The foregoing narrative is in brief an outline history of the famous Iroquois Confederacy from the time of the supposed Indian occupancy of the territory by their ancestors down to the early permanent settle- ments by the whites. From what has already been stated the reader has learned that the Seneca tribe, who occupied the immediate terri- tory now of Yates County, were the possessors and dwellers here- abouts, and with them directly and with the Confederacy generally were had the negotiations that eventually led to the sale of their lands to the Massachusetts Company. They were first induced to dispose of their lands to the obnoxious lessee company through the means of a perpetual lease, but that disposition was held by the power of the State to be invalid and the lease was consequently nullified.
But the events just referred to occurred at a much later period, at a time when the power of the Confederacy had become substantially broken. The greatest blow against the strength of the Senecas was struck by General Sullivan in his memorable campaign against them during the progress of the Revolution. At this time, too, another corps of leaders was in the field in command of the local occupants of the soil. The conquest over all the other Indian nations by the Iroquois was made somewhere between the years 1640 and 1655, before white settlement had made any substantial progress in Western New York or the territory afterward so called. Therefore it will be observed that the negotiations and treaties for the extinguishment of Indian titles oc- curred more than a century after the Iroquois made their conquering
39
EARLY DISCOVERIES.
tour, and that none of the red warriors who participated in the early struggle could have been living when the more peaceful conquest of their territory was made by the whites. But this is a subject that will be more fully discussed in another chapter of the present volume.
CHAPTER III.
Early explorations and Discoveries - The French in Canada - The Puritans in New England - The English in Virginia - The Dutch in New York - Founding of New France -Champlain incurs the enmity of the Iroquois - Its after Effects - Ad- ventures of De Nonville and La Salle - Neutrality of the Iroquois during the early French Wars - The French make friends with the Senecas - Joncaire's Influence - French forts built in the Seneca Country - Discomfiture of the English -The Final Wars - Extinction of French power in America.
'ULL four hundred years ago Christopher Columbus first set foot F = upon North American soil. He was sailing in the interest of the government of Spain, and the reports of his voyage soon induced other European powers to fit out similar exploring expeditions for a like pur- pose, the extension of their influence and domain in the New World. Within a very few years after the discovery of America by Columbus we find the French government sending out Jacques Cartier upon an errand similar to that of Spain, but the latter navigator touched the northeast coast, entered the St. Lawrence River, and gave to that stream the name it still bears. These were but the beginning of discoveries, and although an occasional visit was afterward made to the country by some advent- urous navigators it was more than 100 years later before any explor- ers ventured into the region of what afterward became Western New York. In 1603 Samuel de Champlain made a voyage to the country, having in view the fur trade, but the result of which was the establish - ment of a new colony. On the occasion of his second visit in 1608 and 1609 he planted the settlement and explored the region of the St. Law- rence, though but to a limited extent. He, during the latter year, voy- aged up Lake Champlain, which he so called in allusion to his own
40
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
name; he also discovered and named Lake St. Sacrament, but now Lake George. Upon the occasion of this voyage Champlain was accompa- nied by two other Frenchmen and a party of Huron and Algonquin Indians, and while on his part the voyage was one of discovery and exploration the Indians on the contrary were actuated by other motives, for they hoped to bring on a battle with the Iroquois in the belief that with their European allies supplied with firearms they would terrify and conquer their antagonists, which proved to be the case, as the parties met in battle near Lake St. Sacrament, and at the first discharge of their weapons by the Frenchmen two Iroquois chiefs were killed, while the others were so amazed at the noise and fatal effect of the guns that they fled in terror. Commenting upon this occurrence in particular, and upon the progress of settlement thus far, Turner says :
" This was the first battle of which history gives us any account in a region where armies since often met. And it marks another era, the introduction of firearms in battle to the natives in all the northern por- tion of this continent. They had now been made acquainted with the two elements that were destined to work out principally their decline and gradual extermination. They had tasted French brandy upon the St. Lawrence, English rum upon the shores of the Chesapeake, and Dutch gin upon the banks of the Hudson. They had seen the mighty engines, one of which was to conquer them in battle and the other was to conquer them in peace councils where cessions of their domain were involved."
From the time of his first voyage to the St. Lawrence country down to the year 1627, when Cardinal Richelieu organized the Company of New France, otherwise known as the Company of a Hundred Partners, the Marquis Champlain was a frequent visitor to the region, and by that time a considerable number of Frenchmen had become colonists in America. But as early as 1615 an association of French merchants had secured a charter to lands in America indefinite and almost unlimited in extent, and to the entire region was given the name of New France. Although there appears no record by which the fact can be demon- strated, yet it is generally conceded that the French claim included the whole Genesee country, as afterward called, and therefore included what is now Yates County. And although at that time explorations
41
EARLY COLONIZATION.
had not extended into this part of the country all European nations recognized the right of discovery as constituting a valid title to lands occupied only by scattered barbarians, but there were numerous dis- putes as to application and especially as to the amount of surrounding country which each discoverer could claim on behalf of his sovereign. But during this same period other powers than France and Spain were also active in the work of planting colonies in the new country. In 1606 King James granted to the Plymouth Company the territory of New England, but it was not until the year 1620 that any permanent settlement was made under that grant. On the 9th of November of that year the Mayflower with its Pilgrim Fathers landed on American terri- tory and afterward founded the colony at Plymouth. In 1607 an Eng- lish expedition entered Chesapeake Bay and founded the colony at Jamestown, that being the oldest English settlement in the land. In 1609 the doughty English navigator, Henry Hudson, while in the em- ploy of the Dutch East India Company, discovered the river which bears his name, and soon after that time the Hollanders established for- tified trading posts at its mouth and at Albany and had opened com- merce in furs. They, too, made an indefinite claim of territory west- ward. Thus at the end of 1620 there were three distinct streams of immigration with three attendant claims of sovereignty converging to. ward a common center. Let but the French at Montreal, the English in New England, and the Dutch on the Hudson all continue the work of colonization, following the natural channels, and all would ultimately meet in the Genesee country. In the work of advancing settlements the best opportunities lay with the French, while the Dutch were sec- ond and the English last.
The French were by far more active in advancing their settlements than were either the Dutch or the English. The Company of a Hundred Partners had agreed to transport to the Canadian territory a colony of 6,000 emigrants, and to furnish them with an ample supply both of priests and artisans. Champlain was made governor of the colony and province, but his experiences for a few years were unfortunate. England and France were at war and a British fleet sailed up the St. Lawrence and captured Quebec. The French, too, suffered sorely at the hands of the Iroquois, whose territory Champlain and the Huron-
6
42
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Algonquins had invaded. They, the Iroquois, about the time of the capture of Quebec, made an expedition against the Canadian residents, both French and Indians, with disastrous results to the latter. But at length a peace was declared between the contending countries and the New France was again restored to its discovers, and Champlain resumed charge of its governmental affairs.
With this restoration of peace and power the French became at once active in extending their possessions and influence. In this duty the van was led by the ever zealous Jesuit priests and missionaries. They first made firm friends with the savages throughout the Canadian region of country and gradually stretched out to the westward, reaching in a few years as far as the western shores of Lake Huron. But as energetic as they might be in extending their possessions in that direction the Frenchmen carefully avoided for a long time any contact with the Senecas of the Iroquois, for Champlain's foolish and wanton attack near Lake George had incurred for him the most bitter enmity of the Con- federacy, and all the arts and influence of the priests failed to overcome or pacify them. However, in 1640, the Reverend Fathers Bréboeuf and Chaumonot, after their labors in the Western country, made a visit to the Neuter Nation and during the succeeding year to the Kahquahs, but not with either people did they succeed in establishing a foothold. But the Neuters and the Kahquahs received the Jesuits and harbored them for a time, which, coming to the knowledge of the Senecas, in a measure at least aroused the ire of the Confederacy and may possibly have con- tributed as an auxiliary event that finally led to the destruction of the peaceful nations.
But as years passed away the men of the Iroquois Confederacy became more and more accustomed to the presence of white faces. In 1677 Wentworth Greenhalgh, an Englishman, visited the Five Nations and counted not only their villages, but their inhabitants as well. At that time he reported the Senecas as having 1,000 warriors; the Cayugas 300 ; the Onondagas 350 ; the Oneidas 200; and the Mohawks 300. From this we may discover that the aggregate number of Iroquois in 1677 was 2, 150 men. But in 1712, by the acquisition of the Tusca- roras, who had been driven out of the Carolinas by the whites and allied Pohattans, the strength of the Confederacy was considerably augmented,
43
FALL OF THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY.
then numbering about 2,600 warriors. But the power of the Iroquois league was at last doomed to be broken. In 1669 Robert Cavelier de la Salle, a Frenchman of excellent family, rich in purse, and filled with love of country and love of adventure, with only two companions, made a visit to the Seneca country, explored the region more thoroughly than had any predecessor, and drove the entering wedge which ultimately separated a portion of the Senecas from their brothers, thus weakening the power of the Iroquois. In 1678 La Salle received a commission from King Louis XIV. to discover the western part of New France, and in the next year the adventurer succeeded in penetrating the strongholds of the Senecas. He was authorized by the King to build forts and de- fences, but at his own expense, being granted in return the right to trade in furs and skins. Under La Salle's authority was made the visit to the Senaca country by Father Hennepin, the somewhat famous priest and historian from whose record has come the greater portion of all that is written by subsequent authorities on the subject of Indian history and tradition.
In the fall of 1678 La Salle and his followers commenced the con- struction of a sloop, but it was not completed and launched until the succeeding spring. His men worked constantly, while meats for their subsistence were supplied by two Indians of the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. On the 7th of August, 1679, with a crew of thirty men, Le Griffon ( The Griffin) set sail for a tour of the lakes and the exploration of the western part of New France. For a period of nearly half a century after the adventures of La Salle the French maintained a nominal though not substantial ascendancy in this region of the country. They made a foothold among some of the Senecas, but the great body of that tribe, true to their league with the eastern Indians, were but little inclined to forget, much less to forgive, the wrongs perpetrated by Champlain, and every movement on the part of the Frenchmen was watched with jealous interest. The Jesuits labored and the traders bartered with the Indians, and while the savages received one party and traded with the other they felt no interest in the welfare of the visitors. In 1687 the Marquis de Nonville, governor of New France, made a landing at Irondequoit Bay with nearly 2,000 French troops and about 500 Canadian Indians. True to their instincts the Senecas attacked the invaders as they were about
44
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
to lay battle to one of their villages, but as the Senecas only numbered about 800 they were defeated. They burned their villages and fled to the Cayugas, leaving the Frenchmen for the time masters of the Genesee country. This victory of the almost unconquerable Senecas was a great achievement for the French, for it gave them a strong foot- ing in the lake region and so disheartened the former possessors of the locality, the Senecas, that they abandoned their late villages and took up their homes at Kanandesaga (Geneva) and on the Genesee River above Avon.
De Nonville then sailed to the mouth of the Niagara, where he erected a small fort on the east side of the river. This was the origin of Fort Niagara, one of the most celebrated strongholds of the country, and was the key of Western New York and of the whole upper lake country. And in later years, when the American colonies were struggling to throw off the British yoke, the remnant of Senecas left from Sullivan's destruct- ive expedition against them made this point their place of refuge dur- ing the remaining years of the Revolution. In 1687 De Nonville, the French commander, drove the Senecas from the region of Fort Niagara, but in 1779 General Sullivan reversed the order of things and drove them back from the eastern part of the Genesee country to their ancient home on the Niagara. And while the French were the direct cause of their former leaving they were also indirect auxiliaries in compelling their return.
But the French did not long succeed in maintaining the positions they had gained in the land of the Senecas. De Nonville soon returned to Montreal, leaving a few troops to garrison the fort, and they became so weakened through sickness that the post was abandoned and not again occupied for nearly forty years. By this time, too, the whole Iroquois Confederacy had become aroused by the intrusions of the French, and under British instigation made an attack upon their strong- hold and seat of operations at Montreal. In 1688 came the English revolution, followed immediately by open war with France. Count de Frontenac was governor-general of New France under the French rule at this period, but his administration was no more successful than was that of his predecessor. He, too, invaded the country of the Iro- quois, but the result was a success to his arms. The war was continued
45
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS,
with varying fortune's until 1697, during which time, on this side of the Atlantic, hostilities were constant. The English colonists in America were lending substantial aid to the Indians and constantly inciting them to depredations against the now common enemy. During this period the Senecas again possessed their ancient land, but the not infrequent visits of French troops had the effect of deterring them from attempt- ing a permanent occupation.
The war between England and France was terminated by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, and by which was divined to a certain extent the possessions in America of the contending nations, but there were no certain provisions relating to the lands of the Senecas. The English claimed sovereignty over the entire region of country occupied by the Five Nations, while the French likewise asserted their rights to the same rich district; but in actual possession of the disputed territory were the Iroquois themselves, who repudiated alike the claims of both Yonondio and Corlear, as they denominated the governors respectively of Canada and New York.
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