USA > New York > New York City > History of the New Netherlands, province of New York, and state of New York : to the adoption of the federal Constitution. Vol. I > Part 20
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He says that he wrote to the English government, from Albany, when Nicholson left New York, the last of May, and again in June ; and having come to town, in consequence of his son's sickness, and hearing of the arrival of Mr. John Riggs, with despatches from the king's ministry, he supposed these despatches were intended as answers to his letters, and therefore, in the absence of Nicholson, belonged to him, (Bayard) as a member of the king's council : and that his intention was, as soon as Mr. Stephanus Van Cortlandt should come to town, and the council should meet, to deliver the said letters to them ; " but the next morning, before the council could meet, your petitioner was informed that the said packets were, upon demand, delivered to your honour."
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From the above expression, and some others, it would appear that Van Cortlandt had come to New York about the time that Bayard did, and was secreted and at hand ; but upon the arrest of his companion, again fled to Albany.
Bayard goes on to confess that "he has been so unhappy" as to be of opinion that the packets did not belong to his honour, Captain Leisler ; and further, that in his letters to John West, he " has most unadvisedly and in his foolish passion, uttered his opinion in such severe and unbecoming expressions, to the degrading of your honour's authority ;" but he asserts that he never had a thought, directly or indirectly, to remove Leisler's "authority by force, or with any the least danger of bloodshed," but had determined to remain passive, until further orders from England. He begs Leisler not to remember "any of the particular disputes" which had been between them; asks forgiveness and compassion upon his state, as he suffers from fever, and asserts that he shall ever pray, as in duty bound, for his honour, the lieutenant-governour, Jacob Leisler. How far these assertions comport with the unrelenting persecution which brought Leisler and Milbourne to the gallows, the reader will judge. Bayard was at this time sick in prison, and in irons ; and the remembrance of these sufferings would not allay his passions, when his party was triumphant.
Already, part of the evils resulting from the opposition to Leisler's government, and from the neglect of England, had been experi- enced : and Bayard condoles with Leisler on the news of the destruction of Schenectady, and laments that he, the petitioner, should be accused of being the cause of Schuyler's opposition. He avers, that since leaving Albany, he had only written to Mr. Peter Schuyler and Mr. Livingston to thank them for civilities. He asserts, that the magistrates of Albany were. zealous friends to Wil- liam and Mary ; but considered themselves as in no way subordinate to the city of New York. He acknowledges that this had been his opinion likewise ; for which, if he has done amiss, he craves pardon. He states that he and Van Cortlandt were called upon by the con- vention at Albany, for their contribution towards the defence of the province, and insinuates that he had no further agency in Schuyler's opposition ; but intended to remain quietly in Albany until the arri- val of a governour, or some specific orders from England.
The accession of William of Orange to the throne of his father-in-law, at once involved England, and, of course, her dependencies, in a war with Louis XIV, and the adherents of James ; thus popery was arrayed against liberty and the protestant religion. The attention of William was principally directed to the war in the Netherlands. The American provinces shared little of his attention. The consequences of this state of things cannot be understood without again referring to the history of Canada.
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HOSTILITIES IN AMERICA.
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CHAPTER XI.
Hostilities in America, notwithstanding the peace declared in Europe -Affairs of Canada-Destruction of Schenectady, January 1690 -Other French and Indian Wars-The open opposition to Leis- ler put down-Leisler and the Governour of Connecticut plan an Expedition against Canada, which fails-Causes-William Phipps.
WE have seen that England and France had concluded, in 16S7, a treaty, by which a peace was stipulated between the subjects of those countries in America. But neither the government of Louis, in Europe or in Canada, chose to consider the Iroquois as subjects to Great Britain. The Court of James II, was perfectly indiffer- ent on that head, appeared ignorant of the bounds of the English Colonies, cared nothing for their interests, blind to the designs of France on the western continent, and willing to promote the scheme of gaining power over those warlike tribes, by means of presents and Jesuits.
The New England Colonies had been engaged in hostilities with various tribes or nations of the aborigines, which gave rise to a depu- tation of commissioners from the east, who met a council of the Iroquois, by appointment, at Albany, in September, 1659. The New England delegates wished to engage the Five Nations to de- fend them against the eastern Indians. Tahagadoris, a Mohawk sachem, the day after receiving the propositions, made answer. He repeated, by means of the Indian artificial memory, (a bundle of sticks, one of which is given in charge to the individual who is to remember one particular proposition,) the whole speech of the dele- gation, and then replied to each part. The Iroquois would not engage in hostilities to protect New England, but assured the depu- ties that the tomahawk would be lifted against the French.
Dongan had seen the necessity of holding the confederated In- dians of the Five Nations in the interest of his province. He had opposed the introduction of the Jesuits among them, and claimed them as subjects of England. To this the savage republic objected -declaring that they were subject to no power ; they were free, and would maintain their liberty. But the injuries they had received from France, and their former friendly intercourse with the Dutch, made them a frontier wall between New York and Canada, impeding the progress in the great project of conquest commenced by France.
Father Charlevoix, the historian of New France, or Canada,
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AFFAIRS OF CANADA.
represents Dongan's opposition to the introduction of the Jesuits among the Iroquois, as a measure hostile to France ; and as these nations were not included by name in the peace between James and Louis, the Governour of Canada, M. De Nonville, had carried on a war against them, very little to his honour or the benefit of Canada. The revolution in England, and accession of William III, placed the two mother countries in a state of war; and in 1689, M. De Nonville sailed for France, convinced that the only way to conquer the Iroquois was by the previous conquest of New York. Frontignac succeeded him, and immediately reinstated the fort of Cadaraqui.
1690 This mode of subduing the confederates was adopted ; and M. De Frontignac, an accomplished soldier, and active as he was enterprising, being in the government of Canada in 1690, deter- mined to attack the English in their settlements, and prove to the sav- ages that their safety depended upon the power of France-that the English were too weak to protect themselves. By carrying fire and scalping-knife into the English settlements, both to the east and west, he was resolved to secure the confidence of the Indian nations, and fix them in the alliance of Canada, for the purpose of future conquest. Unfortunately, the dissensions in the province of New York, aided the plans of the French governour.
M. Durantaye had command of the fort at Michilimackinack, and to strengthen that post and communicate to the commander intelli- gence of his accession to the government, M. De Frontignac sent a large convoy, with ammunition and arms, to be distributed to the Hurons and Ottawas, and such other presents as would secure their fidelity to him and arouse their prepensities to murder, to be directed by his will.
Three war parties were prepared for three attacks upon the Eng- lish settlement. Each party was composed of Indians and French- men, equipped for the purposes of destruction, and commanded by officers of the regular army. The first was directed againt the pro- vince of New York. Father Charlevoix, whose account I will first follow, tells us that the leader hesitated whether to fall upon Orange, (by which name the French called Albany,) or upon Corlear, (Schenectady,) first.
The people of Schenectady appear to have been in a state of perfect security, although they knew of the existence of war between France and England, and of the previous attempts made by the Canadians to gain the alliance of the Five Nations. Perhaps the knowledge of the latter may have tended to lull them, as negotia- tions under the influence of Jesuits who acted as spies, were con- stantly going on ; and in January of this year the Iroquois sent a messenger to Quiddor, (Peter Schuyler,) Mayor of Albany, with assurances of their hostility to the French. They forwarded to him,
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MASSACRE AT SCHENECTADY.
as tokens, three tomahawks; but this was understood only to pledge the Mohawks, Onondagas, and Senecas : the other two nations were still negotiating with Frontignac, who, by means of Milet, a Jesuit, residing for the pretence of religious instruction among the Oneidas, had so far caused a want of unanimity among the confederates, that only three, instead of five tomahawks had been sent to Albany. The distance of Schenectady from Montreal, and the neighbour- hood of the friendly Mohawks, may have caused the security which proved so fatal. But a part of Captain Bull's Connecticut troops were in the place as a guard, and were prevented from keeping watch.
'The force intended against the frontier of New York, was en- trusted to the conduct of M. D'Ibberville, who, having determined to fall on Schenectady, advanced with his French soldiers and In- dian allies over the frozen lakes and deep snows, through a silent wilderness, for twenty-two days, with great sufferings, but a perse- verance worthy of a better end. It appears from Charlevoix, that the French Indians were led or accompanied by an Iroquois chief, called the " Great Mohawk ;" and when the red and white savages had arrived within two leagues of the town, this Mohawk harangued the Indians. He had great influence, says the Jesuit, not only with the Indians, but the French, in consequence of service, character, and religion. He exhorted them to forget their fatigues and suffer- ings, in the prospect of revenge on the perfidious English, (the same term which the English have always made use of, when. speaking of the French,) and added, that " they could not doubt the assist- ance of Heaven against the enemies of God." Thus it is, that men in all ages blasphemously enlist the benevolent Deity, in their pro- jects of ambition, blood, and murder.
As they approached the devoted village, they met four squaws, who instructed them in the best way of arriving secretly at the place. When within one league, a Canadian and nine Indians were sent to reconnoitre, who, on their return, reported that the inhabitants were resting in security, and unprepared for defence. The exces- sive cold determined the commander not to defer the attack, but to push on immediately.
The Jesuit, Charlevoix, describes Schenectady as having, then, the form of a parallelogram. It was entered by two gates ; from which I infer that it was enclosed by a palisadoed wall. One gate opened upon the road to Albany, and the other on the side from which the French and Indians were advancing. It was determined that Messrs. Mantet and Sainte Helene, with one division, were to enter by the nearest gate, which the squaws had informed them was never shut. D'Ibberville and Repentigny, with their party, marched to the left, to render themselves masters of the Albany gate ; but,
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MASSACRE AT SCHENECTADY.
losing their way, they returned : so that the village was entered but at one place.
It was now midnight-the gate open-no watch set, and the in- vaders found their way into the town undiscovered, about eleven o'clock on Saturday night. The leaders separated to reconnoitre all parts. Perfect silence was observed. They passed through the village without perceiving any movement. Returning, the war- whoop, " a la maniere des sauvages," says the priest, was raised, and the work of destruction set about. Mantet found some resistance at a kind of fort, where the men were under arms. These may have been the New England men, sent by Captain Bull. But, forcing the door, all the English, except the commander, were put to the sword. A Frenchman of the name of Martigny was wounded, in attempting to enter one of the houses ; but his companions, says Charlevoix, revenged him, by forcing the door and putting all within the house to death. All was massacre and pillage for two hours ; and then the French officers placed guards at the avenues to pre- vent surprise, and passed the rest of the night in regaling them- selves and men.
Mr. G. F. Yates, of Schenectady, in his account of this tragedy, says : " The slumbering inhabitants started from their sleep, be- wildered, frantick. Some hid themselves, and remained secure, until the flames drove them from their lurking places ; when they fell beneath the tomahawk, or were taken prisoners. Others ran half naked and barefoot into the adjoining woods, whence a few escaped, after extreme sufferings, to Connestigiuna and Albany, and others perished miserably on the way. Surprised, unarmed, and defenceless, resistance was in vain. Courage and cries for mercy were alike unavailing. The same fate awaited the craven and the brave. To some of the inhabitants, however, this assault was not altogether unexpected, and they had for some time previously taken the necessary precautions to prevent surprise. Among those who made a successful defence, and kept the foe at bay, was Adam Vrooman. Being well supplied with ammunition, and trusting to the strength of his building, which was a sort of fort, lie formed the despe- rate resolution to defend himself to the last extremity; and if it should prove to be his fate to perish in the flames of his own domicil, to sell his own life, and that of his children, as dearly as possible. His house was soon filled with smoke. His wife, nearly suffocated with it, cautiously, yet imprudently, placed the door ajar. This an alert Indian perceived, and firing through the aperture, killed her. In the mean time, one of his daughters escaped through the back- hall door, with his infant child in her arms. They snatched the little innocent from her arms, and dashed out its brains ; and, in the confusion of the scene, the girl escaped. Their triumph here was,
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. MASSACRE AT SCHENECTADY.
however, of short duration; Mr. Vrooman succeeded in securely bolting the door, and preventing the intrusion of the enemy. On witnessing Mr. Vrooman's courage, the enemy promised, if he would desist, to save his life, and not set fire to his building, This promise they fulfilled, but carried off two of his sons iuto captivity."
Charlevoix says, that the French commander ordered that the clergyman of the place should be spared, as he wished to make him prisoner ; but he was killed, and all his papers burned. "Le Sieur Coudre, major de la place," (which I am obliged to translate, Captain Alexander Glen,) had saved himself by crossing the river, - (where, by the bye he resided, at a place now called Glenville,) and prepared to defend himself with the aid of his servants and family ; but the French commanding officer sent him a summons by the "Great Mohawk," with a promise of protection, if he would sur- render - no harm being wished to him - but friendship in return for kindness shown by him to several Frenchmen, on a previous occasion, when they had been prisoners to the Mohawks. Glen accepted the terms, which were strictly adhered to.
The French historian says, that the officers destroyed all the rum or brandy, to prevent the Indians from drinking ; and that the houses were all burnt, except Mr. Glen's and that of a widow, where the wounded Frenchmen had been placed. There were forty well built and furnished dwellings. Such plunder as could be car- ried off was preserved from the fire, and about sixty old men, women, and children, such as had escaped the first fury of the onset, were spared from the slaughter, as were about thirty Mo- hawks, found in the town, who were unharmed -to show, says Charlevoix, that the French only warred with the English.
The Mohawk nation had four towns located in the valley of the Mohawk, besides a small village about one hundred miles west of Schenectady. These were called by the whites " castles," or fortresses, as they were all fortified. They were numbered ac- cording to their distances from Schenectady, the nearest being called " the first Indian castle." The aboriginal names were as follows : - Cahanniaga, (probably the same as Caglinawaga,) Ca- nagora, Canajorha, and 'T'ionondaga. The Indians of the three first castles were, during the enactment of the dreadful tragedy we have attempted to describe, absent on a hunting expedition to their western territories. Several days necessarily elapsed before the Tionondaga band was notified of the massacre by the messenger despatched for the purpose. On hearing the news, they hastened to Schenectady ; whence they sent a hundred of their young war- riours in pursuit of the enemy, who overtook them, and killed or made captive twenty-five of their number. The old chiefs re- VOL. I. 23
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MASSACRE AT SCHENECTADY.
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mained to comfort the inhabitants, and assist them in burying their dead.
I have, from the Albany minutes, detailed the movements of the convention, when the news of this event reached Albany. Schuy- ler, as quoted by William Smith, says : " Those who escaped, fled naked towards Albany, through a deep snow which fell that very night, in a terrible storm; and twenty-five of these fugitives lost their limbs in the flight, through the severity of the frost."
Such was this dismal Sunday in Schenectady. About noon, the French departed with their plunder, on forty of the best horses they could find. The others, with the cattle, and human dead bodies, of every age lay slaughtered in the streets.
The nearest Mohawk castle* was not apprised of this event until two days after, owing to the messengers sent from Albany being impeded by snow. They promptly joined a party of young men from Albany in pursuit of the murderers, fell upon their rear, and killed or made prisoners five and twenty of them. The sachems of the Iroquois repaired to Albany, and persuaded the terrified in- habitants, who thought of abandoning their homes, to remain; for their defence, promising their assistance against the French.
Father Charlevoix informs us that the French forces were too near Orange, (Albany,) to remain long ; and at noon of the day following the massacre, the army departed, carrying their wounded companion, their booty, and forty prisoners. The same hard- ships and sufferings were to be encountered in their return through the snow-covered wilderness, and the want of provisions added to their misery, and retarded their retreat. Several died from hunger; and we may suppose that the wretched prisoners did not fare better than their triumphant captors. They were obliged to separate into small parties, some of which were attacked by the pursuers, and the historian acknowledges the loss of three Indians and sixteen French- men ; whereas at Corlucr, (Schenectady,) they only lost one of each.
Such is the Jesuit father's account of the massacre of Schenec- tady. The victors reached Montreal on the 20th of March, after a
* The Mohawks had four towns or castles and one small settlement on the banks of their river, which, as we know, flows through a valley of almost unparalleled beauty and fertility, until it falls into the Hudson. In 1677, Colonel Coursey esti- mated the Iroquois this: Mohawks, 300 warriours ; Oneidas, 200; Onondagas, 350; Cayugas. 300; and Senecas, 1,000 ; making a total of 2,150 warriours. Du- ring the revolutionary war, the British rated them, Mohawks, 300; Oneidas, 150, (part of this nation being with the United States;) Tuscaroras, 200; Onondagas, 300; Cayugas, 230; Senecas, 400. In 1794. an ammity of $500 was distributed to the Iroquois who remained in the United States, and the nations were thus nuit- bered: Oneidas, 62- people ; Cayugas, 40; Onondagas, 450; Senecas, 1,780. The Mohawks, 300, were in Canada, as were 460 Oneidas .- (De Witt Clinton's Discourse before N. Y. Hist. Soc. )
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ATTEMPT OF THE IROQUOIS AGAINST MONTREAL. -
march of forty and odd days, enduring hardships and privations of the severest kinds - suffering miseries almost equal to their guilt. But the whole transaction is related with the applause of the priestly historian. He says it raised the French in the opinion of their allics. ,
Before I return to the sequel of Jacob Leisler's story, (to whom, of course, every misfortune of the province was attributed by the party in opposition,) I will continue the Indian war of the frontier a little further, taking Father Charlevoix as my guide.
In May following, some Frenchmen and French Indians, led by the " Great Mohawk," ascended the Sorel, and taking their course for the country of the Iroquois, fell upon some wigwams, and made forty-two prisoners, among whom were four Englishmen; and hearing that a party of English and Iroquois were approaching, they made off on their return. They stopped at the River of Salmons to make canoes, and in the evening, " while at prayer," says the Jesuit, they were discovered by a party of Algonkins and Abana- ques, (likewise French Indians, but unconverted,) who were going against the English settlements ; and mistaking these praying gen- tlemen for enemies, they fired upon them, killed " the Great Mo- hawk" and seven Caughnawagas, besides wounding two "English slaves," before they found their mistake.
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The other expeditions sent out by Frontignac were successful, though not in so great a degree as that which destroyed Schenec- tady ; and the New England settlements suffered from his warlike enterprize. He likewise strengthened the fort at Michilimackinack, gained the Indians of that neighbourhood to his part : and the French, to keep alive their enmity to the Iroquois, and gratify their taste, having taken some of the Five Nations prisoners, gave one of them to their allies to be burnt.
The Iroquois, however, continued faithful to New York, and obliged Frontignac to be incessantly on his guard against their war parties, showing their long established superiority in the art of man- killing, with other kinds of destructiveness, and the deep rooted enmity to Frenchmen implanted by M. Champlain and Louis le Grand. They attacked even the Island of Montreal : and, though repulsed, left their traces in blood and ashes.
Frontignac, receiving intelligence from a half-breed, that the English and Iroquois had embarked in canoes upon Lake George, with an intent, again with greater force to attack Montreal by the way of Lake Champlain, prepared to receive them, by gathering great numbers of Indians on the island to aid his soldiers and the inhabitants. Again he repulsed his enemies ; but not before they had ravaged the settlements on the island, and in an attack upon his encampment, killed ten soldiers, eleven habitans, and retreated with
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LEISLER'S ADMINISTRATION.
their prisoners, after slaughtering the cattle, burning the houses, and leaving other evidences of their prowess.
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The Iroquois having withdrawn, the French governour dismissed his allies with presents, and the gratifying assurance that he will ex- terminate their enemies, the confederates of the Five Nations. But the governour soon after received tidings that the Iroquois had attacked the French post above the Sault de St. Louis, and put to death the commander and his garrison. Another party had killed . two officers, and letters arrived, informing him that thirty vessels had sailed from Boston with troops destined for the siege of Que- bec. . This was the expedition commanded by Phipps, of which more hereafter .*
I will now return to the affairs of the southern portion of the province of New York, and the story of Lieutenant-governour Leisler.
Jacob Leisler had been called to the direction of the province at a time, and under circumstances which required all the knowledge, address, and firmness of a veteran statesman ; and as we have seen, he brought to the task only the experience of a merchant of that day, and an honest desire for the welfare of New York, and the success of the protestant revolution of 16SS.
After the destruction of Schenectady, in February, 1690, it ap- pears that the magistrates of Albany saw the necessity of acting in conjunction with Leisler for the defence of the province. Bayard and Van Cortlandt were in New York city, one in confinement and the other secreted. Livingston fled to Connecticut, and resided at Hartford, probably in consequence of the warrant issued by Leisler. But before the dispersion of the Albany Convention, Leisler wrote to the governours of several of the colonies, representing the situa- tion of New York, and urging a combination against Canada. On the 21st of February, 1690, soon after the letters by which the per- son in power was confirmed in it, Leisler sent Johannes Vermilye, Benjamin Blagge, and Jacob Milbourne, as commissioners, with
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