Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 13

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1014

USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 13

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Additional light is thrown upon this important event by an account published at the time in the Maryland Gazette. After describing the battle and giving a list of the captured stores, the editor said :

A letter from Niagara, dated July 25th, has the following particulars: "Your old . friend, Sir William Johnson, has gained immortal honor in this affair. The army have the highest opinion of him, and the Indians adore him, as his conduct has been steady and judicious; he has carried on the siege with spirit. The Mohawks have done wonders, serving in the trenches and every place where Sir William was." We are informed, that upon Gen. Amherst receiving the news of the death of Brigadier Gen. Prideaux, he immediately appointed Brigadier Gen. Gage, of the Light Infantry, commander-in-chief of the forces before Niagara; and that Gen. Gage was at Albany, when the orders of Gen. Amherst came to him; but it was im - possible for him to reach Niagara before it surrendered to Sir William Johnson.

Thus passed the control of Niagara River, which had been under French domination more than a hundred years, to the English. Quebec under Montcalm1 fell before Wolfe on September 13, and French rule was extinguished forever on the western continent. But the French clung to their colonies with desperate, though failing, grasp, and it was not until September, 1760, that the Marquis de Vaudreuil surrendered Montreal and with it all the other posts in his jurisdiction. This surrender was ratified by the treaty of peace between England and France in February, 1763, which ceded Canada to the former power.

1 Both of these brave officers were mortally wounded. The brilliant Montcalm had said that "he would find his grave under the ruins of the colony," which proved a veritable prophecy.

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FROM 1760 TO 1774.

CHAPTER VIII.

1760-1774.

Control of the Frontier by the English-Animosity of the Senecas-Building of Fort Schlosser-Repair of Fort Niagara _- Marauding by the Senecas -- Visit of Sir William Johnson to Niagara and Detroit-Encroachments on the Niagara Portage- The Massacre at Devil's Hole-Pontiac's War-Bradstreet's Expedition to Detroit- Peace with the Indians-A Battle in Erie County Territory -- A Period of Quiet- Formation of Tryon County.

Although the hostilities of the war substantially ceased in 1760 with the surrender of Montreal and other posts, a treaty of peace (known as the treaty of Paris) was not signed until 1763. The importance to . the English of the Western New York frontier is shown by the prompt- ness with which they assumed its control after the French surrender. It was imperative that they should maintain all such carrying-places in order to keep open their communication with distant western posts; none was more important than that at Niagara. This portage was placed in charge of John Steadman in 1760, who was employed by Sir William Johnson to open and improve the road, much to the dissatis- faction of the Senecas, whose animosity to the English still continued.

Under the arrangements inaugurated by the English a new fort was built at the upper end of the portage, on the site of Little Niagara, consisting of a line of palisades enclosing a few storehouses and bar- racks; it was named Fort Schlosser from Capt. Joseph Schlosser, its first commander. A tall chimney, which is still a conspicuous object on the Porter farm below Gill Creek, and which had belonged to the former French barracks burned by Joncaire, as before related, was used by the English in the construction of the new work. Meanwhile Fort Niagara was repaired and strengthened and served as a base of supplies for the western country and the rapidly increasing Indian trade.

The Senecas, in their lingering affection for the defeated French, and in disregard of Johnson's authority as superintendent of Indian affairs, joined with western Indians in marauding forays through the

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

country, on some occasions pursuing their depredations near to the gates of Niagara. In one of these an Englishman was killed near the fort; three others were killed near the mouth of Chippewa Creek. It should be remembered that at this time there was no Indian settlement between the Genesee and Niagara; a few cabins remained at Lewis- ton, whence some of the Senecas aided in transporting goods over the portage. Johnson arrived at Niagara on the 24th of July, 1761, on his way to Detroit. He fully appreciated the rising jealousy of the Senecas and other nations of the advance of the English beyond Ni- agara. The Indians already foresaw what finally took place-their ex- pulsion from their old homes and their ultimate extinction. Johnson visited the several points on the frontier and left for Detroit on the 19th of August.1 Activity and competition in the growing fur trade led to difficulty, complaints of which reached Johnson and received his earnest consideration. A man named Stirling, it is recorded, had placed "a great store of goods" at Schlosser, where he was pursuing the customary routine of cheating the Indians. General Amherst had also licensed Captain Rutherford and Lieutenant Duncan, with others, to settle on the portage, and, it was charged, had given them 10,000 acres of land along the road. The general's explanation of this was that the grant was made subject to the pleasure of the king, and in the interest of trade and settlement. The king issued an order to "put a stop to any settlement on the carrying-place."

In 1762 two traders were murdered while passing through the Sen- ecas' country, and the Indians were given to understand by Johnson that any further similar crimes would be promptly avenged. This was only one of the many incidents that provoked the later hostilities on the frontier and Pontiac's war in the West. At that time the portage between Lewiston and Schlosser extended most of the distance through a forest and parties traveling it were especially subject to surprise and attack. Soldiers were kept at both ends of the portage to accompany teamsters. On the 14th of September, 1763, a wagon train started from Lewiston with supplies for Detroit. On the return with an escort of twenty-five men, accompanied by Steadman, the party arrived at a point called the Devil's Hole, on the precipitous bank of Niagara River. There they were attacked by a large body of Senecas who were in ambush. As the wagons appeared moving past the declivity, the sav-

1 In his record Johnson notes his visit at Lewiston, which he calls "Trader's Town."

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FROM 1760 TO 1774.

ages opened fire. It was a deadly volley, deliberately aimed and at close range. The Indians then sprang upon their victims and com- pleted the slaughter with tomahawk and knife. It is recorded that some of the teams were frightened over the precipice and that some of the English jumped over, preferring that desperate method of death to the tomahawk of the savage. One of these was a drummer boy named Matthews who fell into a tree top and descended in safety; he died long after at Queenston at the age of ninety years. A wounded team- ster is also said to have crawled into a secluded spot and escaped. Steadman was mounted, and spurring his horse into a run he escaped through a shower of bullets to Schlosser.1 When the firing was heard at Lewiston reinforcements started for the scene of slaughter. Doubt- ful of the exact place these troops marched cautiously forward, but only tosure destruction. The Indians finished their first bloody work and

heard the approach of the reinforcements. Again secreting themselves they waited until the troops were close at hand, when they opened up- on them a deadly volley, killed and wounded many, and massacred most of the remainder with knife or tomahawk. Only eight men are supposed to have escaped to carry the news to Lewiston and thence to Niagara. The garrison turned out to pursue the Indians, but they had fled from the scene. The soldiers found the remains of their stripped and mutilated comrades, many of them mingled with broken wagons, dead and wounded horses, etc., at the bottom of the precipice.2

What is known as Pontiac's war began in the West in June, 1763,

1 Maud recorded that the Indians, a few months after the massacre gave John Steadman a grant of "all the land he galloped over in his flight," as they considered his escape a miracle, and that the Great Spirit would be angry at their attempt to kill him. The fact is, the Steadman family retained possession substantially of the farm at Schlosser and probably the carrying-place a number of years. After the Revolution they made application to the Legislature for a confirm- ation of the Indian grant. The application was refused.

2 The little stream near by the scene of this bloody massacre, which once supplied power for a saw mill, is known as Bloody Run. Thousands of tourists have visited the place, where, for many years, a charge was made for descending the declivity on rude steps. Relics of the massa- cre were found in the vicinity half a century later. It will, perhaps, be proper to preserve here the following account of this memorable deed which was related to Maud, the English traveler who visited Niagara Falls in 1800, by a son of John Steadman: "In 1760 John Steadman was mas- ter of the portage. In 1763 the Indians attacked the train of wagons and its guard, consisting in soldiers and wagoners of ninety-six persons. Of these, ninety-two were killed on the spot, three jumped down the precipice overhanging the river, and John Steadman, putting spurs to his horse, galloped to Fort Schlosser. The three who jumped down the precipice (considered by them as certain death, which they preferred to the tomahawk of the Indians), were preserved by shrubs and brushwood breaking their fall. One was a drummer, whose drum, falling into the river, gave the first news of this defeat, at Niagara." This latter statement is probably fanciful. -Buffalo and the Senecas, Vol I, p. 149.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

and was a result of the general disquietude of the Indians over the encroachments of the English and their defeat of the French. Pon- tiac was a celebrated Ottawa chief who had been an ally of the French. He organized a league consisting of nine or ten of the western nations, with the operations of which the Senecas were in sympathy. The other Iroquois nations were still generally loyal to the English, through the powerful influence of Sir William Johnson. Pontiac and his hordes went on the war path, surprised nine of the twelve English posts and massacred the garrisons and traders. Forts Pitt, Niagara and Detroit were saved, although the latter withstood a siege of about a year in length.

In July, 1764, Major-Gen. John Bradstreet, hero of many brave deeds, started for the West with an army of about 1,100 provincials, to quell this outbreak. Arriving at Oswego he there met Johnson with over 500 Iroquois warriors, and the whole body sailed for Niagara on the 3d of July. Here the army was increased to nearly 3,000, and it was of the same motley character so frequently seen in those times. A grand council was held, at the close of which Johnson returned home. The Senecas joined in the council only after receiving imperative orders from General Bradstreet; but they finally acquiesced in the peace treaty there made and about 300 of their number joined the army. Still distrusting them, Bradstreet ordered Lieutenant Mon- tressor to throw up a line of redoubts from the landing place at Four- mile Creek to Schlosser, "in order to prevent any insults from the enemy," and also to " build a fort on the banks of Lake Erie, for the security of vessels employed upon it." These orders were executed, one of the results being the erection of Fort Erie, opposite Buffalo, in and around which were to be enacted stirring scenes in a later war. Ascending the Niagara to Buffalo early in August, Bradstreet pro- ceeded hence, probably in open boats, along the southern shore of Lake Erie, meeting and successfully treating for peace with the Indians be- tween the lake and the Ohio River.1 He was warmly welcomed at Detroit, whence he sent a detachment to take possession of Mackinaw. On September 7 he met the Ottawas and Chippewas in council and peace conditions were consummated. Pontiac did not appear. The Indians were thus speedily awed into submissiveness, but Pontiac him- self remained hostile until 1766, when he met Sir William Johnson at

1 Lossing's Cyclo. U. S. Hist., Vol. I, p. 153.

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FROM 1760 TO 1774.

Oswego and took part in a council. Arriving there in June, the chief awaited the coming of Johnson until July 20, being in the mean time entertained by the commissioner from Niagara, Norman McLeod. The council opened on the 23d and continued several days. In reply to a speech by Sir William, Pontiac replied as follows :

I am now speaking in behalf of all the nations I command, and in their name take you by the hand. You may be assured that whatever I now agree upon will be a law to them, and I take the Almighty to witness, that what I am going to say I am determined to steadfastly perform; for it seems that he who made the universe would have it so. While I had the French king by the hand, I kept a fast hold of it; and now having you, father, by the hand, I still do the same, in conjunction with all the western nations in my district, whom I shall acquaint with every transaction of this congress as soon as I return, and who will readily comply with anything I desire. 1

On the last day of August, after the impressive ceremonies were concluded, Pontiac and his imposing retinue launched their canoes, laden with presents, each chief carrying a silver medal bearing the in- scription, "A pledge of peace and friendship with Great Britain, con- firmed in 1766," and began their summer journey to their western homes, their paddles keeping time to a weird Indian song.2

In the mean time on October 19, 1763, took place the first hostile combat on the soil of Erie county in which white men were involved. As nearly as can be ascertained from the meagre records, the scene of the fight was on the wooded bank of Niagara River, about on the site of Black Rock, where there was opportunity for ambush. Six hundred English soldiers, under command of Major Wilkins, were on their way in boats to Detroit, when 160 of them who were in rear of the main body were suddenly fired upon from the shore by a band of Senecas. Thirteen men were killed and wounded at the first volley. The cap- tain in command of the nearest boats sent fifty men ashore to attack the Indians. In the brief period of fighting that followed three more soldiers were killed and twelve seriously wounded, including two com- missioned officers. 3

1 Stone's Life of Johnson, Vol. II, p. 278.

2 Pontiac was slain in the summer of 1769, probably by the tomahawk of a jealous Illinois. Indian.

3 From the Maryland Gazette, December 22, 1763.

New York, December 5 .- Last Monday, Capt. Gardiner of the 55th, and Lieut. Stoughton, came to town from Albany. They belonged to a detachment of 600 men under the command of Major Wilkins, destined for Detroit, from Niagara; but on the 19th of October, at the east end of Lake Erie, one hundred and sixty of our people being in their boats, were fired upon

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

The Indians probably did not suffer so severely. When the firing ceased the soldiers withdrew in their boats. This was the last serious attack by the Senecas on the English. When they learned of the ces- sation of hostilities in the West, they hastened to Sir William John- son to sue for peace. Johnson advised the Board of Trade that, in his opinion, the Senecas were sincere and advocated negotiations with them which should exact from them a tract of land fourteen by four miles in extent lying along both sides of the Niagara River from Lake Ontario to Schlosser, and, of course, including the whole portage. Johnson met about 400 Senecas and eight chiefs at Johnson Hall in April (1764), and a peace treaty was then made which contained the above provision. This treaty was farther ratified by the council held at Niagara in July, when Bradstreet passed on his way westward, as before noticed.

From this time to the Revolution substantial peace reigned over the Niagara frontier, and trade with the Indians rapidly increased. A large volume of this was carried on along the borders of Erie county, as also · was the commerce of the upper lakes for the supply of the western and southern military posts. Nearly the whole of this commerce was con- ducted in open boats. There were, however, two or three English trading vessels on Lake Erie prior to the Revolution, and probably an an armed English vessel or two.1

Temporary sails were sometimes rigged on the open boats and in fair weather good progress could be made; but in the frequent storms many were lost and great suffering was sometimes endured by the crews.

It was in 1765 that Rev. Samuel Kirkland left Johnson Hall on Jan- uary 16, in company with two Seneca Indians, on a mission through the Iroquois country. After stopping one day with the Onondagas,

from the beach by about eighty Indians, which killed and wounded thirteen men (and among them Lieut. Johnson, late of Gorham's, killed), in the two stern-most boats, the remainder of the detachment being ahead about half a mile. Capt. Gardiner, who was in the boats adjoining, im- mediately ordered the men, (fifty) under his command, ashore, and took possession of the ground from which the enemy had fired ; and as soon as he observed our people landing, he with Lieut. Stoughton, and twenty-eight men, pursued the Indians. In a few minutes a smart skirmish en- sued, which lasted near an hour, in which three men were killed on the spot, and Capt. Gardiner, with Lieut. Stoughton, and ten others, badly wounded. During the skirmish, the troops that did not follow the Indians, formed on the bank, and covered the boats.

1 One of the former was named the Beaver, and was wrecked in a storm on the shore of the lake and probably near the mouth of Eighteen-mile Creek. It is believed by good authorities that the ship irons found in that locality and which were attributed to the Griffin, really belonged to the Beaver.

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FROM 1760 TO 1774.

they proceeded westward to Kanadesaga, the chief town of the Sen- ecas. There he remained some time, laboring with the natives and suffering with them in the ensuing spring from a famine caused by a scarcity of the corn crop of the preceding year. Thisdevoted mission- ary continued his self-sacrificing work among the Six Nations a num- ber of years, frequently to the great benefit of the white people, as will appear.

Sir William Johnson continued to urge upon the Lords of Trade a policy of conciliation, honesty and kindness towards the Indians, and wielded a wide and beneficent influence. About this time he advanced the claim, which was doubtless a just one, that he had never received adequate compensation for his services, and asked for confirmation of title to lands given him by the Mohawks in the valley of that nation, and an increase in salary. The land was granted him and he continued to give much of his time to adjusting difficulties among traders and regulating affairs on the frontiers, among which Niagara was one of the most important.

In 1772 Tryon (afterwards Montgomery) county was erected, com- prising the whole State west of the east line of the present Montgom- ery county, and Erie county territory was, of course, included within its boundaries. Guy Johnson, Sir William's nephew, who was already coming into prominence, was the earliest first judge of the Common Pleas of that county.

In the few years preceding the Revolution settlement advanced very little beyond the various trading posts, everybody being intent upon making profit in furs, to the neglect of clearing away forests and tilling land. The English maintained a ship yard on Navy Island, and in the fall of 1766 one of two vessels was burned there. In 1767 Commissary McLeod, at Fort Niagara, called a small council of Senecas and other Indians, chiefly for the settlement of trouble growing out of a drunken quarrel between parties of those Indians, some of whom were wounded.

As the causes of the American Revolution against the mother coun- try became more clearly developed and hostility to royal dictation more demonstrative, the Johnsons, Sir William, his son, afterwards Sir John, and his nephew, Guy, showed their fealty to the British king. Sir William was greatly troubled over the situation and it may have hastened his death, which took place in 1774. The subsequent attitude of his son and nephew will appear as we proceed.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

CHAPTER IX.

THE REVOLUTION.

Relations of Western New York to that War-Renewed Importance of Indian Co-operation-Col. Guy Johnson's Flight-Sir John Johnson Fortifying Johnson Hall-His Final Flight to Montreal-Butler at Niagara-Campaign of 1776- British Aggressiveness in 1777-Their Important Successes-St. Leger Before Fort Schuy- ler- Massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Valley-Other Indian Forays-Sullivan's Expedition-The Senecas Flee to Niagara-Buffalo Creek-Seneca Settlement at that Point-Peace Treaty.

The causes leading to the appeal to arms by the American colonists against the mother country are well understood and need not be re- counted here. Their existence began years before the first gun of the Revolution was fired and continued until the forbearance of the people was exhausted, and they rebelled. The famous Declaration of Rights, prepared in Philadelphia in 1774, was sent to the English court to be received with only ridicule and threats. The battle of Lexington, where was "fired the shot heard round the world," was fought on the 19th of April, 1775-a battle of insignificant proportions, but most mo- mentous as the beginning of a struggle which was to close with the founding of the greatest republic the world has ever seen.

The frontier of Western New York had very little immediate connec- tion with the stirring events of the Revolutionary war, though the post at Fort Niagara was an important one in a military sense for either of the contesting powers to hold during that struggle It remained in un- disputed possession of the English, but the great events of the contest that gave freedom to America, were enacted far from this region.

Again the fealty of the Six Nations of Indians became an object of prime importance to two powerful nations of white men. The great influence of the Johnson family, now led by Colonel Guy (who had been appointed superintendent of Indian affairs) and Sir John, was exercised in the British interest, and soon carried over the alliance of all the Iroquois, excepting the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. The Senecas wavered for a time, but the attractions of the war path and the pay

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THE REVOLUTION.

they were led to expect from the British soon overcame their scruples, and from 1777 they were active for the king. The statement has been placed on record that at a council held at Oswego, the agents of the British gave the Senecas numerous presents and "promised a bounty on every scalp that should be brought in."1 This question has been widely discussed and never definitely settled. The Americans were no less active in their endeavors to secure an alliance with the Indians, but were soon forced to see them take up arms for the king. Fort Niagara again became the key to all the western region. There the Butlers, Johnsons, Brant and other enemies of the colonies made their headquarters, planned forays and spurred on the Indians to bloody deeds at many points between Lake Erie and Albany.

In the summer of 1775 Col. Guy Johnson, with a body of retainers and some Indians, fled westward up the Mohawk valley, and thence to Oswego, where he met a large number of Indians, with whom he counciled several days to bind them to the king's service, and then proceeded to Montreal with about 220 of the party. This was all he could transport; the remainder returned to their homes, promising to follow when called upon.2 In January, 1776, Guy Johnson, Joseph Brant and a Mohawk chief, made a brief visit to England in the inter- est of the royal cause. Sir John Johnson remained, surrounded by his family and relatives, at Johnstown, where he constructed fortifications and secretly labored to perfect the coalition between the British, the Indians and the tories. As his hostility became known to the patriots, steps were taken to place him under arrest, in May, 1776. Johnson learned of this and with a large number of his tenants fled through the forest to Montreal, where they arrived after much suffering. There he was given a colonel's commission in the British army and com- manded the Royal Greens.

John Butler was sent to Niagara and was in command of the post for some time; he organized the notorious Butler's Rangers and be- came one of the most conspicuous figures in the border wars.

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Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 13

Author: White, Truman C Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co. Number of Pages: 1014

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1014