USA > New York > Niagara County > Outpost of empires; a short history of Niagara County > Part 2
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
Taking the southern route to the Susquehanna, Brulé did not see all of what is now Niagara County. The Ontario Lake Plain played an important part in the history of Niagara County. In time villages dotted this plain-Wilson, Olcott, Ransomville, New- fane, Barker, Middleport, Gasport, and others. Nor did he see Eighteen Mile, Twelve Mile and other creeks flowing into Lake Ontario which provided water power for early settlers. He also missed the area above the escarpment. The future sites of Lock- port, Sanborn, and other villages lay hidden beneath a dense forest. But these villages and areas make the story of later chap- ters in the history of Niagara County.
People Migrate to Niagara
Brulé's trip gave us a close-up view of the most important waterways, and land areas, with their forests and animals. It now remains to see why these resources brought Indians, fur traders, pioneers, and industrial men to Niagara County.
Why did these people come?
Thousands of years ago Indians trailing Indians came in search of game and fish game animals drifted toward the Niagara region. For years they had followed the lead of medicine men who promised a land of plenty where the sun rose. They wandered eastward through valleys, over mountains, and across rivers, living upon animals they killed with bone and flint-tipped weapons.
Finally they passed from hot sunny plains into the cool half- light of forests. Beneath the leafy blanket they found a land teeming with game. Their wandering years ended. Warriors laid down their weapons and raised crude bark shelters. Women un- strapped babes from their backs and helped build huts or gathered fruits and nuts in the forest. Among the warriors and women, naked children scampered about trying to help and so learn the ways of their elders. Centuries later the women learned to plant a few crops, thus adding to their food supplies.
For thousands of years Indians lived in a lonely forest world limited to a few hundred miles. They knew nothing of the white man who would come and claim their land.
Traders sought the Finally the white men came. French riches of the fur trade priests, fur traders, and explorers paddled into the Niagara region. The fur traders sought pelts for European markets. Traders saw the importance of the Niagara Portage. The portage linked an important system of waterways into the heart of North America. Whoever controlled Niagara Portage also controlled the rich western fur trade.
French traders wasted little time in taking advantage of the portage. In exchange for rich pelts, a steady stream of French brandy, blankets, trinkets and weapons soon passed into the eager hands of the Indians. Bent under heavy loads, long lines of Indians toiled over the portage. In exchange for their labor the French paid them in trade goods. And a stream of fur pelts flowed back to Europe.
Meanwhile, a long struggle between the French and British was taking shape. Eager for a larger share of the fur trade, British traders began cutting in on French trade. To halt the British, the French government in 1726 built Fort Niagara at the mouth of the Niagara River. For a hundred years both British and French claimed the Niagara region. Finally, in 1759, during the French and Indian War, it fell to the British.
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The British held the Niagara area, with the portage, for thirty-seven years and then gave it by treaty to the Americans. In time the fur trade declined. The portage, however, remained a western trade route. When roads were strung across New York State between Albany and Buffalo, trade on the portage began slipping. And when the Erie Canal opened in 1825 the portage trade gradually collapsed. Like the fur trade, it became only a memory in the story of Niagara County. Today there is little electricity, great turbines replaced the creaking old mill-wheels. evidence left at Lewiston or Niagara Falls of the docks and ware- In time these turbines, whirled by falling water, made Niagara houses and ships that once handled goods shipped over the portage. County one of the great hydro-electric producing areas of the world. Pioneer farmers came Roads and canals ended the day of the for cheap fertile land portage trader but they brought the pio- Niagara County has other resources that draw industries, Great layers of limestone, formed by the skeletons of countless shellfish of the ancient ocean, lie close to the surface of the ground. Limestone quarries sprinkle the area, especially along the escarp- ment. These quarries sent building material throughout the nation. neer farmer. Soon after the Treaty of Big Tree (1797) put the Iroquois on reserva- tions, pioneer farmers began moving into Niagara County. Cheap and fertile land drew the pioneers to the area. They set to work clearing farm land from forests. The sound of the ax was heard where once Indian war-whoops had shattered the forest stillness. Above and below the escarpment, forest gave way to pioneer farms. Soon roads wound through forests, tying scattered farms
and settlements together. Wolf, bear, and deer gave way to ox, natural wonder. People flock here from all parts of the earth. cow, and hog. Fields, orchards, villages, and cities took over To care for visitors an important industry developed-the tourist ancient Indian hunting grounds. Niagara County was changing industry. under the restless energy of the white men.
Niagara County had much to offer farmers. Nearby lakes, heating and cooling more slowly than land, made the countryside warmer in winter and cooler in summer than other areas as far north. Temperatures seldom fell far below zero or soared above ninety degrees. Fertile soil and a rainfall of thirty-five to forty inches a year produced bountiful crops.
The pioneer farmer prospered under these conditions. In time his bark and log cabin gave way to a more sturdy home of clap- board or brick and he raised more crops than he could use. Soon he raised one or two crops for sale, depending on the sales money to live. When this happened, the income from the sales of his products improved his living conditions. Pioneer days were about over and the era of modern farming had begun.
Natural resources attracted industrial workers and leaders
Hand in hand with modern farming came a new way of making a living. Attracted by Niagara County's natural resources, industry gradually stepped ahead of farm- ing in importance.
Niagara County's most important resource is water - fast- running water. Besides the mighty Niagara River, Niagara County has some eight creeks flowing northward into Lake On- tario. Very early in Niagara County's history, water power was important. When enough scattered cabins dotted the wilderness, a pioneer raised a rickety sawmill on the banks of some lonely creek. But as men learned how to use water power to make
Finally Niagara County has an unusual kind of resource which supports an industry-breath-taking waterfalls and rapids. The name Niagara Falls is famous throughout the world as a
With industry came people-people to work in the factories and mills, people to supply the needs of the cities, people to care for the sick and to guard against fire and crime, people to build and develop Niagara County.
Now we can understand why people came to Niagara County. Indians came to hunt its teeming game; the French and British to control the gateway to western fur trade; pioneer farmers to make homes; and modern men to run industries. In the following chapters we will take a closer look at these people and see how they lived and changed Niagara County. The next chapter is the story of the first of them, the Indians.
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Your History Workshop
Words and terms you should know
outpost
garrison
escarpment
climate
hydro-electric river valley
pelts
glacier
lake plain
Where is it on the map?
Quebec
Niagara River
Grand Island
Niagara County -
The Great Lakes
St. Lawrence River
Montreal
Hudson River
Mohawk River
Who's Who in history? Stephen (Etienne) Brulé
How carefully did you read?
1. Describe the ancient ocean covering the Niagara region.
2. Define Ice Age.
3. How many times was the Niagara region covered with ice?
4. Explain the development of Lake Ontario.
5. What part did the glacier play in forming lakes and rivers?
6. Of what importance were Niagara's fur-bearing animals?
7. From where did the ancestors of American Indians come?
8. What was the name later given to the Neuter village on the banks of the Niagara River?
9. What Indians accompanied Stephen Brulé?
10. Why are the falls of Niagara so far inland from Lake On- tario?
11. Who gained control of the portage from the French?
12. What measures did the French take to protect the portage and fur trade?
13. Explain why the fur trade declined.
14. What attractions did Niagara area hold for pioneer farmers?
15. What is Niagara's greatest resource?
Activities to help you understand the Introductory Part
1. Prepare yourself for the task ahead by getting acquainted with the book which you will use throughout the year's study. Examine it carefully as you answer the following questions in your notebook.
a. What is the name of my history book?
b. Who are the authors?
c. What company published my book? date) ? Where?
When (copyright
d. Locate the table of contents. How many parts (units) are there in my book? On what page does the index begin?
e. What is the section called that is found at the end of each unit? List six types of exercises found there.
2. Using the headings and topics which appear in the pages of the introduction, make an outline to sum up the unit. The following sample will help to get you started. When you have finished, study the outline to acquire an overview of the unit. Introductory Part. Meet the Outpost of Empires
I. Nature forms Niagara County
A. What was it like in the beginning?
1. An ancient ocean covered everything
2. A strange land emerged B.
(continue)
3. With several of your classmates, survey local museums, li- braries, the city hall, and other public buildings to find out what relics, pictures, etc., related to the Niagara region can be located.
4. Make a large outline map of Niagara region; then draw and label the possible route taken by Stephen Brulé in 1615.
5. On page 6 in your New York State Atlas is a physical map of the Niagara area (part of a state map or some other map of New York State will do also). Study it, and then make a relief map using flour and salt. Next paint it to show eleva- tion. Add whatever details you feel will aid your study of the region.
6. On a piece of construction paper paint the word "HOMES" vertically. After each letter spell out the name of a Great Lake.
7. Using reference books, make a climate map of the Niagara area.
8. On an outline map of North America show the extent of the Ice Age. Then in one corner insert a small map of New York State and surrounding area. Here show the extent of the ice sheet. Refer to page 4 of your New York State Atlas for details.
9. Do some research to gather interesting facts about the Falls.
10. Prepare a report to present to the class on pre-historic ani- mals inhabiting the northern part of North America. Your report will be more interesting if illustrated by drawings, maps, or pictures.
Int. a
1
1
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11. Write an imaginary and original story of Brulé's meeting with the Neuters.
12. Assume you are Stephen Brulé. Write a letter to a French official in Quebec urging the development of fur trade in Niagara.
13. Find out how the St. Lawrence River got its name and report to the class.
14. Develop a list of place names (Three Sister Islands, Goat Island, etc.) and try to discover their origins.
Books with exciting stories
Richards Atlas of New York State. An excellent historical atlas containing much basic information about New York State history in written as well as map form.
Schwarz, Jeanne, New York State in Story. Grades 5-9. Chapter I has a good, direct, and simple account of the geology, natural re- sources, and other geographical factors of New York State.
White, Anne T., Prehistoric America. (Landmark). Grades 6-10. Hungerford, Edward, Pathways of Empires. Grades 7-10. A description of waterways and their importance.
Newland, David, Mineral Resources of the State of New York. Very difficult.
New York State Department of Commerce Pamphlets, Guide to Central and Western New York. 9-12.
Int. b
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Part I THE IROQUOIS NATION WINS CONTROL OF WESTERN NEW YORK
1. Indians make Niagara County their home
2. The Iroquois defeat their enemies
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1. Indians make Niagara County their home
In Niagara County today towns and cities and villages and farms cover the land that Indian warriors and hunters once roamed. River and lake echo to the noises of boats and ships where once only the splash of Indian paddles was heard. Automobiles speed over highways built on old Indian trails. Airplanes cruise a sky once darkened by great numbers of passenger pigeons, ducks, and geese in flight. This is our modern world of smoke and steel and speed. But what was Niagara County like when the Indians came? And how did Indians live before white men came and changed Indian life forever?
Hunters from Asia come to North America
Ancestors of the Indians According to scientists, our story begins around twenty-five thousand years ago when a ragged and hungry band of hunt- ers crossed from Asia to North America over a bridge of land. They trudged a path that had long been trampled by mammoths and other animals. The men in the band gripped spears and squinted toward the distant horizon for signs of game or enemies. The women followed, carrying babes strapped on their backs, their heads bent in the face of the biting winds that whipped off the northern ice caps. Black-eyed children struggled to keep up with their parents as the band moved eastward.
How did Indians come to settle Niagara region?
Thus the first people pushed into North America. They had come from Asia and more Asian hunters soon followed this first tattered band, crossing on the land bridge to what is now Alaska. Band after band kept coming to Alaska even after water covered the land bridge, forming Bering Strait. Once these hunters and their families reached Alaska they soon deserted the cold north- land and tracked the game animals southward into what is now the United States. Band followed band south onto the plains to hunt the shaggy bison that roamed in the tall grasses there.
As time passed, these early Americans spread out. Most of them wandered further southward into Mexico and Central and South America. But finally some bands drifted into what is now Ontario and New York State. These wandering hunters left evi- dence of their stay. Weapons and tools dug up from time to time
remind us that they once lived here. Later, other groups followed the game trails from the west and settled and remained in the northeastern part of North America. Among these later tribes of hunters were the people afterwards known as the Huron, Neuter, and New York Iroquois Indians. These people raised stockaded villages in Ontario, in the Niagara region, and in cen- tral New York. Our story in this and the following chapter is main- ly about them.
Indians adapt to the wilderness
All of us of course have heard a lot of things about Indians. Some of it is true but much of it is not. We do not have space here to go into the great detail about the life of the Eastern Wood- land Indians which is easily found in many books. Instead we want to bring out the facts which have a bearing on Indian history after the white men arrived.
What training did Indians need?
Indians needed strength, courage, and skill An Indian depended upon his strength, courage, and skill because he needed these qualities to survive in the wilderness. He had to have strength to fight his ene- mies, courage to stand pain, and skill to hunt the animals upon which his life depended. Naturally he prized these qualities and judged other Indians in terms of them.
Of course an Indian was not born with strength, courage, and skill. He had to be trained. As an important part of his training a young Indian learned that any show of weakness or cowardliness was bad. A weakling or coward could easily bring shame and perhaps disaster upon his family, clan, and tribe. Above all, an Indian was expected to be a man, but age alone did not mean manhood. A young Indian had to go through a torture ceremony to prove that he was a man and thus ready to become a warrior.
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Only if he passed the torture ceremony could a boy become a man and join the other men on the hunt or warpath. If he failed to stand the pain and suffering, he became an object of hate and scorn and as a punishment he was forced to work with the women and girls in the fields. Sometimes he even had to leave the tribe and make his way alone in the wilderness. Often he committed suicide.
War was part of their life An Indian continued to show strength, courage, and skill all through his life. The best place to show these qualities was on the war path. Any warrior might start a war party and thus become a war chief whenever he felt like it. He simply went about his village singing his war song to attract other warriors. In the center of the village he drove his hatchet into the war post as a crowd of warriors gathered around it. Of course this only hap- pened if the would-be war chief was already a proven warrior and had taken many scalps. If enough warriors caught the war fever a war dance began as drums beat and chants filled the air. Painted and feathered, the warriors stamped, whooped, and shuffled about the war post. After the wild dance, they moved out of the village and filed off into the forest to attack the enemy village.
The war chief led the war party swiftly and silently along narrow forest trails. All warriors in the party traveled light, carrying only pouches of dried corn and their weapons. Indians usually made a surprise attack on an enemy camp at dawn, shat- tering the quiet of the woods with wild yells and howls. A moment after an attack began, the enemy camp rang with the screams of women and children who speedily fled into the forest to hide while the men grabbed weapons and fought the attackers.
After the raid, scalped and mangled dead lay scattered about the bark lodges, which the war party set afire. Then excited war- riors quickly searched the nearby woods, hunting the women and children who had fled when the raid began. After they collected all the prisoners, the warriors loaded them with the plunder of the camp and headed home. They killed and scalped all prisoners unable to keep up on the march along the homeward trail.
Near the home village the warriors sounded a war whoop for each prisoner they had taken on the raid. The loud whooping brought a huge crowd of relatives and friends bursting from the bark houses to meet the returning warriors and see the prisoners and plunder. The wild crowd soon surrounded the war party and yells and laughter split the air. Sometimes wails mixed with the laughter because even on successful raids not all warriors re- turned. The yelping crowd jabbed at the prisoners with sharply pointed sticks and struck them with clubs as it escorted the war party to the war post in the center of the village.
The war dance.
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In the village, women quickly started fires and made ready for the feast. Around the war post the crowd gathered and pre- pared to listen as the warriors told about the raid. This was a high point of a warrior's life. One by one they rose and told about the attack and how bravely they had acted. This was their chance to praise themselves before the whole tribe and they welcomed it because they wanted most of all to be admired and honored.
They told how they had outwitted, outfought, and killed their enemies, and they waved grisly scalps and pulled prisoners before the crowd to prove their deeds. The crowd, seated in the firelight, screamed and yelped as the tales of the attack unfolded. The eyes of old and battle-scarred men shone as they recalled their own adventures on the war path. Young boys squirmed with excite- ment, dreaming of the day when they too would take the war path and be admired and honored before the whole tribe. Finally, when the last warrior had spoken, drums beat and the wild crowd jumped up and broke into a dance. The throb of drums mingled with the noise of turtle shell rattles and above the din the wild yelps and howls of the crowd, whirling madly in the firelight, rose on the night air.
When the dancing ended it was time to decide the fate of the prisoners captured on the raid. Warriors flung one prisoner after another into a circle of yelping Indians who hurled insults and jabbed at them with sticks. But it was up to the women as clan leaders to decide their fate-adoption or death. This was their ancient tribal right and they usually chose the strongest prisoners to replace warriors who had been killed in the fighting. Adoption was common among the Iroquois.
The wild crowd showed no mercy at all for the prisoners not chosen by the women for adoption. Nor was any expected. Doomed prisoners now had a chance to show their courage and thus bring honor to their family and tribe. They were bound to stakes and they usually sang their death songs as their captors tortured and burned them to death. Very brave prisoners were often eaten by their captors because they believed eating their flesh would in- crease their own bravery and make them better warriors. Scalps of doomed prisoners joined others fluttering on lances before the bark lodges.
Why did New York Indians unite in the League of the Iroquois?
In the fifteenth century such raids so weakened the Iroquois that chiefs of five Iroquois tribes gathered at Onondaga and
formed a league of peace. The Iroquois say that Hiawatha, an Onondaga chief, created this league. This legend helps explain the rise, in later times, of the Five Nations as one of the most powerful Indian confederacies in North America. Hiawatha, it is said, traveled from village to village in New York and Ontario, begging the chiefs to stop fighting and to join hands as brothers under the Tree of Peace at Onondaga. But Hiawatha was able to persuade only the Five Nations to come and agree to make peace. After the Five Nations formed the League of the Iroquois they said that non-member tribes were enemies of the peace and in the seventeenth century finally destroyed them. Actually, need for fur to buy the white man's trade goods explains the destruction of these tribes as we shall see in the next chapter.
Who belonged to the League?
The Five Nations called themselves the People of the Long- house because they lived in huge buildings called longhouses. They imagined their territory between the Genesee and Mohawk Valley to be a kind of longhouse. The two biggest nations in the League of the Iroquois had the important tasks of guarding the "League Longhouse" from enemies. The Senecas, living along the Genesee, kept invaders from breaking into Iroquois lands from the west. Thus the Senecas were known as the "keepers of the western door." The Mohawks, inhabiting the Mohawk Valley, kept watch at the "eastern door." The Onondagas, clustered in the geographic center of Iroquois territory, also had an important task in the League of the Iroquois. It was left to them to maintain the council fire and keep the records of the League of the Iroquois. The Oneidas and Cayugas, on either side of the Onondagas, were known as the "younger brothers" of the three bigger tribes. In 1713, the Tuscaroras, pushed from their hunting grounds in North Carolina, moved into New York and joined the League of the Iroquois, afterwards known as the Six Nations.
Much has been written about the importance of the League of the Iroquois. Actually, it was never as successful as many people think. The Five Nations, for instance, never united to fight against a common enemy. Even in wars to the death, as was the case when the Iroquois fought the Hurons and Neuters, only the Senecas and Mohawks joined to fight. The League of the Iroquois did help keep the peace among the Five Nations however, although even here it was able to do this because keeping the peace happened to be in the interest of the member tribes. Otherwise, the famous League of the Iroquois would surely have collapsed.
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THE EXPANDING IROQUOIS EMPIRE 1626 - 1675
HURONS Dispersed - 1647.49
ABENAKIS
PETUNS Dispersed - 1649
ONONDAGAS
O NEIDAS
MOHAWKS
MAHICANS Conquered · 1626
NEUTRALS Dispersed . 1651
CAYUGAS
SSENECAS
LAKE ERIE
WAPPINGERS
ERIES Dispersed 1654
SUSQUEHANNAS Dispersed . 1673-75
MONTAUKS
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
DELAWARES
A. WILHELMS
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LAKE
ONTARIO
O
What was life in the longhouse?
The bark homes were We have said that the Indians who inhab- a friendly place ited New York lived in longhouses. The longhouse had an important place in an Indian's life. It was his home and in it he did not have to be proud, fierce, and brave. He could relax and reveal the other side of his character, for he was among friends. Among his own people an Indian was helpful, kind, and merry, fond of jokes and laughter. The longhouse he lived in had been built through the cooperation of the whole village. Everyone joined in and helped when a new longhouse was needed. Men and boys went into the forest and cut saplings and wide strips of elm bark. With the saplings they raised the framework, and then the women and girls covered it with the bark strips, tying them in place with cord made from the inner bark of trees.
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