USA > New York > The history of New York from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 7
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But the victory was dearly bought. Disheart- ened by his losses, and the sturdy resistance he had met with, Denonville contented himself with burning the Seneca village, and torturing two old men found in it. Afraid to pursue the fugitives, he retired with his army to the south-east side of
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1687.
the straits, at Niagara, where he built a fort; and leaving within it a garrison of one hundred men, under the command of the Chevalier de la . Troye, returned into Canada with the remainder of his army.
He had no sooner evacuated the country of the Iroquois, than the Senecas reoccupied it, and in- vesting the garrison of Niagara, succeeded in cutting off the communication, until all but eight men perished miserably by famine.
Lamberville, the missionary, who had been the unconscious cause of the massacre of the Onon- dagas at Fort Cadaracqui, was soon after sum- moned by some aged chiefs into their presence. "We have much reason," said one of them, "to treat thee as an enemy; but we know thee too well. Thou hast betrayed us, but treason was not in thy breast. Fly, therefore; for when our young braves shall have sung their war-song, they will listen to no voice but the swelling voice of their anger." Humanely considerate for his safety, even in the midst of their own sorrow, they ordered trusty guides to conduct him se- cretly to a place of security.
On the 5th of August, Governor Dongan met the chiefs of the Five Nations in council at Alba- ny, and warmly commended the courage they had exhibited in defending their country against the advance of the French. He advised, that the Christian Indians who had removed into Ca-
real
1688.] ADVANCE OF GARRANGULA. 109
nada should be invited to return and settle them- selves within the limits of their own territory, and strongly cautioned his allies to make no peace with the French, except through his agency.
Throughout the whole of 1688, the Senecas, Onondagas, and Mohawks continued a fierce re- taliatory war upon the Canadians. Fort Cham- bly was beset, the houses in the vicinity burned to the ground, and the warriors returned in tri- umph with numerous captives to Albany. Several French soldiers were captured near Fort Fronte- nac, by the Onondagas, and held by them as hostages until their sachems should be returned to their own country, unharmed, from the galleys of Marseilles.
Denonville applied, through Pere le Vaillant, to Governor Dongan, to negotiate a peace and use his influence for a restoration of the captives. Dongan answered, that no peace could be made with the Five Nations until the Onondaga sa- chems were released from the French galleys and sent home, the Christian Indians returned to their own country, the forts at Niagara and Frontenac razed, and compensation made to the Senecas for the damage they had sustained.
Denonville indignantly refused to purchase a peace on any such humiliating terms, and Gar- rangula immediately advanced at the head of five hundred warriors. "I have always loved the French," said the scornful chieftain. "Our war-
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1688.
riors proposed to come and burn your forts, your houses, your granges, and your corn; to weaken you by famine, and then to overwhelm you. I am come to tell Yonnondio he can escape this misery, if, within four days, he will yield to the terms which Corlear has proposed." Thus haughtily threat- ened, Denonville yielded. A truce being pro- claimed, twelve hundred warriors met the French governor in council at Montreal, and dictated a treaty of peace on the conditions previously offered by Governor Dongan. As the Mohawks and Senecas were not represented at the council, Denonville required that deputies from them should also come forward and ratify the treaty on the part of their respective nations. To this requisition the other chiefs agreed, and the terms of the treaty having been arranged, the conven- tion was dissolved.
But while the prospects of peace were thus brightening, a singular artifice, adopted by a tribe of Indians friendly to the French, suddenly in- spired the Iroquois with sentiments of the bitter- est hostility.
The Dinondadies, an Indian tribe at war with the Five Nations, desirous of preventing a good understanding between the French and the Iro- quois, executed the following stratagem to effect their purpose. One hundred warriors, led by Adario, their chief, suddenly intercepted the de- puties of the confederated cantons, at the falls of
111
INDIAN STRATAGEM.
1688.]
the Cadaracqui, or Ontario River, while they were on their way to Montreal to ratify the treaty of peace previously agreed upon. Some were killed, and the remainder taken prison- ers. Adario then boasted to the latter that he owed his success to the French governor, who had given him timely information of the approach of fifty Iroquois warriors. Surprised at this ap- parently treacherous conduct, the ambassadors communicated to the chief the peaceful object of their journey. Feigning the utmost indignation and remorse at having been made an instrument of the basest treachery, Adario instantly ordered the captives to be set free. "Go, my brethren," said he ; " I untie your bonds and send you home again, though our nations be at war. The French governor has made me commit so black an action, that I shall never rest easy until your people shall have taken a full revenge."
Giving implicit credence to the story told by Adario, the Five Nations no sooner heard of the outrage which had been committed upon the per- sons of their ambassadors, than, animated by the keenest thirst for revenge, they collected twelve hundred warriors, and on the 26th of July, 1688, landed on the south side of the island of Mon- treal, burned, sacked, ravaged, and plundered all the surrounding settlements, up even to the very gates of the city; slew one thousand of the in- habitants, and carrying off twenty-six captives,
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1688.
. tortured them to death at the stake. Not con- tent with this terrible retaliation, they returned again to the island in October, and committed further devastations of the most sanguinary and barbarous character. Perfectly paralyzed with terror, the French made no resistance; and the confederates, gaining increased confidence with success, swept over the whole of Canada, carry- ing destruction wherever they went. Only a few fortified places remained, and these owed their safety more to the ignorance of the savages in the art of attacking them, than to the courage of their respective garrisons. Of the neighbouring Indian tribes, only two remained faithful to the French in their adversity. ' All the others repu- diated their alliance, and made peace with the Iroquois and the English. Had the latter ren- dered the least assistance to the Five Nations, the whole French dominion in Canada would have been at an end. As it was, the cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivieres alone remained; the whole country south of the lakes being perma- nently conquered by the confederated warriors.
During the progress of these events, great po- litical changes were taking place in the provinces. The attempt of James II. to bring about a resto- ration of the Catholic religion, had rendered him odious to the English people; and the birth of a son in 1688, having destroyed all hope of a Pro- testant succession, William, Prince of Orange, the
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1689.] WILLIAM AND MARY PROCLAIMED.
champion of Protestantism in Europe, who had married Mary, the eldest daughter of James, was invited to take upon himself the government of the kingdom. Complying with the popular wish, William landed in England in the fall of 1688, and James, deserted even by his own children, was compelled to take refuge in France.
The news of this great Protestant revolution reached Boston on the 4th of April, 1689. An- dros, who had been appointed governor of that province, was immediately deposed; the charter, of which he had deprived the people, was resumed; and the aged Bradstreet, whom Andros had su- perseded in office, reinstated as chief magistrate. During the month of May, Connecticut followed the example of Massachusetts, deposed the royal governor, and re-elected Robert Treat. Rhode Island adopted similar measures. Virginia hesi- tated for a short time, but at length proclaimed William and Mary " Lord and Lady" of the pro- vince.
In New York, the tidings occasioned great agi- tation. The wise and politic Dougan having been recalled by James, a short time previously, the government of the province had been transferred into the hands of his deputy Francis Nicholson. A rumour was spread, that the friends of the de- posed king intended to confirm his authority by a massacre of the disaffected; a fierce popular excitement was created; a mob paraded tho 10*
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1689.
streets; five militia companies, the only military force in the city, surrounded the house of Jacob Leisler, a merchant, and their senior captain, and demanded that he should place himself at their head and seize the fort. It was captured on the 1st of June, with the stores and public money; and the companies took upon themselves garrison duty alternately. Nicholson, deprived of his au- thority, sailed for England. A committee of safety was immediately formed, and Leisler ap- pointed captain of the fort, with gubernatorial powers, until such time as an officer, duly com- missioned, should be sent from England.
After proclaiming William and Mary at the sound of the trumpet, Leisler wrote to the king, explaining his proceedings, and accounting for the use he had made of the money found in the fort. At this period, Milbourne, the son-in-law of Leisler, a man of great energy and ambition, arrived from England, and was made secretary of the province. The old council, finding it im- possible to resist, with any hope of success, the self-constituted authorities of New York, retired to Albany, where a convention, was held, which proclaimed allegiance to William and Mary, but rejected the authority of Leisler, and refused to surrender the fort to Milbourne, who, with an insufficient force, had been sent up to de- mand it.
Soon after this, a letter reached New York,
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1690.] APPOINTMENT OF FRONTENAC.
addressed to Nicholson, or in the event of his absence, to "such as for the time being take care for preserving the peace, and administering the law in New York." In this letter a commis- sion as governor was enclosed for Nicholson ; but as the latter had already sailed for England, Leisler, under the supposed sanction of the super- scription, continued in authority.
In the mean time, the disasters of Denonville in Canada had led to his recall, and the appoint- ment of Count Frontenac as governor-general. Although then in his sixty-eighth year, Fronte- nac, within a few days after his landing at Que- bec, started in a canoe for Montreal, to animate the desponding inhabitants, and renew the French alliances with the neighbouring Indian tribes. This was the more necessary as the French mo- narch had espoused the cause of the exiled James, and had declared war against England. Messen- gers were also sent into the Iroquois territory to conciliate the friendship of the Five Nations. A council was accordingly held on the 22d of Janu- ary, 1690, at Onondaga, at which eighty chiefs of the confederated cantons were present. Du- ring the conference the Indian delegates pro- fessed themselves disposed to listen to terms of peace, but evaded the desire of Frontenac to ne- gotiate a treaty.
Desirous, by a display of energy and courage, · to force the proud warriors to regard an alliance
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK.
[1690.
with France in a more favourable light, Fronte- nac determined to carry the war into the English provinces.
Three separate expeditions were accordingly organized, the first of which, led by De Mantet and Sainte Helene, was to make a sudden and unexpected descent upon New York. The second, led by Hertel, was to surprise the settlement at Sahnon Falls, on the Piscataqua ; while the third, commanded by Portneuf, was ordered to attack the fort and settlement at Casco Bay. They were all successful. The war party under De Mantet and Sainte Helene, and consisting of one hundred and ten French and Indians, left Mon- treal about the middle of January, 1690. After a march of twenty-two days over the frozen sur- face of the wilderness, during which they subsist- ed upon parched corn, and such game as could be procured by their hunters, they entered, just before midnight, the village of Schenectady, on the Mohawk River. Passing within the pali- sades, the gates of which were open and unguard- ed, they divided themselves into parties of six or seven each, and while the inhabitants were buried in profound slumber, the war-whoop was suddenly raised, and the doors of the houses burst forcibly opened. An indiscriminate massacre was imme -.
diately commenced. Men, women, and children were put to death in a manner too barbarous to relate. The whole village was set on fire, and by
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1690.] MASSACRE AT SCHENECTADY.
the flames, the rifle, and the tomahawk, sixty persons perished, and twenty-seven were carried off into captivity. Those who escaped the fury of the assailants, fled, half-clad, through a driving snow, toward Albany, twenty-five of whom sub- sequently lost their limbs, through their exposure to the severities of the weather during that dreadful night. The enemy remained in posses- sion of the village until noon the following day, when, fearful of being intercepted on their return by the Iroquois, they retreated hastily into Ca- nada.
The citizens of Albany, alarmed at this daring invasion, and weakened by internal discord, no longer held out against Milbourne, who was ap- proaching a second time; but passively submitted the fort into his hands. Unhappily, the province still continued to be torn by dissensions; and while the popular faction clamorously sustained the measures of Leisler, the tory or aristocratic party placed themselves in direct and vehement opposition.
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK.
[1690.
7
CHAPTER IX.
Invasion of Canada resolved upon-Failure of the expedition- Arrival of Ingoldsby at New York-The fort blockaded -- Ar- rival of Governor Sloughter-Arrest of Leisler and his coun- cil -- Leisler and Milbourne tried and sentenced to death- Their execution-Appeal to the king by the son of Leisler- Report of the commissioners -- Appeal to parliament-Re- versal of the sentence against Leisler and Milbourne -- Death of Sloughter-Fletcher appointed governor-His character- Frontenac invades the country of the Five Nations-His march from Montreal-Falls upon the Mohawk villages- Returns to Canada-Activity of Schuyler-Of Fletcher- His popularity with the Indians-Convention at Albany- Conduct of Fletcher toward the provincial assembly-Resist- ance of the latter-Activity of Frontenac-Invades the Onon- dagas-Torture of an aged chief-Meagre results of the ex- pedition.
THE terrible loss effected by the French de- tachinent upon the frontier settlements, proving to the English provinces the necessity of united action, a convention of delegates from Massachu- setts and Connecticut was held at New York, on the 1st of May, 1690, when it was resolved that a force of nine hundred men, from Connecticut and New York, should march overland against Montreal; while Massachusetts despatched a fleet and army against Quebec. Both expeditions proved signally unsuccessful. A disagreement between the leaders occasioned insubordination among the troops, and the land forces separating,
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ARRIVAL OF INGOLDSBY.
1691.]
returned home, exasperated by mutual misunder- standings. The command of the naval expedition was intrusted to Sir William Phipps. He sailed up the St. Lawrence with a fleet of thirty-two vessels, and anchoring before Quebec on the 18th of October, sent a messenger to Frontenac, de- manding a surrender of the town. "I'll answer your master by the mouths of my cannon," was the reply of the brave old governor. Two at- tempts were immediately made to land below the town, but they were both repulsed with loss. The forts opening their fire soon after, the provincials were compelled to abandon the assault and retire with precipitation.
In January, 1691, Ingoldsby reached New York, from England, bearing a commission as captain. On his arrival he demanded possession of the fort; but Leisler refused to give it up, con- tending that Ingoldsby had exhibited no order from the crown, or from Sloughter, who was known to have received the commission of gover- nor, though he had not yet made his appearance in the province. Irritated at finding his authority disputed, Ingoldsby, supported by the royalists, blockaded the fort with his troops, and issued a proclamation denouncing the governor and his garrison. The passions of the militia being aroused, shots were exchanged during the invest- ment, by which, greatly to the grief of Leisler, several lives were lost.
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120 2 HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1691.
On the 19th of March, Sloughter reached New York. In the disordered state of the province, an able and energetic governor would have speedily remedied many of the evils which had been fostered by the violence of contending fac- tions. Sloughter was neither able nor energetic ; but licentious, avaricious, and poor. Prepossessed against Leisler before his arrival, he declined to receive his messengers, or to recognise him in any other light than as an usurper, and Ingoldsby was at once ordered to arrest the obnoxious go- vernor and his council. Soon after their arrest, a special court was organized for their trials. Six of the prisoners were found guilty of treason, but reprieved. Leisler and Milbourne denied the jurisdiction of the court, and appealed to the king. Leisler insisted that the letter addressed to "such as for the time being take care for pre- serving the peace and administering the laws in their majesties' province of New York," justified his retaining the office of lieutenant-governor; and the obsequious judges referred the argument to the opinion of the governor and council. They decided that no such interpretation could be put upon the superscription; and the unfortunate governor and his son-in-law were condemned to death for high treason. One hope of escape from an ignominious death yet remained. Sloughter had pronounced them great villains, but hesitated
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121
1691.] EXECUTION OF LEISLER.
to order their execution until the pleasure of the king should be made known.
The friends of Leisler boldly defended his con- duct, and denounced the malignity of his enemies ; but the latter, now grown numerous, supported as they were by the influence of the new governor, demanded that the law should be put in force. In the midst of these disturbances the assembly met. It was soon found to be composed of persons at- tached to the aristocratic faction, and, of course, bitterly hostile to Leisler and his son-in-law. A motion was made for their reprieve; but resolu- tions were passed on the 17th of April, 1691, declaring the conduct of the prisoners illegal and arbitrary, and imputing to their usurpations the burning of Schenectady, and the ruin of various merchants. The council then demanded of Sloughi- ter their immediate execution, as essential to the welfare of the province. As the governor still hesitated, the enemies of Leisler adopted a strata- gem to effect their purpose. A dinner party was given, to which the governor was particularly in- vited. While he was under the influence of wine, he was cajoled into signing the death-warrants, and before he recovered his senses the sentence was carried into effect.
On the 16th of May, in the midst of a cold drizzling rain, the prisoners were led to the gal- lows, which stood outside the city wall. Guarded by the troops, the sad procession moved on,
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. - [1692.
thronged about by weeping friends, and exulting enemies. "Weep not for us," said Leisler to the sorrowing populace, "we are going to our God; but weep for yourselves, that remain behind in misery and vexation." The handkerchief was bound about his face. "I hope," said he, "these eyes shall see our Lord Jesus in heaven." -They were his last words. Milbourne's were not less pathetic. "I die," he exclaimed, " for the king and queen, and the Protestant religion in which I was born and bred. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." In the midst of torrents of rain, the people rushed forward to obtain some memento of their leaders.
The appeal to the king, which Leisler had not been permitted to take, was prosecuted by his son. It was referred to the Lords Commissioners of Trade, who, after a patient hearing, decided, on the 11th of March, that the " deceased were con- demned and had suffered according to law ;" but declared their families to be fit objects of royal compassion. The report was approved, but the estates of the victims of party animosity were ordered to be restored to their families. Not satisfied with this decision, the friends of Leisler appealed to parliament for redress, and in 1695, the petition being strongly supported by Sir Wil- liam Ashurst and Constantine Phipps, an act was passed by which the attainder was reversed. Three years subsequent to this, the bodies of Leis-
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COLONEL FLETCHER.
1692.]
ler and Milbourne were disinterred, and after lying in state with great pomp for several days, were reburied in the old Dutch church.
The judicial murder of these popular leaders led to a result widely different from that which had been anticipated by their enemies. The principles they had espoused and supported were . only implanted deeper in the minds of the people. Out of this signal act of tyranny grew a hatred of oppression, and an abhorrence of the royalist, or aristocratic party, which gradually gained ground in the midst of fierce animosities, and finally ended in the triumphant assertion of popular rights.
The war with Canada still continued, sustained principally by the efforts of the Mohawks under Schuyler. But the vigorous energy, foresight, and activity of Count Frontenac, were more than a match for the feeble and ill-conducted attempts made against him by the English provinces. Af- ter an inefficient and distracted administration of four months, Sloughter died, and in the ab- sence of Dudley, the president of the council, the control of affairs was committed to Captain In- goldsby.
In September, 1692, Colonel Benjamin Fletch- er, a man of strong passions, feeble talents, ac- tive, and avaricious, arrived, as governor, bringing with him presents for the Indians, military sup- plies, and an addition of two companies of sol-
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HISTORY OF NEW YORK. [1693.
diers. Fortunately for his subsequent conduct of Indian affairs, Fletcher early made the ac- quaintance of Major Schuyler, who had succeeded to the influence which old Corlear once exercised over the Iroquois, and from whom the English governors were subsequently entitled "Corlear" by the Indians. Major Schuyler, or " Quidder," as the Mohawks called him-for they could not pronounce his Christian name of Peter-was a brave, active, intelligent, and humane man; and his unbounded authority over the wild tribes on the frontier, rendered him eminently serviceable to the governor, who judiciously admitted him of his council.
During the period that Fletcher was reorgan- izing his government, and creating various issues with the assembly, Count Frontenac was busily preparing for an expedition against the Five Na- tions. On the 15th of January, 1693, he set out from Montreal, with a force of seven hundred French and Indians, and passing Schenectady on the 6th of February, entered the first fortified village of the Mohawks the same night, and cap- tured five men, and a few women and children. Most of the warriors of that nation being at this time on a visit to Schenectady, a second village was captured equally bloodlessly ; but at the third, about forty Indians were surprised during a war dance, and a battle ensued, in which the French were victorious, though not until after they had
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FRENCH INVASION.
1693.] -
sustained a loss of forty men. Satisfied with his success in this sudden foray, Frontenac now set off on his return to Canada, bearing with him. about three hundred captives.
The tidings of this invasion was no sooner known to the Mohawks at Schenectady, than they called upon the inhabitants to assist them in pur- suing the retiring enemy. The people were timid, and hesitated, much to the anger of their savage allies; but their cowardice was atoned for by the activity of Schuyler, who hastened to the relief of his friends, at the head of two hundred men. Being joined on the 15th of February by three hundred Indians, he followed in pursuit of the foe, sending back to Albany for reinforcements and provisions. On the 17th he came up with the rear guard of the French, and a series of tri- fling skirmishes ensued. Two days afterward, his force being increased by the arrival of eighty regulars, with the much needed supply of provi- sions, Schuyler resumed the pursuit; but the enemy had taken advantage of the delay, and succeeded in reaching the north branch of the Hudson, through a driving snow storm. Provisions again falling so short that the Indians were com- pelled to subsist upon the dead bodies of the ene- my, all further advance was rendered impossible, and Schuyler returned to Albany, after having retaken about fifty of the captives.
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