USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Volume One > Part 5
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ance in this country is just as much of an archaeological puzzle as is the other.
For our present purpose, therefore, we must take the Indian as one of the features of the American landscape, just as indigenous here as was the native corn, the tobacco, and the streams along which he loved to camp and to hunt. No story had he to tell of those others who built and used the ancient tumuli, the enclosures, the mounds and the altars. He related simply that his ancestors had found those great works, the tem- ple-mounds, the grave-mounds, and all of the other wonderful construc- tions, when they came into the country, and that they, and he, had made of them convenient places for the deposit of their own dead, together with the usual trappings which he believed should be placed with the remains to ensure his comfort in the journey to, and later within, the Happy Hunting Grounds of the departed ones. Thus we explain the pres- ence in those ancient earthen structures of the ancient relics, as well as of the relics of other peoples who lived in later times. The latter being usually found deposited above the earlier ones, and many of which are of undoubted Caucasian origin, others which could scarcely have been made or used in that long ago age.
The native Indians of this land possessed traits which modern litera- ture is fast affording false teachings about. The stories we have read of the blood-thirsty savages have filled our minds with wrong views about the Indians. Our children today are being taught wrong impressions about the red man of America. For, instead of those natives being the desperadoes and cut-throats as they are described in modern stories, there was something grandly noble in their characters; and their attitude to- wards the white intruders, in the beginning of the relations between the two peoples, is conspicuously admirable.
Who can read of the attentions paid by the Indians of Massachusetts to the newcomers from Europe during the sufferings and trials of those first days in the wilderness, without having a thrill of admiration for the natives. Also, one is moved with gratitude for their expressions of hu- manity to the people of Philadelphia when the pioneers at that place found themselves on scanty rations, without shelters other than the caves in the banks of the Delaware, or the friendly cover of some great forest tree, and with disease and death spreading sorrow in the little settlement. There the white folks were taken into the Indian huts and wig-wams, fed and cared for, and later taught by the Indians how to hunt, to till
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the earth, to care for the crops and the fruits of the chase, to make clothing suitable for the wilderness, and last but not least, how to pre- pare and to cook the materials used in preparing their food.
We may be pardoned, perhaps, because of our pitiful ignorance of the real Indian character, for thinking of these native Americans as being roamers upon the face of the earth, without fixed places of abode; wholly dependent upon the accidents of the chase and fishing for their sus- tenance; with little in the way of home ties; primitive in the extreme in their dress and manner of life, and devoting a large part of their time to either warring savagely upon some weaker tribe, or else in preparing for the battle-field.
As a matter of fact, among no people of whom we have any knowl- edge, were the family ties and kin relationship more distinctly defined, or more religiously respected than amongst the Iroquois, and as we have reason to believe, amongst the Eriez Indians who occupied our own county, and most other native nations. It is time that we white intruders into the country which they owned and ruled began to realize that were it not for the kindly and timely hospitality, and generous sympathy of those so-called savages, the story of European occupation here would have read very differently from what it does now. In the times of ex- tremity of our intruding ancestors, and when disease brought on by exposure to the extremes of weather and from ill-nourishment, was taking a heavy toll of the fairest and best who landed here, those same terrible savages who have been styled so often as "dogs, wolves, blood-hounds, demons, devils, hell-hounds, fiends", etc., came to their succor freely, and generously divided with them their own stores of food which were many times all too scanty for their own needs, and sometimes even entailing hardship and privation for those who were near and dear to the givers in order that the strangers on their shores might not suffer. Those red men taught the white people how to construct shelters best adapted to the rigors of the climate until better houses could be built. They taught them about the crops and tillage, and many other matters. In sickness the strangers were tenderly cared for, nursed often at the Indian hearth- stones, and assisted back to wonted health and strength. The native lodges were havens of rest and refreshment for the tired hunter, and for the equally weary traveller and explorer. The Indian code of hospitality before his contact with the white race, and for some time after he mingled with them, was well described by William Penn as follows: "If a Euro-
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pean comes to see them, or calls for lodgings at their house or wigwam, they give him the best place and first cut. * * * In liberality they excel. Nothing is too good for their friend. Give them a fine gun, coat or other thing, it may pass 20 hands before it sticks; light of heart, strong affections, but soon spent ; the most merry creatures that live; they feast
* * and dance perpetually, they never have much nor want much. *
The pay or presents were not hoarded by the particular owners, but were shared by the neighboring kings and clans, until hardly an equal share was left to the original donors. When this was done on such occasions as festivals, or at their common meals, the kings distributed and to them- selves last. They care for little, because they want but little; and the reason is, a little contents them. In this they are sufficiently revenged on us. If they are ignorant of our pleasures, they are also free from our pains. They are not disquieted with bills of lading and exchange, nor perplexed with chancery suits and exchequer reckonings. We sweat and toil to live."
Mr. Elias Johnson, a native Tuscarora Chief, and father of Dr. P. T. Johnson of Erie, writes of this trait of hospitality as follows: "Hospi- tality was one of the Indian's distinguishing virtues, and there was no such thing among them as individual starvation or want. As long as there was a cup of soup, it was divided. If a friend or a stranger made a call he was welcome to all their wigwams would furnish, and to offer him food was not merely a custom, for it was a breach of politeness for him to refuse to eat however full he might be." * * "Because their system not being like the white people's, it does not follow that it was not a system. You might have looked into the wigwam or lodge and thought everything in confusion, while to the occupants there was a place for everything, and everything in its place; each had a couch which answered for a bed by night and a seat by day. The ceremonies at their festivals were as regular as in the churches, their rules of war as well defined as those of Christian nations, and in their games and athletic sports there was a code of honor which it was disgraceful to violate; their marriage vows were as well understood, and courtesy as formally practiced at their dances. The nature of the Indian is in all respects like the nature of any other nation; placed in the same circumstances, he exhibits the same passions and vices." Suffice it to say, that the Indians regarded any and all articles of food, raiment, or adornment as owned in common for the use and benefit of all members of the family, or of the tribe, or the
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nation, in common. As equal a division of the things as possible, was always made; and each person had the equal right to appropriate any article which was not in use, and to have a full share with all others of any supplies of food. This applied equally to those of their own na- tion, as to any sojourners from abroad within their camps. And with this principle as to the ownership and use of personal property in mind, a better understanding of some of the so-called "stealings" by Indians from white people can be had. For if he regarded his possessions as the common property of all, so he regarded the personal effects of other folks as held for the common enjoyment of them and of himself as well. And so when he visited in the cabins of the white folks, and some article attracted his fancy, he felt as free to appropriate it to his own use as he would have done in the case of finding a wild deer in the woods that dropped at his shot.
A curious feature of Indian etiquette was that it was very impolite to ask a person what his name was, or to speak it in his presence; this caused the greatest personal embarrassment to the person addressed, as well as to all of those present. When alluded to at all, it was by referring to him as the person who sits there, or who wears such and such a dress, or who resides in such a lodge or house, or who has done such a significant deed, or the like. As an instance of this Indian trait it is related: "A person upon being asked his name remained significantly silent; and not understanding the cause of his silence, the question was repeated, when the man indignantly replied, 'Do you think that I am an owl to go about hooting my name everywhere?'" If a woman were asked for her hus- band's name, and he happened to be present, she would likely blush and stammer out that 'He is my child's father', in order not to offend him by speaking his name in his presence.
Their marriage vows have ever been held sacred; and it must ever be recorded to their everlasting honor that no woman, white or red, ever had cause to complain of any but the most honorable treatment while in the power of the Indians, either as a captive, or otherwise. "Of what other nation", writes Chief Johnson, "can it be thus written, that their soldiers were not more terrible at the firesides of their enemies, than on the battlefields ?" Whatever the motive we may wish to ascribe this to, it must, at least, be said to their individual and national credit.
Prisoners, aside from their sufferings incident to chastisement and sometimes of torture, were usually accorded as good treatment as the
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circumstances of their captors warranted. They shared the common food supply, receiving as large a share as any one of the Indians themselves; but they were also expected to endure the same long, forced marches, the same exposure to the cold of winter and the extremes of weather, as their captors; standing or striding side by side with them until such time came when their ultimate fate was decided upon for better or for worse. Their white captives were expected to share in the homely tasks of the camp, and to perform the ordinary drudgery which the manner of Indian life rendered necessary.
The mother of the young lady selected the future husband for her, and then the young people were married, Indian fashion. Intermarriage within a clan was forbidden. When a warrior married, he passed over to his wife's clan, and their children belonged to the clan of the wife. Culti- vating the soil, growing and harvesting the crops, as well as grinding the grain and preparing the food, fell to the lot of the women. But it must also be remembered that that woman was the sole mistress within the wigwam, where she could do as she pleased. Our Indians were essen- tially democratic in their institutions, and in their equality. Their hunt- ing grounds and other claims to property and to territory, were held in common for the common use of all tribal members, and individual owner- ship in land was of a very rare occurrence. The right of inheritance rested with the clan. When a man died, only a portion of his personal effects went to his kin; for it was essential that a sufficiency of them as well as a substantial food supply to last him through the journey to the "Happy Hunting Grounds", together with goodly weapons for his protection against evils and dangers along the way, be reverently placed by his body, in easy reach when needed.
Descent was reckoned by them in the female line; and amongst our Indians the women had the sole right to declare war, and to exercise the right of adoption of captives taken in battle, or during raids. Women could also be heard in their tribal councils, and could vote in them- but only by proxy. The men were responsible for providing a sufficient supply of game and fish for the food of the tribe. They would often make great and long preparation for a hunting expedition. Great care was bestowed upon their hunting artillery, which consisted of the club, the knife, the tomahawk, the inevitable bow, and the rattle-snake skin filled with well feathered arrows. The lance and shield were not in use in this region, but was common on the western plains. Their arrows were
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usually made for them by skilled artificers located at points where par- ticularly desirable and suitable materials could be abundantly found for such purposes. There were certain places which seem to have been notable amongst the tribes for the perfection of the manufacture, or for the beauty, texture, or grain of the stones from which the arrow- heads were chipped. Hunters and warriors were known, in some cases
Shell Beads.
Bone
Needles.
Tennessee.
Sickle.
from
Hoes
Head
S
3
RT
Paleolithic.
cave relic .,
to travel almost unbelievable distances, and to be gone for several months perhaps, in journeying to and from their favorite source of supply. Their arrow-heads were made in various shapes, sizes, and of a variety of colors. The writer has seen them not less than six inches in length; and one beautiful little tinted stone arrowhead was not more than three-fourths of an inch in length.
Their hunting trips often lasted for many weeks-sometimes for months-before the party returned. If successful, a period of extrava-
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gant orgies, of dancing and gorging of food ensued; but if unsuccessful the hunters returned weary, crestfallen and passive; they would then slink silently back to their wigwams with every evidence of a feeling of disgrace, and so would metaphorically heap dust and ashes upon their heads.
Leadership in the tribe, or in the clan, required personal fitness, sagacity, and proved ability. These, rather than birth, wealth, or influ- ence, determined the selection. The office of sachem, who was their leader in peace, was somewhat loosely held by heredity; and in case of a vacancy, it was filled by an election. The office of chief, or leader in war, was largely elective, and his immediate following consisted usually of seventy-five to one hundred braves. The term signifying "king" was very rarely used; but when it was employed it was used to denote leader- ship of the very highest order.
Children wore no clothing in warm weather; but when about ten years old the boys had a sort of "a coming out" occasion, when they adopted the dress of their elders and began to accompany the hunters in the chase, and the warriors in their forays and military expeditions. The hair was usually worn long, hanging down in two long braids, one on either . side of the head. In this region, and farther east, their thoughtfulness for the future convenience of their enemies took form in shaving most of the head, but leaving a handy tuft of long hair growing on top of the scalp as a handhold while the enemy was severing the scalp from the head of the considerate one.
The Indians had comparatively few laws, moral or otherwise; but they were trained to a faithful observance of them all; and they took a pride in conforming to them. This was in contrast to the way white folks in these days regard their laws; for they take pride in seeing how many laws they can get enacted, and also in striving to ignore or infringe as many of these as possible. Their enactments are becoming year by year increasingly numerous, and cover almost every phase of their relations with each other. In such infinite variety and number have these laws been enacted that many indeed, even of the judges and the lawyers of the land whose business it is to study and to keep informed upon their provisions, find themselves utterly unable to keep abreast of the flood of enactments. So prevalent has the infringement, conscious as well as the unconscious and unwitting, of our laws become, that we may safely assert without much fear of denial, that the American people of
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today have become a nation of law-breakers rather than a law-abiding people. Too many of our people seem to take a pride rather in seeing how many of our laws may be broken with impunity than in sacredly observ- ing them in sincere reverence, as did the Indians.
Comparatively little is accurately known of the natives who made the south shore of Lake Erie their home prior to the advent of the white race. Most of that little has been gleaned from the Indian traditions related by the Indian nations who formerly surrounded them. But that there was a powerful nation of Indian tribes who did live here in those days, is well substantiated. It is also, equally clear that other great and powerful nations lived to the east of them who were known as, first the Five Nations, and later, upon the advent of another tribe from Carolina, as the Six Nations; and on the west of them other great nations, the near one being the Hurons. All of the nations surrounding this central nation were warlike and full of prowess. This central nation was equally brave and enduring, but for generations had acted as mediator, or arbi- trator, between the nearer nations to them, as well as many other more distant ones, and were averse to instigating battle, or countenancing warlike methods.
These Indians who lived in our own region were known amongst the tribes as the Atiwandaronk; the Dutch knew of them as the Shaonons or Satanas; the French called them the Neutral Nation, or the Neuters, and also described them as the Erigas, Eriez, Eries, Erie-honons, Cats, Mad-spirits and Chats.
These tribes were well able to give a good account of themselves in battle, as will be presently seen; but they were friends to both the Hurons and the Five Nations, and were the official arbitrator between those nations, as well as between the individuals of those nations who were unfortunate enough to have become involved in disputes or personal strife.
Chief Elias Johnson relates that these Eries Indians were a brave, proud, and peace-loving nation. That they maintained peace amongst the surrounding nations by fairly administering justice and insisting upon the observance of fair dealing. That when the French first entered the St. Lawrence River, they were a powerful and dominant nation in the midst of the country, occupying the territory from near where Rochester now stands, along the south shore of the lake to somewhere in the vicin-
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ity of Cleveland, or perhaps a little farther west. They then (1535) had their stronghold, fort and seat of power at a place on the edge of the Niagara escarpment about six or eight miles east of Niagara Falls. It was near the place now known as "Pekin Cut," and this capital was known as "Gau-strau-yea," signifying in the Indian tongue "bark laid down;" meaning, metaphorically, that the place was to be used and employed by seekers for its benefits with diligence, and utmost care, or such a one would perchance suffer a slip and a fall, as upon freshly peeled, slippery- elm bark newly laid as a flooring with the slippery side upwards; where one who essayed to enter must walk with care and much circumspection, observing strictly the laws and established rules of the place, else he would slip and fall down in his attempt to realize the value of this institu- tion, to his confusion, perhaps destruction. This symbolism was a very appropriate one; for this capital partook of the nature of fort, capital, and City of Refuge; it was governed by peculiar and strict laws, any one of which might easily be broken by the unwary.
The queen was called by an hereditary title, spelled by white folks variously as "Ge-keah-saw-sa," "Ge-go-sa-sa," etc., was chosen by the Six Nations, the Eriez, the Hurons, and resided within this citadel. Each queen elect assumed the hereditary title, succeeded to the post of honor, and took up residence within the sacred enclosure.
This citadel is described by Chief Johnson as follows: "It had been built by the Senecas, aided by the Squakihaws (Eries) on an eminence on the north side of a steep of perpendicular rocks, which was about eight or ten feet down; and on the east, south and west sides they dug a trench four or five feet deep. In this trench they placed timbers set perpendicularly, and jointed as close as possible. These timbers projected above the ground some ten or twelve feet, enclosing a space of about twenty by fifty rods in extent. The house for the queen was in the center of this enclosure, or fort, and adjacent houses were built in two rows, with a trail or path between them directly leading to the queen's house. On each end and inside the fort, which ran lengthwise, east and west, was an entrance corresponding with the trail prepared leading to the house of the queen.
"A suitable number of warriors were selected from the Squawkihaws nation composed of the most able-bodied, the swiftest runners, and the most expert in the art of war. These were stationed at this fort and
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lived in those adjacent houses, to keep the place in order and to execute its regulations, laws, and edicts. They were to be supplied with all the necessaries of life, and with suitable weapons of war, by the Iroquois.
"Some of the regulations with which this executive branch of Indian government had to do were: That no nation or branch of the Iroquois should make war against any other nation or branch of the same league, under any circumstances. The Iroquois must not make war upon any alien nation without the consent of the Queen. This Peace Fort must ever be held sacred as a place of peace, by never allowing the shedding of blood within the enclosure. All executions decreed by the queen should be made outside the fort. No person, or persons, other than the keepers of the fort, should, on entering it, go faster than a walk. The queen must always have meals ready at every hour of the day or night, which signified in the Indian allegorical meaning, keeping a 'Kettle of Hominy Hanging;' an Indian term used to express to all that every hospitality and succor was ready on the instant for every needy one, and especially for all fugitives and pursuers alike, from any nation on the continent to partake of.
"All fugitives, irrespective of their nationality, when fleeing for their lives from an enemy, when once their feet had touched the thresh- hold of this fort were safe, and their lives were fully protected while inside it. Then the practice ensued, in case of a fugitive seeking the fort, for the queen to conduct him into one end of her house, which stood length- wise, east and west, with a door at each end, and having a partition made of choice deerskin hung in the center of the room. When the pursuer came he was conducted by her into the other end of the house. They were each seated and given food. The curtain was then rolled back so that they could see each other, and when they had finished eating they passed out of the house and out of the fort, and thence to their respective nations in peace. It was contrary to law for any person to execute the death sentence upon a fugitive after he had arrived in this fort, had eaten, and then had gone out, without the consent of the queen. If this rule were violated, the Iroquois would demand the trespasser from the nation to which he belonged; if this request were approved he was executed; but if the nation ignored or refused it, that nation was plunged into the devastations of war at the hands of the Iroquois. The queen was hedged in by a veritable web of technicalities in the execution of her office, and it required much sagacity and diplomacy at times in order to fulfill
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safely its requirements. It was one inconsiderate act of the queen which precipitated the trouble that finally destroyed the proud and peace-loving Eriez Indian Nation.
"Two Canandaigua (Seneca) warriors were announced at her lodge, and began to smoke the pipe of peace, when a deputation from the Missis- saques was also announced. The object of their visit was soon made known, and their request, which was to demand vengeance for the mur- der of their chief's son, was immediately granted. Intelligence of this violation of neutrality on the part of Ge-go-sa-sa spread in every direction. The queen dispatched messengers to explain her position to Ragnatha (Buffalo) where the principal commander of the Eriez resided. She even undertook to execute the commission herself ; but a meddling woman also stepped off quietly, taking a canoe along the shore of Lake Ontario, and communicated the death of the Canandaigua chief. Spies were sent by the Senecas to ascertain the truth of the rumors, who, without exciting suspicion, learned the facts from some boys found hunting squirrels, and upon their report, an army was raised in hot haste. As a decoy a man was dressed in bear-skin and directed to sit in the path, and when pur- sued to lead the way into ambush. The plan succeeded, and the Eriez were brought into the midst of crouching Senecas, who sounded the war- ยท whoop most terrifically, but themselves, after a severe contest, were forced to flee. Afterward they rallied and fought with great desperation, and the Eriez were compelled to yield, leaving 600 slain on the field of battle."
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