History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 25

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc > Part 25

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ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THE CAPTURE OF PRESQUE ISLE.

A more vivid, shocking, and altogether different account of the affair was written upward of forty years ago by Mr. H. L. Harvey, and has appeared in

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several historical sketches of the county, but, after comparison with the official reporte of the day, as published in the Pennsylvania Archives, the present writer is led to believe that Parkman has stated the facts correctly. The account of Mr. Harvey is to the tenor that three Indians appeared at the gate of the fort claiming to be on the way to Niagara with furs-that, upon the pretence that their canoes were bad, and that they wished to sell him their stuff, they in- duced the Ensign in command to visit their camp, a mile east, with his clerk- that, after a due season of absence about a hundred and fifty Indians reached the fort, bearing what appeared to be packs of furs-that, upon being admitted, they drew their tomahawks and rifles, butchered those who resisted, and tor- tured to death those who were taken prisoner-and that only two persons of all the inmates of the fort escaped, the one a soldier who had gone into the woods, and the other a woman who hid in the wash house at the mouth of the creek, was discovered the next day, taken prisoner, and ultimately ransomed. This story, though blood-curdling enough to please the most distempered mind, is hardly consistent with itself, and is not borne out by the official docu- ments. It is said that an occurrence somewhat similar to the account of Mr. Harvey actually transpired at Venango, and his informant, in some way, prob- ably, got the two affairs mixed. The history of the event, as given by Park- man, agrees with that of Mr. Thatcher in his "Life of Pontiac."

For some time after the capture of the forts, the sparsely settled western country was a "dark and bloody ground" indeed. Hundreds of traders and settlers were shot, tomahawked and scalped, and no mercy was shown even to the women and children. Many babes had their brains knocked out before the eyes of their terror-stricken mothers; many shrieking wives were ravished and murdered in the presence of their tortured and helpless husbands. It was one of the most terrible episodes in border history, and seemed for the time to have crushed out all hope of the advance of civilization into the interior of the country. A covenant with the Indians of New York and Western Pennsylvania was made in the fall of 1763, but hostilities, though not upon an extended scale, were soon renewed. Early in 1764, a British Army of 3,000, under com- mand of Gen. Bradstreet, passed up the lake in canoes. They stopped at Presque Isle and dragged their canoes across the neck of the peninsula to avoid paddling several miles around. After relieving Detroit, Bradstreet returned to Presque Isle, where on the 12th of August, 1764, he made a treaty of peace with the Delawares and Shawnees, which was scarcely signed till it was broken.

No authentic record of events in this section can be found from that date until 1794. The fort appears to have been abandoned, and it is probable that the English made no attempt to exercise more than nominal control over the country. A few traders wandered back and forth, but there is no knowledge of any permanent settlement. The whole region along the south shore of Lake Erie, and for many miles south and west, was known as the Indian country. Pittsburgh was the nearest white settlement, on the south, and Cherry Valley, New York, on the east.

AMERICAN OCCUPATION.

The treaty of Peace with Great Britain, which secured the independence of the United States, was made in 1783. By its provisions the British Gov- ernment abandoned all claim to the western country, and agreed to withdraw its troops and yield up possession of the forts, block-houses and other mili- tary structures. In October, 1784, a treaty was made with the Six Nations by which they relinquished to the State of Pennsylvania all of the Northwest to a line parallel with the southern boundary of New York. By another treaty,

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made on the 9th of January, 1789, with a part only of the Six Nations, they acknowledged "the right of soil and jurisdiction to and over" the Triangle "to be vested in the State of Pennsylvania." Some dissatisfaction having arisen among the Seneca tribe in consequence of this act, the Legislature em- powered the Governor to draw a warrant for $800 in favor of Cornplanter, Half Town and Big Tree, in trust for the use of the tribe and in full satisfaction of all demands, in consideration of which the said chiefs, on the 3d of February, 1791, signed a release of all claims against the State for themselves and their people forever. On the 3d of March, 1792, the Triangle was purchased from the United States by the Commonwealth, and a month later an act of Assembly was passed to encourage its settlement by white people. State troops, to fa- cilitate this purpose, were first stationed at LeBoeuf early in May, 1794. It was the intention to establish a post at Presque Isle forthwith, but events that will be related hereafter delayed the enterprise.

The treaties and deed referred to above were distasteful to a large element of the Six Nations, and even some of the Senecas refused to acquiesce in them, charging that Cornplanter and the other chiefs had been bribed to give the documents their signatures. The Indians regarded the presence of the State troops with great disfavor, and determined, if possible, to prevent the settlement of the territory. They were incited to this course by English emis- saries, who hoped that by a rising of the Indian tribes they might cripple the infant government of the Union, and perhaps restore the western territory to the British crown. Among the most hostile to the progress of the Americans was the notorious Brandt, head of the Mohawk tribe, who still cherished the idea, originated by Pontiac, of building up a great Indian confederacy aud re- stricting the control of the Union to the country east of the Allegheny. The following letter, written by him on the 19th of July, 1794, to Gov. Simcoe, of Upper Canada, shows in a clearer light the aid extended to the hostile Indians by the British authorities:

"In regard to the Presque Isle business, should we not get an answer at the time limited, it is our business to push those fellows hard. *

* Should those fellows (the Americans) not go off, and O'Bail (Cornplanter) continue in the same opinion, an expedition against those Yankees must of consequence take place. His excellency has been so good as to furnish us with a cwt. of powder, and ball in proportion, which is now at Fort Erie, opposite Buffalo; but, in the event of an attack upon LeBoeuf people, I could wish, if consist- ent, that his excellency would order a like quantity in addition to be at Fort Erie in order to be in readiness; likewise, I would hope for a little assistance in provisions."

It may be stated here that the Six Nations were dissuaded from joining the confederacy of Western Indians to oppose the Americans chiefly by the in- fluence of Cornplanter. His course cost him the confidence of his people, but he was rewarded by the thanks of the United States Government, and received liberal donations of land at its hands.

THREATS OF AN INDIAN WAR.

The above letter from Brandt anticipates our story somewhat, and requires an account of some preliminary events in order to be correctly understood. Early in 1794, an Indian council was held at Buffalo, where there was a con- siderable Seneca village, to protest against the settlement at Presque Isle, on the result of which, it was given out, would depend the issue of peace or war. To this council Cornplanter, whom Brandt was seeking to win to his side, was invited. Meanwhile, an Indian had been killed in a drunken fray by a State

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soldier at or near Pittsburgh, which gave the hostiles an excuse for their in. cendiary conduct. The State officials " settled " the trouble by paying $100 to "replace " the dead Indian, and it is quaintly stated in the chronicles of the day that " many of his tribe were sorry that it was not their relative, that they might have got a share of the money." Soon after this, two canoes were fired into by the Indians as they were floating down the Allegheny, and four men were killed and three wounded. The officials of the General Government were fearful of an extended war, and urged Gov. Mifflin to suspend operations at Presque Isle, while the State authorities, on the contrary, were confident that the best way to avert the strife was to garrison the place with a respect- able force. After considerable correspondence, including a personal letter from President Washington, operations were sulkily suspended by order of Gov. Mifflin, who was harshly criticised for it by the leaders of public opinion in the West.

The council at Buffalo was attended by Gen. Israel Chapin, U. S. Super- intendent of the Six Nations, who wrote to the Secretary of War: " I am afraid of the consequences of the attempt to settle Presque Isle at present. The In- dians do not acknowledge the validity of the Cornplanter sale to Pennsyl- vania." By request of the council, he went to LeBoeuf on or about the 26th of June, 1794, accompanied by Mr. Johnson, British Indian Agent, and twen- ty-five chiefs and warriors, to remonstrate with the State officers at that post against the placing of garrisons in the Northwest. The representatives of the Six Nations claimed to be anxious to live at peace with the United States, but pretended to be much disturbed by the presence of the troops, fearing that it would involve them in strife with the hostile Indians. They were assured by Ellicott and Denny, the State officers at LeBœuf, that the soldiers could not move from there till ordered, and that they would await the commands of their superiors in authority. The council adjourned without accomplishing anything of a definite character. During its continuance, it was reported that two armed British vessels were lying off Presque Isle, evidently for the pur- pose of intimidating the State officials.

Another Indian council was held at LeBœuf on the 4th of July, 1794, at which the chiefs reiterated their purpose of preventing a garrison being stationed at Presque Isle.

RAIDS BY THE SAVAGES.

The savages continued to be sulleu and threatening for some months, and many persons looked upon war as imminent. Several raids were made upon the southern settlements, among others on Cussewago, near the Crawford County line. A Mr. Dickson, living near there, was fired upon by a party of Indians on the 10th of September. Twelve soldiers, sent from LeBœuf for the protection of the settlement, were fired upon, aud the Indians drove off several horses. Matters remained in this alarming condition till October, when news reached LeBœuf of Wayne's victory on the Maumee. This had a wonderful effect upon the Indians of our vicinity. A number of warriors of the Six Nations had taken part in the fight, and the reports they brought back of Wayne's daring had a disheartening effect upon their comrades. The Sen- ecas, who had been strongly urged to go into the war, gave the messengers a peremptory refusal. Notwithstanding this decision, disturbances broke out on several occasions, which continued to delay the establishment at Presque Isle. On Saturday, the 29th of May, 1795, four men who were journeying from LeBœuf to the latter point, were attacked near the present Union depot in Erie, by a party of Indians, in retaliation, it is supposed, because some

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of their friends had been fired upon by whites along the Allegheny. Ralph Rutledge, one of the number, was killed and scalped, and his body, be- ing afterward found, was interred on a piece of rising ground on the west side of State street, near its junction with Turnpike. His son was also shot and scalped, but lived to be taken to the fort at LeBœuf, where he died. This is the last Indian difficulty known to have taken place in the county.

A treaty of peace was effected with the Western tribes by Gen. Wayne at Greenville, Ohio, on the 3d of August, 1795, and another was made with the Six Nations at Canandaigua, N. Y., on the 9th of November ensuing. At this latter, which was described in the annals of the day as " the Great Coun- cil," 1,600 Indians were present, including Cornplanter, who was at the head of 400 of the Allegheny portion of the Senecas.

INDIAN VILLAGES AND GRAVEYARDS.

Singular as it may appear, considering the fertility of Erie County, and the splendid facilities it must have furnished for hunting and fishing, there is no evidence that any large number of Indians ever made their abode within its limits after it became known to the whites. In 1795, there were Indian vil- lages on Mill Creek, and at the head of the bay, each numbering from twenty to thirty families. Their corn fields were on the flat lands above, about half a mile southwest, partially covering the farms of James C. Marshall and A. J. Kelso. Other villages were located at Waterford and Cranesville. The latter was there when Mr. Colton, the earliest settler of Elk Creek Town- ship, made his location in 1797. From all that we can learn through the an- cient records, the village at Waterford was and had long been the most im- portant in the county. Traces of the settlement existed until about forty years ago. The villagers had a burial place, orchard, extensive corn fields and vast herds of cattle.

On the Scouller farm, directly south from the Martin Warfel place, and in the southeast corner of the city limits, was an Indian graveyard, where the boys of forty years ago used to irreverently dig into the mounds and gather bones as relics. The first field east of the burial ground was cleared in 1821, and for some years after it was a frequent thing to find stone hatchets and other rude implements of the aborigines. It was the custom for many years after the incoming of the whites, for parties of Indians to camp near by and indulge in peculiar rites in commemoration of their ancestors. The last Indian encampment was in June, 1841, when about a dozen Indians spent a couple of days on the site. The mounds have all been plowed down, and no traces exist of this once sacred spot to the red men.

Numerous Indian graves, arrow heads, pieces of pottery, and other curios- ities have been found in a grave on the Hunter place, bordering French Creek, in LeBoeuf Township. A graveyard was opened on the Ebersole farm, east of Erie City, which contained numerous bones, beads and other Indian remains. All of the bodies were in a sitting position. Graves have been found in spots all along the Ridge road from Ebersole's woods to State street in Erie.

As to the number of Indians in this section, the only authority we have is a letter from Andrew Ellicott to Gov. Mifflin, written from LeBoeuf, in 1794. In this epistle he said: "When I was at Niagara, in 1789, Mr. Street, who stored the presents from the British Government for the Six Nations, handed me a census of their numbers, which had just been taken, and on which the decision was to be made, and it amounted only to between 3,200 and 3,300 men, women and children." What became of the Indians, it is diffi- cult to state. Many undoubtedly went westward, while others took up their

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homes on the reservations along the Allegheny. Early in the century, bodies of Indians passed through the county occasionally on friendly visits between New York and Western tribes. Maj. G. J. Ball informs us that when a boy he saw parties of 100 to 150 red men, women and children, encamped on the parks in the city of Erie.

In an appendix to his published oration at the dedication of the monument to Cornplanter, in 1867, Hon. J. R. Snowden gives the following, as the location and number of the Seneca Indians at that date:

"On the Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania, fifteen miles above Warren, at Cornplanter's town (Jennesadaga), 80; acres of land owned, 300; on the Allegheny Reservation, in New York, a few miles above the Pennsylvania line, 900; acres of land owned, 26,600; on Cattaraugus Reservation, in Erie and Cattaraugus Counties, N. Y., about 1, 700; acres of land under cultivation, 5,000; at Tonawanda, in New York, about 700; acres of land owned, 7,000.

" The Oneidas at the same time numbered 1,050. Some 250 were located in Oneida and Madison Counties, N. Y., and the balance of the tribe were in Brown County, Wis. The Onondagas and Tuscaroras were each 350 in number, the former living about six miles south of Syracuse, N. Y., and the latter about seven miles northeast of Niagara Falls."

Mr. Snowden adds: " The present condition of these remnants of the Six Nations is quite respectable. In most of the reservations they have schools and places of public worship. Many of them belong to the Methodist and Baptist Churches. The chief of the Six Nations, Stephen S. Smith, who made a speech at the inauguration of the Cornplanter Monument, is a minister in the Baptist Church."

The reservations occupied by the Senecas include about 40,000 acres. " They own the land in common, and are governed by a President and a Board of Counselors. Very few white people live among them. They are all civil- ized, and all have embraced the Christian religion, except a few who cling to the old Indian religion, and are called 'pagans.' "

CORNPLANTER, THE SENECA CHIEF.

This chapter would not be complete without a short sketch of Cornplanter, the distinguished chief of the Seneca tribe, to whom reference is so frequently made above. He was a half-breed, the son of John O'Bail (or A'Beel), a trader in the Mohawk Valley, by an Indian mother. His English name was the same as his father's, and his Indian name was Gyant-wachia or Cornplanter. At the age of twenty, he was with the French at, Braddock's defeat, and he partici- pated in the various Indian campaigns that occurred during and after the Revolution, always against the Americans. As Cornplanter advanced in years, he grew to realize the strength of the Union, and from being its relentless foe, became its admirer and fast friend. His influence largely brought about the treaties of peace at Forts Stanwix and Harmar, in consequence of which he partly lost the confidence of the Senecas, and was supplanted by the more art- ful and eloquent Red Jacket, who had long been his rival. In return for his services upon these and other occasions, the State of Pennsylvania granted him a fine reservation on the Allegheny River above Warren, where he spent the balance of his years. Although he participated in the councils at Buffalo, to take measures for preventing the establishment at Presque Isle, it is claimed by his biographer that he was at heart friendly to the Americans and had pledged himself that the Senecas should not " take up the hatchet." His: death occurred on the 18th of February, 1836, after he had passed the one- hundredth year of his age. He was a man of more than ordinary eloquence,

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although not equal to his rival, Red Jacket. The following is a brief sample of his style:

"I thank the Almighty that I am speaking this good day. I have been through all nations in America, and am sorry to see the folly of many of the people. What makes me sorry is, they all tell lies, and I never found truth amongst them. All the Western nations of Indians, as well as the white people, have told me lies. Even in council I have been deceived, and been told things which I have told to my chiefs and young men, which I have found not to be so, which makes me tell lies by not being able to make good my word; but I hope they will all see their folly and repent. The Almighty has not made us to lie, but to tell the truth, one to another; yet, when two people meet together, if they lie, one to the other, these people cannot be at peace; and so it is with nations, and that is the cause of so much war."

In 1866, the Legislature of Pennsylvania appropriated $500 to build a monument to Cornplanter at Jennesedaga, Cornplanter Town, Warren County, the place of his last residence. The monument was erected in 1867, and dedi- cated on the 18th of October of the same year.

CHAPTER VII.

THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH.

THE French were the first white men who made explorations in the lake T region. As early as 1611-12, Sieur de Champlain ascended the chain of lakes as far as Lake Huron. At a period extending from 1620 to 1640, the Indians were visited by numerous French Catholic priests, among whom were the celebrated Joliet and Marquette, on the double mission of spreading the Gospel and promoting the interests of their king and nation. In 1679, La Salle launched the schooner Griffin in Niagara River, and sailed with a picked body of men to Green Bay, in Lake Michigan, as will be found more fully detailed in the chapter on lake navigation. A French post was established at Mackinaw in 1684, and a fort and navy on Lake Erie were proposed by M. de Denonville in 1685, but the idea was not carried into effect. The dominion of the country was not wholly given over to the Freuch until 1753. They did a large trade with the Indians by exchanging beads, goods, provisions, guns and ammunition for furs, which were shipped across the ocean and sold at an immense profit. Although their possession was undisturbed, it must not be inferred that it was quietly acquiesced in by the English. The French claimed that their dis- covery of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi entitled them to the ownership of the territory bordering upon those streams and their tributaries. The English claim was based upon a grant by King James I, in 1606, to " divers of his subjects, of all the countries between north latitude 48° and 34°, and westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea," and also upon purchases of Western lands made from the Six Nations by Commissioners from Pennsyl- vania, Maryland and Virginia, representing the mother country. A long and sometimes acrimonious controversy was waged between the foreign departments. of the two nations over the question, and the leading officers in America, on both sides, looked upon it as certain to eventually result in war.

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

THE FIRST SOLDIERS.

Previous to 1749, the French had done nothing of an official nature look- ing to the occupation of the country between Lake Erie and the Ohio. Their discoverers had taken possession of it long before in the name of the King, and from that time it had been a sort of common tramping ground for advent- urous traders of both nations, without being directly subject to the control of either. In the year named, Capt. Celeron, with a detachment of 300 men, was sent by the Captain General of Canada to "renew the French possession " of the Ohio and its tributaries. He came up Lake Erie to the mouth of Chau- tauqua Creek, from which point he crossed over to the Allegheny, by way of Chautauqua Lake and the Conewango. Descending the Allegheny and the Ohio as far as the mouth of the Muskingum, he deposited leaden plates at the mouths of some of the most important streams, as a " monument of renewal of possession," and as a mark for the guidance of those who might follow him. One of these plates, buried at the confluence of French Creek with the Alle- gheny, was found afterward. The expedition caused much alarm among the Indians, who regarded it as the beginning of a scheme to " steal their country," and also created much commotion throughout the English colonies, whose officials saw in it a purpose to maintain by force what the French had before contented themselves with claiming in argument. An extensive corre- spondence ensued between the Governors of the several colonies, stirring letters were forwarded to the home Government, and the movement was universally regarded as the precursor of a long and sanguinary war. Among other plans proposed on the English side, Gov. Shirley of Massachusetts suggested the building of one or two war vessels each on Lakes Erie and Ontario, for the purpose of keeping the French in check.

In 1751, an expedition of French and Indians was organized in Canada to proceed to the "Beautiful " or Ohio River, and in May of that year a part of the force was reported to have passed Oswego in thirty canoes. For some rea- son the venture was abandoned, but warlike threats and preparations continued for two years.

ARMY OF OCCUPATION. 1

Finally, in the spring of 1753, the long threatened occupation began. Quite a full account of the expedition is given in a let er preserved among the Pennsylvania Archives, from M. DuQuesne, General-in-chief at Montreal, to the French minister at Paris. It was in charge of three young officers- Sieur Marin, commander, and Maj. Pean aud the Chevalier Mercier, assistants -and consisted of 250 men. The little army marched up Lake Erie by land and ice to Presque Isle, where it was decided to build a fort and establish a base of supplies. The reasons which prompted the selection of Presque Isle were the short portage to Lake Le Boeuf and the facility with which canoes could be floated down French Creek from the latter to the Allegheny. M. Du- Quesne's letter describes the bay of Presque Isle as "a harbor which the larg- est vessels can enter loaded, and be in perfect safety. It is," says he, " the finest spot in nature, a bark could safely enter-it would be as it were in a box." On the 3d of August the fort at Presque Isle was finished, the portage road, six leagues long, was "ready for carriages," the storehouse, half way across, was in a condition to receive stock, and the fort at LeBoeuf was nearly com- pleted. No serious trouble was apprehended from the Indians, who were will - ingly assisting in the transportation of the stores.

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History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 25

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280