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To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

At the last session of the Legislature a joint resolution was passed by your honorable bodies, appropriating five hundred dollars, for the erection of a monument to the memory of Cornplanter, an Indian Chief of the Seneca tribe, whose remains were deposited at Jennesadaga, where he had resided, in the county of Warren. By said resolution, I was appointed to superintend the execution of this generous purpose.

This duty might have been committed to more competent, but not more willing hands. My personal relations with the venerated chieftain in his life-time, had left a vivid recollection of his virtues that the abrasion of more than thirty years could not obliterate.

In discharge of the duty thus imposed, I procured a monument of marble, to be erected by Mr. W. H. Fullerton, of South Dorset, Vermont. In size, design and workmanship, it more than met my expectation, and was very creditable to the artificer. The monument itself, of beautiful Vermont marble, is over eleven feet high, and stands on a handsomely cut native stone base, four feet in diameter, by one and a-half feet deep. It is located immediately between the grave of Cornplanter, and that of his wife, from whom he was separated by death but about three months. On the second section are four well carved dies, in the form of a shield. Upon the spire facing west, is cut in large raised letters:

"GIANTWAHIA, THE CORNPLANTER."

Upon the die on the same side, is inscribed,

"John O'Bail alias Cornplanter, died at Cornplanter town, February 18, 1836, aged about 100 years."

On the die fronting south, the following inscription is handsomely lettered:

"Chief of the Seneca tribe, and a principal Chief of the Six Nations, from the period of the Revolutionary war, to the time of his death. Distinguished for talents, courage, eloquence, sobriety and love of his tribe and race, to whose welfare he devoted his time, his energies and his means, during a long and eventful life."

On the die upon the East side is engraved:

"ERECTED BY AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE OF PENNSYLVANIA,

BY ACT JANUARY 25, 1866."

Desiring to make the munificence of the State as gratifying to the family and friends of the good old Chief as possible, I appointed a time for the erection and dedication of the monument, and was fortunate enough to procure the services of Col. James Ross Snowden, of Philadelphia, to prepare an address suitable to the occasion, commemorative of the character and services of the distinguished Chief.

These ceremonies took place on the 18th of October last, in presence of the family and descendants of Cornplanter, about eighty in number, and a large assembly of native Indians, remnants of the once formidable Six Nations, from the Allegheny, Cattaraugus and Tonnawanda reservations in the State of New York, and also a large concourse of the pale faces from the surrounding country. Everything went off most satisfactorily, and to the high gratification of our aboriginal friends. The exercises of the day were conducted according to the following programme:

1. Invocatory prayer by the Chaplain.

2. Introductory address by your representative, as master of ceremonies.

3. Dedicatory address, by Hon. James Ross Snowden.

4. Address on the personal character of Cornplanter, and the lessons it taught, by Rev. W. A. Rankin.

5. Responsive addresses, in the Seneca language, by John Luke, of the Cattaraugus reservation, a Councillor of the Seneca Nations, and by the Rev. Stephen S. Smith, a native of the Tonnawanda reservation, Gennessee county, N. Y., also a Seneca chief of the Six Nations.

These two latter addresses, as also those made by the Rev. Mr. Rankin and myself, were interpreted, as delivered, by Harrison Halftown and another educated native of the Seneca nation. Before the dedicatory services commenced, the assembly was addressed in the Seneca language, by Solomon O'Bail, a grandson of Cornplanter, and a chief of his tribe, dressed in the full regalia of aboriginal royalty.

Three of Cornplanter's children still survive, and were present to enjoy the occasion; and, by them, I was solemnly charged to communicate to your honorable bodies, their sincere and reiterated thanks for the distinguished honor thus rendered to their beloved ancestor. I have seldom seen deeper gratitude in human hearts than swelled the bosoms of these now venerable children, and those of many grand-children of the hero, whose virtues and memory it has delighted you to honor.

Of the excellent music, by a native brass band, that enlivened the occasion, the pic-nic that followed, and the exciting war dance, that closed the exercises of the day, I will not stop to speak.

There remains yet in my hands, unexpended, about $45 of the appropriation made. The lateness of the season, the paucity of funds and the pressure of other engagements, combined to prevent the erection of such an enclosure around the monument as which Legislature evidently contemplated, and as would be suitable for its permanent protection.

To construct such a fence, of imperishable material, as ought to surround this memorial of State gratitude, to a public benefactor, will require at least $100, judiciously expended. I think it is due to the credit of the State, as it would be highly pleasing to the heirs and friends of Cornplanter, that a small additional appropriation should be made to consistently complete the work so generously begun. I am willing to bestow my time and attention, gratuitously, to accomplish it. I append to this report, the introductory remarks made at the dedication ceremonies, and the excellent address delivered by Col. Snowden, together with brief sketches of the responses made by the native orators who graced the occasion, that you may make such a disposition of them as, in your judgment, may be creditable to the State and beneficial to posterity.

S. P. JOHNSON.

Warren, January 25, 1867.