Читать книгу The Cornplanter Memorial - James Ross Snowden - Страница 6

Table of Contents

The last War Chief of the Senecas, and of the Iroquois, or Six Nations.

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH BY

JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN.

A solitary traveler, after the close of the Revolutionary war, in 1783, wandering near the shores of Chatanque lake,[A] found himself benighted; and ignorant of the path which should lead him to his place of destination, he feared he would be compelled to pass the night in the forest and without shelter. But when the darkness of the night gathered around him, he saw the light of a distant fire in the woods, to which he immediately bent his steps. There he found an Indian wigwam, the habitation of a Chief with his family. He was kindly received and hospitably entertained. After a supper of corn and venison, the traveler returned thanks to God, whose kind Providence had directed his way, and preserved him in the wilderness. He slept comfortably on the ample bear skins provided by his host.

[A] Cha-da-gweh, by the Senecas; meaning a place where one was lost.

In the morning the Indian invited the traveler to sit beside him on a large log in front of his cabin. They were seated side by side; presently the Indian told the traveler to move a little; which he did; and, keeping by his side, again requested him to move. This was repeated several times. At length, when near the end of the log, the Chief gave an energetic push, and requested his companion to move further. The traveler remonstrated, and said, "I can go no further; if I do I shall fall off the log." "That is the way," said the Indian, in reply, "that you white people treat us. When the United People, the Six Nations, owned the whole land, from the lakes to the great water, they gave to Corlaer[B] a seat on the Hudson, and to Onas[C] a town and land on the Delaware. We have been driven from our lands on the Mohawk, the Gennessee, the Chemung and the Unadilla. And from our western door we have been pushed, from the Susquehanna, then over the great mountains, then beyond the Ohio, the Allegheny and the Conewango; and now we are here on the borders of the great lakes, and a further push will throw me and my people off the log. If I ask, where is our land? a bird whispers in my ear, the Great King over the water has made peace with Washington and the thirteen fires, and divided the land between them by a line through the great lakes. Our Chiefs were not at the council, we were not warmed by its fire, nor protected by its heat. Our ally, in his hurry to make peace, forgot his red brethren; and did not even invite them to smoke the calamut which he had prepared for the thirteen fires which had rebelled against him." The Chief, in conclusion, with a sad and anxious countenance, asked the question, "Where are we to go?" The only response that was made was the sighing of the wind through the leaves of the forest. The traveler was silent.[D]

[B] The Indian name of the Governors of New York.

[C] The Indian name of William Penn; and subsequently applied to the Governors of Pennsylvania.

[D] Rev. Samuel Kirtland, missionary among the Indians, was the traveler referred to. He stated the substance of this anecdote to my father, Rev. Nathaniel R. Snowden.

I have seen a large medal of Washington, on one side of which is his bust in armor facing to the right. On the reverse or opposite side, is a full length figure of an Indian chief looking to the left, with an arrow in his right hand, and leaning on a bow; it contains the inscription "The land was ours." It also inscribes to Washington these words: "Innumerable millions yet unborn will venerate the memory of the man who obtained their country's freedom." Both these inscriptions command our assent. It thus appears that what was partial evil to the red man may be regarded as universal good to the human race. The former gives way to the advancing column of civilization, and will disappear from the land unless he abandons the life of a wanderer, and acquires a fixed home, where he can cultivate the soil and pursue the arts of civilized industry.

It would be inappropriate to this occasion, to enter upon a discussion of the causes of the gradual disappearance of the Indian race, when coming in contact with white men, nor of the tendency of the intercourse between these races of men to deteriorate the former and reduce their numbers. Neither can I enter upon the ethics involved in such a discussion. I leave these topics to the moral philosopher and the historian.

The distinguished Chief whose memory we this day commemorate, met these questions as practical facts. Cornplanter had learned from observation as well as experience, the influence and power of the whites, and as an able statesmen and friend of his race, he yielded to the superior force, and endeavored to preserve the existence of his family and nation, by securing for his people, land and other property where they would not be disturbed by the encroachment of the whites. It is a noticeable fact, and highly illustrative of his far-seeing policy, that in the treaties in which he took part as a Chief or representative of his tribe, he declined to stipulate for, or receive money or goods, but asked for well defined boundaries to their territories, or for land by title in fee simple to himself and to his people. He had the sagacity to perceive that if his nation and people depended upon a mere hunter's right to roam over a section of country, they would be driven, like other Indian tribes, from place to place, and at length be either exterminated or removed to distant lands, where they would be regarded as new comers, and be oppressed or destroyed by the Indians who had a prior claim to the territory.

Before making further remarks upon the life, character and public services of Cornplanter, I deem it proper to present some general observations respecting the Indian League or Confederacy,[E] known originally as the Five Nations, called by the French, Iroquois, and afterwards as the Six Nations, of which the tribe of Cornplanter, the Senecas,[F] was the most numerous and powerful. The Confederacy was originally composed of the Senecas, Oneidas, Mohawks, Onondagos and Cayugas. To these were added in the year 1712, the Tuscaroras, who had previously resided, and had their hunting ground in North Carolina, but in that year were driven north by the southern Indians, and were added to the League, thence afterwards called the Six Nations. In many authorities and manuscripts, however, they continued to be denominated the Five Nations.

[E] Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or the United People.

[F] The original name of this tribe was Nun-da-wa-o-no, which means Great Hill People. The modern name is a corruption of a Dutch word for vermillion, Sinnekar; and has reference to the fact, that this tribe, being the most warlike of the Six Nations, used the war paint more than the others.

The power and influence of this Confederacy of nations, or Iroquois, at the time when the emigrants from Europe set their feet upon the extensive country, now embraced in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, and the extensive region beyond the Ohio, even to the Mississippi, were greats and overshadowed, if they did not actually control and govern, all other tribes of Indians within what is at the present time a large portion of the United States.

Their power even extended to the New England colonies and to Virginia. In 1684 the Governors of New York, Massachusetts and Virginia, met in council with the representative Chiefs of the Five Nations at Albany, "to strengthen and burnish," so says the treaty, "the covenant chain, and plant the tree of peace, of which the top should reach the sun, and the branches shelter the wide land." This treaty related not only to the territory in the actual possession of the Iroquois—called by them "The Long House," but embraced the extensive country from the St. Croix to the Albemarle. It may be interesting here, in order to illustrate the extent of their claims and authority, to quote a few words from the journal of Messrs. Mason and Dixon, when running their famous line. One of the original manuscript copies of which is in possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. It is understood that there were three copies, in manuscript, prepared by these celebrated surveyors. I quote the following entries from the manuscript journal: "July 16, 1767. This day we were joined by fourteen Indians, deputed by the Chief of the Six Nations, to go with us on the line. With them came Mr. Hugh Crawford, interpreter," "October 9, 1767.—Crossed a war path near Dunkard creek. This day the Chief of the Indians, which joined us on the 16th July, informed us that the above mentioned war path was the extent of his commission from the Chief of the Six Nations, that he should go with us with the line; and that he would not proceed one step farther."

Their principal seats, however, were in Western New York and North-western Pennsylvania. They were thus situated between the advancing column of emigration and settlements of the English from the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Potomac on the one hand, and the French from Canada, the St. Lawrence, and the great lakes on the other. A territorial position, alike perilous to their aboriginal habits, customs and means of subsistence, as to their existence as a free and independent nation. And yet, notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, they stood for nearly two centuries, with an unshaken front, against the devastations of war, the blighting influence of foreign intercourse, and the still more fatal encroachments of a restless and advancing border population. United under their federal system, they maintained their independence and their power of self-protection long after the New England and Virginia races had surrendered their jurisdiction and fallen into the condition of conquered and dependent nations. And they now stand forth upon the canvas of Indian history prominent alike for the wisdom of their civil institutions, their sagacity in the administration of the affairs of the League and their courage in its defence. (Morgan's League of the Iroquois.)

Their system of government was remarkable for its simplicity and strength. The separate tribes, though united in one council fire, which was usually kindled and kept burning at Onondago, were, to some extent, sovereign and independent. In fact, their government was somewhat similar in structure to that which is established in the United States. Several republics were embraced in one. There were Chiefs for each tribe. Hereditary to a qualified extent, but dependent upon a ceremony of confirmation or investiture. Sometimes merit and public confidence would induce this investiture, without regard to hereditary right.

Sir William Johnston states, "that the Sachems of each tribe of the Six Nations were annually chosen in a public assembly of the Chiefs and Warriors, whenever a vacancy happened by death or otherwise. They were selected from among the oldest Warriors, for their sense and bravery, and approved of by all the tribe, after which they were selected as Sachems. Military services were the chief recommendations to this rank; but in some instances, a kind of inheritance in the office was recognized." I think there was a distinction between the Sachems and the Chiefs. The former had the direction of civil affairs and government, and the latter led the tribes in war. The rank of Sachem was in general hereditary, whilst that of Chief was conferred on account of ability, and especially bravery in war. A certain number of Chiefs were assigned to the different tribes. These Chiefs formed the council of the League, and in them was lodged the executive, legislative and judicial authority, for the general purposes of the united nations. As illustrative of the character of their government, I here insert the address of the Six Nations, to the colonies of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, delivered at the treaty made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1744. "We heartily recommend union and agreement between you, our brethren. Never disagree, but preserve a strict friendship for one another, and thereby you, as well as we, will become the stronger. Our wise forefathers established amity and friendship among the Five Nations. This has made us formidable, and has given us weight and authority with the neighboring nations. We are a powerful Confederacy, and by your observing the same means which our wise forefathers pursued, you will acquire fresh strength and power. Therefore whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another."

These are memorable words, and indicate the complacency of the members of the Confederacy with their own condition and power. Feeling secure in their castles beyond the mountains, and contented with their homes, amidst their beautiful lakes, and rivers and forests, where they possessed towns and villages, cultivated fields and orchards of various fruits, and being kindly disposed to their white brethren of the English colonies, they ventured the friendly task of giving them such wise and excellent counsel and advice, as is worthy of being re-produced on this occasion, although one hundred and twenty-two years have passed away since its delivery on the banks of the Conestoga.

Governor De Witt Clinton, in his address before the Historical Society of New York, December 6, 1811, quotes the foregoing address, and says: "This ancient and cementing principle of union and fraternity, which has connected them in friendship, and which was the basis of their power, and the pillar of their greatness, has been entirely driven from them. Party, in all its forms and violence, rages among them with uncontrolled sway. The nations are split up into fragments; the son is arrayed against the father; brother against brother; families against families; tribes against tribes. They are divided into factions—religious, political and personal; Christian and Pagan; American and British—the followers of Cornplanter and Red Jacket, of Skonadoi and Captain Peter. The minister of destruction is hovering over them; and before the passing away of the present generation, not a single Iroquois will be seen in this State."

This sad picture, although true to some extent, was somewhat overdrawn in consequence of the agitation and disputes which preceded the war with England in 1812; the Indian tribes being divided upon that question, some of them taking up the hatchet for England, and others, among whom were the Six Nations, for the United States. But Gov. De Witt Clinton's prophecy has utterly failed. The influence and example of Cornplanter, assisted by other good men, white as well as red, leading their people to agriculture, and to habits of industry and temperance, has saved from destruction a remnant of the brave and once powerful nations, who lived on these rivers and lakes, and possessed the land, both far and near.

Here, at the grave of the venerated Cornplanter, we can see the results of his principles, his measures and example. Here he rests from his labors, but his works do follow him. I see this in the evidences of civilization, industry and competency around me. I see it in the countenances of these intelligent and respectable people of the Indian race, who are endeavoring to imitate his example, and who come here this day to do honor to his immortal memory.

The Indian name of the venerable Chief, to whose memory this monument is erected, is written in different manners, in publication documents and papers, which have come under my notice. At the treaty of Fort Harmer, his name was given thus: "Gy-ant-wa-chi-a;" and this orthography I prefer. It means The Planter. But it is, also, elsewhere written, "Gy-ant-wa-hia," and in this form it appears on this monument; also "Ki-on-twog-ky," "Gy-ant-wa-ka," "Ki-end-twoh-ke," and "Cy-ent-wo-kee." In Mr. Day's historical collection of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Stone's Life of Red Jacket, and in some other modern works, he is named, "Ga-nio-di-euh," or "Handsome Lake;" but this is an error. That was the name of a half-brother of our Chief, who was also designated as the prophet, to whom I shall hereafter have occasion to refer. Our Chief was frequently designated as Captain O'Bail, or ABeel, (Captain being the highest military distinction known to the Indians;) but he was generally named and best known as Cornplanter or The Cornplanter.

He was born at Ganowaugus, otherwise written Connewaugus, an important town of the Seneca Indians, situated on the Genessee river, and on the trail or main road through the country of the Six Nations, to Niagara.

We have no precise knowledge of the date of his birth. He has been heard to say, that he and General Washington were about the same age. This would place his birth in the year 1732. In 1831, Thomas Struthers, Esq., of Warren, visited Cornplanter at his house, in this town, on which occasion the Chief, in answer to the question, "How old are you?" replied, "One hundred years." I saw him in the summer of 1834. At my interview with him, Mr. George Powers, of Franklin, Venango county, acted as interpreter. On that occasion he said he was more than one hundred years of age. A learned writer,[G] speaking of a younger brother of Cornplanter, named "Ganeodiyo, or Handsome Lake," says "he was born at the Indian village of Ga-no-wau-ges, near Avon, about the year 1735." He was a half-brother of our hero, having the same mother. Mr. Thatcher, in his Indian biography, and some other writers, have fallen into the gross error of making their relationship through a common father. I refer, in this connection, to the statement of the time of the birth of "Handsome Lake," in conjunction with the other facts mentioned, as corroborative of the probability, that the subject of these remarks was born about the year 1732.