Transcriber Note
Emphasized text displayed as _Italics_.
[Illustration]
The Cornplanter Memorial.
THE CORNPLANTER MEMORIAL.
------------
AN
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF
Gy-ant-wa-chia--The Cornplanter,
AND OF THE
SIX NATIONS OF INDIANS.
By JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN,
AND THE REPORT OF
SAMUEL P. JOHNSON,
ON THE ERECTION OF THE MONUMENT AT JENNESADAGA,
TO THE MEMORY OF CORNPLANTER.
Published by order of the Legislature of Pennsylvania.
HARRISBURG, PA:
SINGERLY & MYERS, STATE PRINTERS.
1867.
NOTE.
SENATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, }
_Harrisburg, March 15, 1867._ }
The report of Hon. SAMUEL P. JOHNSON, on the completion of the monument
authorized by the last Legislature, to be erected to the memory of
CORNPLANTER, a Chief of the Six Nations, having been presented to the
Senate, by Senator BROWN, of Mercer, the following resolution was adopted:
_Resolved_, That one thousand copies of said report, together with the
historical sketch, with accompanying documents, prepared by Hon. JAMES
ROSS SNOWDEN, be printed, and that the thanks of the Legislature be
presented to these gentlemen for the able and satisfactory manner in
which they have discharged the duties assigned them.
PREFATORY.
A joint resolution of the Legislature of Pennsylvania was passed on the
7th day of March, 1867, inviting Hon. JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN to deliver,
in the Hall of the House of Representatives, his historical address on
CORNPLANTER, and the Six Nations of Indians.
Pursuant to this resolution, on the 14th of March, the members of both
Houses, and a number of citizens, being convened, Hon. JOHN P. GLASS,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, was called to the chair; and
GEO. W. HAMERSLY, Esq., Clerk of the Senate, A. W. BENEDICT, Esq., Clerk
of the House of Representatives, and JOHN A. SMULL, Esq., Resident Clerk
of the House of Representatives, were appointed Secretaries.
Mr. SNOWDEN was introduced to the audience by Mr. Speaker GLASS, with
some appropriate remarks.
Previous to the delivery of the historical sketch, Mr. SNOWDEN made the
following introductory remarks:
At the last session of the Legislature a joint resolution was adopted,
appropriating a sum of money for the erection of a monument to the memory
of CORNPLANTER, the celebrated Chief of the Seneca Nation of Indians.
The same resolution placed the subject in charge of the Hon. SAMUEL
P. JOHNSON, President Judge of the Sixth Judicial District. Under his
direction, an appropriate monument was prepared and placed in position
over the grave of the Chief, at Jennesadaga, (Cornplanter's village,)
in the county of Warren, on the Allegheny river, fifteen miles above
the borough of Warren. I was selected, by Judge JOHNSON, to deliver
an address upon the occasion. This duty I performed. The monument was
dedicated with appropriate exercises, on the 18th of October last.
There were present about four hundred Indians, and a large concourse of
citizens of Pennsylvania and New York.
I have, at hand, the report of Judge JOHNSON, to the Legislature, showing
the manner in which he has discharged the duties assigned him. His
report embraces his introductory remarks and the historical sketch which
I delivered. Also, the responses made by a Chief of the Six Nations,
and a councillor of the Seneca Nation. The responses were made in the
Indian language. They were reported, and taken down by me as they were
translated by an interpreter at the time of delivery.
I have here, also, a photograph of the monument and the audience, taken
during the delivery of the historical address. This report, with the
accompanying papers, will be presented to the Legislature. I am here,
this evening, at the request of the Senate and House of Representatives,
to deliver the historical and biographical sketch which I pronounced at
the grave of CORNPLANTER, when the monument, erected to his memory, was
dedicated. For the honor of this invitation, I beg to present to the
members of the Legislature my sincere thanks.
After Mr. SNOWDEN had concluded his address, the following resolutions,
offered by Senator M. B. LOWRY, of Erie, and seconded by Senator THOMAS
J. BIGHAM, of Allegheny, were unanimously adopted:
_Resolved_, That the members of the House of Representatives, jointly
assembled, hereby tender our thanks to the Hon. JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, for
his excellent and carefully prepared historical address, prepared for and
delivered on the occasion of the dedication of the CORNPLANTER monument,
and which we have heard repeated with lively interest and satisfaction.
_Resolved further_, That the thanks of the members of both Houses is
also tendered to Hon. SAMUEL P. JOHNSON, for the judicious and admirable
manner in which he has discharged the duty assigned him, by the last
Legislature, in causing to be erected an appropriate and suitable
monument over the grave of the Seneca Chief.
_Resolved_, That copies of these resolutions be furnished to Colonel
SNOWDEN and Judge JOHNSON: and that the same be prefixed to the
publication of the CORNPLANTER memorial.
JOHN P. GLASS, _President_
ATTEST:
A. W. BENEDICT, }
GEO. W. HAMERSLY, } _Secretaries_.
JOHN A. SMULL, }
CONTENTS.
1. Report of S. P. JOHNSON.
2. Historical sketch, by J. R. SNOWDEN.
3. Speech of JOHN LUKE, Councillor of the Seneca Nation.
4. Speech of STEPHEN S. SMITH, Chief of the Six Nations.
5. Appendices, containing speeches of CORNPLANTER, and address
of WASHINGTON to CORNPLANTER.
6. Statement of the present condition of the Six Nations.
REPORT OF HON. S. P. JOHNSON.
_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_.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
OF
HON. S. P. JOHNSON.
_Friends of Cornplanter and fellow citizens:_
By a joint resolution of the Pennsylvania Legislature, approved by the
Governor the 25th of January, 1866, the State Treasurer was directed to
pay to me, the sum of five hundred dollars, "to be expended in erecting
and enclosing a suitable monument to CORNPLANTER, as a recognition of his
eminent services to the State during its early history."
This duty I have endeavored to perform, as well as the limited means at
my disposal would permit. You have before you to-day, the result of that
effort, which, for the price paid, is highly creditable to the State,
the Chieftain, whose virtues it is intended to commemorate, and the
architect who designed and executed it. It is befitting that the virtues
and services of public benefactors should receive public recognition and
be perpetuated by suitable memorials. There is much in the history of
CORNPLANTER, after his alliance with the American government, to elicit
admiration and secure the gratitude of this State and the nation.
Immediately upon the close of the Revolutionary war he became the fast
friend of the white man and the government. Satisfied that his nation had
been fraudulently decoyed into alliance with the British during the war,
and basely betrayed by then allies at its close, he hastened to repair
the wrong, by giving all his influence and energies to the inauguration
of a peace between the United States and the Six Nations, of which he was
then a distinguished Chief. Although resisted by all the craftiness of
BRANT, and the eloquence of RED JACKET, he persisted until his purpose
was consummated by the treaties of Fort Stanwix and Fort Harmar, both
of which were secured through and executed by himself. By them the
Indian claims to most of the land in Western New York, and North-Western
Pennsylvania, was surrendered, and a perpetual peace ordained.
But the great merit of his life, and which most entitled him to the
gratitude of the American government, and the State of Pennsylvania,
was his successful efforts to prevent the Six Nations uniting in the
Confederacy of western Indians formed in 1790-91. Had these tribes, then
the most powerful on the continent, joined that Confederacy, the bloody
realities of the war that followed, would have spread over the entire
western frontier of Pennsylvania, and its termination in 1794, by the
victory of General WAYNE, rendered exceedingly doubtful.
General ST. CLAIR anticipated and forwarned against this union, after
his defeat in '91, and General KNOX, then Secretary of War, dreaded and
fortified against it. But CORNPLANTER, with untiring exertions, and at
the hazard of his own life, prevented such a disastrous result, and thus
saved the settlers on the Allegheny and upper Ohio, from the horrors of a
merciless Indian warfare. For his invaluable services in the procurement
and maintenance of peace between his people and the infant nation,
just recuperating from its exhausting conflict with the British lion,
CORNPLANTER received the thanks and liberal donations of the government
and General WASHINGTON.
We are now assembled upon the homestead which CORNPLANTER lived, and
where, after an eventful life, during the most eventful period of this
continent, he lived and died, at peace with himself, with all the world,
and, we trust, with his Merciful Creator. For many years, the appearance
of his venerable form, at any point in the Valley of this beautiful
river, from its source to its outlet, was the signal for a courteous and
kindly greeting by all who knew him. His visitors, whether on business
or for curiosity, were always treated with a dignified kindness and
hospitality that would have graced the castle of a Duke, in the days of
chivalry.
On this beautiful spot, of his own selection, the gift of a grateful
Commonwealth for appreciated merit, he spent the last forty-five years of
his life, surrounded by his family and descendants, in the practice of
all those virtues that adorn both civilized and savage life.
He was the dauntless warrior and wisest statesman of his nation, the
patriarch of his tribe and the peacemaker of his race. He was a model man
from nature's mould. Truth, temperance, justice and humanity, never had a
nobler incarnation or more earnest and consistent advocate than he. As we
loved him personally, and revere the noble, manly character he bore, we
erect this tribute to his memory, that those who live after us may know
and imitate his virtues.
Gy-ant-wa-chia, or Cornplanter,
_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.
[G] MR. MORGAN.
At that period, the trade with the Six Nations was chiefly in the hands
of the English. One of their principal traders was JOHN ABEEL,[H]
generally named O'BAIL or O'BEEL; his name is mentioned in the annals
of that period on several occasions. At one time it is stated, that
he made presents of considerable value to the Indians. It was one of
the hospitable customs of these people, to give their friends a wife.
JOHN ABEEL had his Indian squaw, and CORNPLANTER was the fruit of that
temporary union. Although we have no certain information on the subject,
I think it probable that the mother was the daughter of an Indian Sachem.
I infer this from the fact, that the best and most respectable traders of
that period, were regarded with great favor by the Indians, and also from
the important circumstance, that three of her sons were recognized as
Chiefs of the Seneca tribe, namely: her celebrated son, CORNPLANTER, and
her younger sons, Ga-ne-o-di-yo, or Handsome Lake, and Ta-wan-ne-ars, or
Blacksnake.
[H] I have recently been informed that JOHN ABEEL, the father of
CORNPLANTER, was a Hollander or Dutchman. The inaccurate way of
writing the name O'BAIL, has given rise to the statement, generally
believed, that he was of a different nation. I learn that CORNPLANTER
visited a nephew of JOHN ABEEL, who resided in the city of New York,
and their relationship was recognized. I have this information from a
great-grandson of the nephew referred to. The original manner of writing
the name was ABEEL. The family now write it ABEEL. I regret that the name
is inaccurately engraved on the monument erected at Jennesadaga.
We may also reasonably infer that she faithfully and carefully discharged
her duty to her offspring, in accordance with the light and knowledge
which she possessed. It was the Indian woman who planted the fields of
corn, and kept the wigwam, when the hunter was in the forest, or the
warrior was upon the war path. Their attachment to localities was greater
than that of the Indian men. It sometimes happened that Indian women
interposed to prevent grant of lands by the chiefs and warriors. They
desired to preserve their wigwams, their fields and their orchards. The
father of CORNPLANTER being absent, chiefly residing at Albany, or on
the Mohawk river, the mother's influence was uncontrolled. I think it
highly probable that the remarkable attachment to the _land_, exhibited
by CORNPLANTER on all occasions, was the result, in some good degree, of
the teachings of his mother. When he speaks at the treaties, or sends a
"talk" or a message to the Chief of the thirteen tires, or to "Corlaer,"
(New York,) or to "Onas," (Pennsylvania,) he says: "We do not want money
or goods; we want homes; we want land; the trader's goods soon wear out,
the land lasts forever."
CORNPLANTER refers to his birth and childhood in his interesting address
to the Governor of Pennsylvania, in 1822, when the question of taxing his
property, hereinafter mentioned, was raised.
"I feel it my duty to send a speech to the Governor of Pennsylvania
at this time, and inform him the place where I was from; which was
_Connewaugus_, on the Genessee river.
"When I was a child, I played with the butterfly, the grasshopper and
the frogs. As I grew up, I began to pay some attention and play with
the Indian boys in the neighborhood, and they took notice of my skin
being of a different color from theirs, and spoke about it. I inquired
of my mother the cause, and she told me that my father was a resident of
Albany. I still ate my victuals out of a bark dish--I grew up to be a
young man, and married me a wife--but I had no kettle or gun. I then knew
where my father lived and went to see him, and found he was a white man
and spoke the English language."[I]
[I] Journal House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, 1822-23.
The period when CORNPLANTER and his family removed from Connewaugus and
the Genessee country is unknown. Probably not until his native town was
destroyed by General SULLIVAN, in his expedition against the Six Nations,
in 1779. Of that expedition, CORNPLANTER speaks in his address to General
WASHINGTON in 1790. From the strong and eloquent language used by him,
and which I shall have occasion hereafter to cite, it is probable he was
an eye witness of the desolation produced by SULLIVAN'S army.
Of the early career of CORNPLANTER, we have but little information. It is
generally understood that his first appearance as a warrior, was at the
battle of the Monongahela, in 1755, where BRADDOCK was defeated, and that
he fought on the side of the French in that bloody field.
A word here explanatory of the position of the Senecas, and their
relations with the Indians of the League, and other neighboring nations,
may be useful. The Seneca tribe was more exposed to the French and their
Indian allies on the lower Ohio and the lakes, than the other members of
the League. They had the important and dangerous duties of keeping "the
western door of the long house," as they termed their possessions. Their
watch and ward extended from the Susquehanna to the Ohio and great lakes.
The duplicity, and in fact treachery of the English crown, during the
reign of the STUARTS, in not only abandoning the Six Nations in their war
with the French which they had undertaken in the interest of the English,
but when the League had defeated the French and well-nigh conquered them,
the English government compelled them to make peace with France, and
submit to the terms which the French dictated. These terms, however could
not concede to the French a region of country from which they had been
expelled, and which was in fact occupied by the Six Nations; and thus the
whole country, south of the chain of the great lakes, was rescued from
Canada. Referring to this period, Mr. BANCROFT says: "In the course of
events, New York owes its present northern boundary to the valor of the
Five Nations. But for them, Canada would have embraced the basin of the
St. Lawrence."[J] Although the Six Nations were afterwards informed that
the treachery and duplicity herein referred to, was not approved by the
successors of the STUARTS, nor by the English people, but was the result
of the bad conduct of English kings who were under French influence, yet
it left an impression on their minds which had an injurious effect in
after years.
[J] History United States, volume II, page 424.
By the regulations of the League, in cases where the United Council did
not act authoritatively for the whole Confederacy, it appears that the
separate tribes were not precluded from engaging in war; nor individual
warriors prevented from taking up the hatchet, as inclination might lead
them. Acting under these principles, some of the Six Nations fought on
the side of the French, during the war of 1755 and 1762, including that
part of the Senecas who had their seat north of the Ohio, and below
Fort Duquesne; and some on the upper Ohio, now called Allegheny, united
with them. From these considerations it is not at all improbable that
CORNPLANTER, then a warrior of twenty-three years of age, was on the
war path at BRADDOCK'S defeat. It was probably his first battle, as it
was also the first in which our WASHINGTON was engaged. The Indians
of the Ohio and the lakes were, at this period, more apprehensive of
the encroachments of the Virginians and the English generally, than of
the French. The former were accompanied by the land surveyor and the
woodman's axe;[K] the latter had in their train only the engineer to
build forts, and a commissariat which supplied the wants of the Indians,
as well as their own. Hence, a portion of the Senecas, of the upper Ohio,
were induced to take the side of the French. CORNPLANTER, with a portion
of his tribe, probably formed a part of that martial array which we are
told set forth from Fort Venango, at the mouth of Venango river, now
called French creek, (Franklin, Pennsylvania,) for the forks of the Ohio,
embarked in three hundred canoes and batteaux, and having eighteen pieces
of cannon.
[K] a few years later than this period the Virginians made great
encroachments upon the boundary of the Indians. Lord DUNMORE and others,
claimed large bodies of land north of the Ohio. The Indians, for a long
period of time, claimed that the Ohio was the boundary between them and
the whites. In 1773 Lord DUNMORE caused surveys to be made at the Falls
of the Ohio; and lands in that region are now held under his warrants and
surveys.
The French war closed in the year 1763, by the treaty of UTRECHT.
The Indian tribes were at peace with each other and with their white
neighbors. It was about this time that CORNPLANTER married a wife, an
Indian woman of his own tribe. When that important event took place, he,
himself, informs us, that he was not well provided for housekeeping.
He "had no gun, and his wife no kettle." Under the impression that his
father would provide these useful articles for him, he made a journey
to Albany, to see him. But he was disappointed. In CORNPLANTER'S own
account of the interview, he says: "When I started home my father
gave me no provision to eat on the way. He gave me neither kettle nor
gun. Neither did he tell me that the United States were about to rebel
against the government of England." This conduct was alike unnatural and
unjust. For, if the result of the French war had impoverished the Indian
trader, of which we have no knowledge, he, at least, might have given his
son some information of the dark clouds which were beginning to gather
between England and the colonies, and which soon afterwards brought on
the Revolutionary war. CORNPLANTER, in the address just referred to,
intimates that it was a want of knowledge of the questions in dispute,
in conjunction with other causes which he mentions in his address to
WASHINGTON, in 1790, led the Confederacy to take part, in favor of the
King of England, in the war which ensued.
He says, in the address referred to, he was opposed to joining in the
conflict, inasmuch as the Indians had nothing to do with the difficulties
that existed between the two parties. If he had more clearly understood
the points in dispute his opposition might have been more effective.
When BRANT, early in the year 1777, with his Mohawks, had organized a
hostile expedition, in connection with some loyalists of that region, to
attack Unadilla, in New York, on the Upper Susquehanna, an embassy of
Sachems and war Chiefs of the Senecas and Cayugas repaired to Oghwago,
to which place BRANT had advanced, to remonstrate with him against
further hostilities to the Americans. BRANT yielded to their councils
and protestations, and withdrew, with his Indians and refugees, into the
Cayuga country. BRANT'S exertions and interference had much to do in
inducing the Six Nations to take part against the united colonies. Not
long after the above occurrence, in an interview with General HERKIMER,
of the Revolutionary army, he said: "The Indians were in concert with
their King, as their fathers had been. The King's belts, of Wampum, are
yet lodged with them, and they cannot violate their pledges. General
HERKIMER and his followers have joined the Boston people against their
sovereign. And, although the Boston people were resolute, yet the King
would humble them. That General SCHUYLER was very smart on the Indians,
at the treaty of German Flats, but, at the same time, was not able to
afford the smallest article of clothing; and finally, that the Indians
had formerly made war on the white people, when they were all united, and
as they were now divided the Indians were not frightened."[L]
[L] STONE'S life of BRANT, quoting from the HERKIMER papers and annals of
Tryon county.
But when the representative Chiefs of the Confederacy at Oswego, at
a general council held in the summer of 1777, decided to take up the
hatchet for the King of England, CORNPLANTER and his tribe considered
themselves bound by the decision. His nation was at war, and he had to
be at war. As the boys say at school, "when you are in Rome, you must do
as Rome does." In his address to WASHINGTON, at Philadelphia, in 1790,
he justifies, or at least palliates the conduct of his nation in taking
the side of the King, in the following eloquent and impressive words:
"Father, when you kindled your thirteen fires separately, the wise men
assembled at them told us you were all brothers--the children of one
great Father, who regarded the red people as his children. They called
us brothers, and invited us to their protection. They told us that he
resided beyond the great water, where the sun first rises, and that he
was a King, whose power no people could resist, and that his goodness was
as bright as the sun. What they said went to our hearts. We accepted the
invitation and promised to obey him. What the Seneca nation promise, they
faithfully perform. When you refused obedience to that King, he commanded
us to assist his beloved men in making you sober. In obeying him, we did
no more than yourselves had led us to promise. We were deceived; but your
people teaching us to confide in that King, had helped to deceive us, and
we now appeal to your heart. Is all the blame ours?"