the way for the introduction of the agricultural arts among his tribe,
in the spring of the year 1798, three young men, who offered themselves
to go and instruct them, accompanied by two of the committee, proceeded
to his settlement. After a long journey, and much of the way through
(then) a wilderness country, they arrived at Cornplanter’s village,
on the Alleghany river, the seventeenth of the Fifth month. The chief
having previous knowledge of their coming, expressed his thankfulness
to the Great Spirit for their preservation on the way and safe arrival
among them. They were kindly invited into his house, and inquired of
whether they could eat Indian’s provisions, and being answered in the
affirmative, they were hospitably entertained with the best he could
offer them; but made a very temperate meal.
This village, (which was called in their language) Jenuchshadago,
(which means burnt house,) stood on the bank of the Alleghany river,
about four miles south of the northern boundary of Pennsylvania. The
land had a rich bottom, and appeared favourable for cultivation.
The village contained about thirty or forty houses and bark cabins,
scattered along the margin of the river, without any regard to
a regular arrangement. The venerable chief appeared to live in
patriarchal style; his house was not distinguished from any of the rest
by any tokens of magnificence, except by being somewhat larger--near
it stood a wooden image of a man, round which at stated times they
performed their religious ceremonies and sacrifices.
The image was about seven feet in height, elevated on a pedestal, of
the same block, and being painted a variety of colours, it altogether
exhibited a wild appearance.
The Indians had, perhaps, from two to three hundred acres of land,
inclosed with a sort of fence round the town, in which inclosure many
of their women were industriously engaged in clearing off the rubbish
and planting small patches of corn and beans, while the men were
standing in companies sporting themselves with their bows and arrows
and other trifling amusements, but none of them were seen assisting
their women in the labours of the field.
The Indians appeared to live poor and dirty, and it was said to be
a time of scarcity among them, and the greater part of them under
Cornplanter’s superintendence, estimated at about four hundred, had
deserted their old settlements up the river, and come to live with
their chief in this place.
As it was necessary for Friends to have a general council with the
Indians, in order to explain their views and the object of their coming
among them, the day after their arrival, they assembled in council
at the chief’s house, about forty of their principal men, with many
others. Cornplanter opened the council by a short speech, expressing
his thankfulness for the safe arrival of Friends, and the joy he felt
when he saw them come out of the bushes the day before, to see their
Indian brothers, who were poor and living in bad houses, covered with
bark; and they were not able to build them better.
Friends now made them fully acquainted with the nature of their
mission, that it was in order to improve the condition of the Indian
natives, and to teach them the ways of good and honest white people,
that they, with their wives and children, might be enabled to live
more comfortably, and be relieved from the distresses and difficulties
to which they had been subjected by their old habits and modes of
living--that these young men had concluded to leave their friends and
comfortable dwellings, and remain for a time in the Indian country, in
order to instruct them in the cultivation of their land, in the raising
and managing of cattle, and also to example them in a life of sobriety
and industry. They were also informed, that Friends had a variety
of farming utensils, carpenters’ tools, &c. coming up the river, in
a boat, which were intended for their benefit, in a hope, that the
Indians, with Friends’ instruction, would diligently apply themselves
to the use of them, that by so doing they might come to reap the
plentiful fruits of industry; and that this was the sole object Friends
had in view, having no desire for their lands, their skins, their furs,
or any other part of their substance.
To these propositions the Indians seemed to express a general assent;
but took the subjects under serious consideration, until next day,
when near evening they admitted Friends again to the council house,
when Cornplanter on behalf of the natives made a reply, from which we
extract the following.
“Brothers, the Quakers, listen now to what I am going to say to you.
You know, brothers, the red people are poor; they are not like the
white people. The Great Spirit has made them of another language, so
that it is very hard for us to understand one another plainly, as we
have no good interpreter.
“Brothers, we suppose the reason you came here was to help the poor
Indians in some way or other, and you wish the chiefs to tell their
warriors not to go on so bad as they have done heretofore, and you also
wish us to take up work like the white people, and cultivate our land.
Now brothers, some of our sober men will take up work and do as you
say, and if they do well, then will your young men stay longer amongst
us, but some others will not mind what you say.
“Brothers, we cannot say a word against you. It is the best way to
call Quakers brothers. You never wished our lands, therefore we are
determined to learn your ways, and these young men may stay here two
years, and then if they like it and we like it, your young men may stay
longer.”
In reply they were informed, that the young men would want some house
to live in, and a piece of land to work, in order to set the Indians
an example and raise something for themselves to live upon; but that
the land should still be the Indians’, and all the improvements they
put upon it should be theirs, when Friends left it. They were also
informed that the tools and implements of husbandry which were intended
for their use, would be under the care of the young men, to lend to
such Indians as wanted to use them, rather than to distribute them
among them as presents; offering this reason, “that if they were given
to them some of them might barter them away for whiskey,” as divers
instances of intoxication had been noticed among them.
On the twenty-first of the Fifth month, Friends, with Cornplanter in
company, and several other Indians, passed up the river about nine
miles in canoes, in order to look out for a settlement. They came to an
ancient village called Genesinguhta, which was nearly deserted by the
Indians--only three or four families remaining. The bottoms along the
river side appeared fertile, though much grown over with bushes, and
covered with abundance of fallen timber. Yet it was considered the most
eligible place for Friends to settle, in order to be of benefit to the
Indians, as it was on the land belonging to the nation, and where they
intended to have a reservation located of forty-two square miles.
This conclusion being proposed to Cornplanter, and he queried with,
“whether he was willing Friends should start their fence at the river
side,” and enclose a piece of land they pointed out to him--to which he
replied, “I told you, brothers, the land was all before you, to choose
where you please; but he thought that was the best place for Friends
to settle, and this man, said he, (in whose house they then were) is
very glad you are going to settle so near him--he is very sober man,
he is like you, he drinks no whiskey.” He was then inquired of whether
Friends might have liberty to cut timber in the woods for the use of
the farm, to which he replied, “I wish you would cut all the trees
down, and I will give you another liberty, if you see a deer you may
shoot him, and you may catch fish in the river.”
The place being finally agreed upon, several old Indian cabins were
included in it, and one occupied by a family, which was well situated
to accommodate Friends; the owners of it were amply compensated. The
family immediately moved out their goods and chattels, which (though
apparently some of their best livers,) consisted chiefly in homony
blocks and pounders, a brass, kettle or two, some wooden bowls, and
ladles, a leathern sack of bear’s oil, a basket of corn, some blankets,
and a few deer skins.
On the twenty-third of the month, Friends settled in their new
habitation and made some preparations for a garden. The women of
Cornplanter’s village, to show their hearty and good will in the
undertaking, had previously made a collection of some seed--corn,
potatoes, beans, squashes, and a variety of other garden seeds which
they presented as a present to Friends, observing “that it was very
hard to come so far and have nothing to begin with.”
Previous to the two Friends of the committee leaving this station,
another council was had with the Indians, in which they were strongly
recommended to industry, and reminded of the unreasonableness of their
present practice of letting their women work all day in the fields and
woods, either in cultivating with the hoe, all that was raised for
their sustenance, or in cutting firewood and bringing it home on their
backs from a considerable distance, while they themselves were spending
their time in idleness, amusing themselves with their bows and arrows,
and other useless practices. They were also particularly expostulated
with on various subjects relative to their civil and moral conduct, and
especially in regard to their excessive use of strong drink, to which
Friends in many instances had been eye witnesses. Cornplanter again
replied to the communications of Friends, and at a subsequent parting
opportunity, told the two Friends of the committee, that “They might
make their minds perfectly easy about their young men, for although he
could not answer for sickness or death, he should look upon it his duty
to be their friend, and that they might depend upon him as such, and no
harm should happen to them from any of his people.”
On the thirty-first of the month, the boat arrived from Pittsburgh
with the goods and implements of husbandry; and notwithstanding the
late season for planting, and the ground being to clear of abundance
of old logs and rubbish, Friends were enabled to get a small patch of
corn and potatoes planted, and a variety of garden vegetables. The land
being fertile, they soon had a pleasing prospect of the fruits of their
labour, as well as of showing the natives the beneficial effects of
their mode of cultivation.
The Indians were much pleased to see the ground so much easier prepared
for seed by the plough, than in their usual way of hoeing. Great
numbers of them came flocking about Friends, especially the women, who
appeared kind and respectful, frequently supplying them with venison,
fish, strawberries, and such other delicacies, as their country
afforded--and Friends distributed among them a variety of useful
articles, such as needles, thread, scissors, combs, spectacles, &c.
which were sent for that purpose, and were received by the natives
with lively marks of gratitude. These presents had a powerful effect in
gaining their confidence, and keeping up a friendly intercourse, which
frequently afforded suitable opportunities of giving them instruction.
A number of the Indians also borrowed carpenters’ tools, to enable them
to build better houses, and also some farming utensils, with a view of
using them.
From the little experience Friends already had, it was evident the
ruinous effects of spirituous liquors among the Senecas, together with
the natural propensity of the men to an indolent and improvident life,
would operate as a serious discouragement in the view of Friends,
towards ameliorating their condition. Therefore every suitable
opportunity was embraced to impress upon the minds of their chiefs the
necessity of prohibiting altogether, the introduction of spirituous
liquors into their villages, as the first effectual step towards
their improvement in the domestic arts. This counsel was in a good
degree carried into effect; and by the exertions of their chiefs in a
little time, such prohibition took place as evidently tended to their
advantage, and the great encouragement of Friends in their arduous
undertaking. A hope was entertained that, although their improvement,
at first was small, yet as they come to taste the sweets of industry,
and enjoy the benefit of their labours, they would gradually relinquish
their former pursuits, and follow the example Friends were setting
before them.
Divers of the Indians early manifested a disposition to have better
houses to live in; and being furnished with the necessary tools, they
were also afforded the requisite assistance and instruction. Several
of them constructed in the course of this summer, much better houses
than they had been accustomed to, and manifested a considerable share
of ingenuity in the use of the carpenter’s tools. And while Friends
were employed on their farm, the Indians would frequently come about
them, and sometimes take hold of their tools and work a little--some of
the lads were pleased with driving the horses, and every opportunity
was embraced to prevail on them to love labour; but their natural
proneness to idleness and trifling diversions soon evinced, that
patience and perseverance on the part of Friends, were essentially
necessary to inculcate in the minds of the natives, just ideas of
civilized life, the great stimulus thereto being yet wanting, as they
had not sufficiently acquired ideas of distinct propriety, nor tasted
the sweets resulting therefrom.
In the course of this summer, divers reports were propagated among
the Indians that Friends had a selfish motive, and in the end meant
to defraud them of their land. This to a people who had long been
subjected to suffering by the intrigue of designing men, could not fail
of making impressions on the minds of some who were rather unfriendly
to civilization, and to induce them to scrutinize very narrowly the
conduct of Friends towards them. These groundless reports, however,
were contradicted, and Friends were enabled to satisfy the Indians
generally, that no such design was contemplated; and it rather had the
effect to increase their confidence in us.
Besides attending to the business of the farm, and the various and
frequent calls of the Indians, the young men were enabled to build for
themselves a comfortable house, two stories high, with a cellar under
it. Being the first of the kind, perhaps some of the natives had ever
seen, it excited great admiration among them.
The Indian women had raised, in their usual way, a considerable
quantity of corn this summer, in small patches, interspersed among the
bushes, wherever they found the most favourable spot to cultivate. In
the fall, they were busily employed in collecting it with their other
produce of vegetables, and carrying it home to their dwellings, where
it was carefully laid by for use.
One of the Friends opened a school at Cornplanter’s village, and
remained there through the winter. At times, nearly twenty children
attended, and made some progress in learning to spell and read; but
as their parents had but little control over them, they were very
irregular in their attendance, and no great progress in learning was
made. The Friend was at times otherwise usefully engaged in aiding and
assisting the Indians of that village.
In the Twelfth month, after a considerable snow had fallen, most of the
Indians retired to the woods to their hunting grounds, many of them
taking their families with them. Game was now plentiful. Some of their
best hunters killed near one hundred deer, and some even more than that
number; taking off the skins and leaving much of the meat scattered
about in the woods. What was collected to their camps, was through much
hardship and fatigue to their poor women, whose task it was to carry it
on their backs through deep snows, and often over hills and mountains.
About the middle of the First month, they generally came home to their
villages from their hunting excursions, when they made a feast, and
performed their religious ceremonies and sacrifices.
In the course of this winter, a chief of the Cattaraugus village,
another branch of the Seneca nation about forty-five miles distant,
called on Friends at Alleghany. They had a favourable opportunity of
impressing his mind with the advantages that would result to his people
by cultivating their land, as they possessed a country so favourable
for agriculture, and raising cattle and other useful animals. He
informed Friends, they were very anxious to have a saw-mill built on
their land, and wished to have somebody to instruct them how to go on
with their business; that when they saw and heard what improvements
were making at Alleghany, it made them anxious to go to work.
Soon after his return home, Friends received a written speech from the
council at Cattaraugus, signed by six chiefs, in which they strongly
solicited instructors to be sent among them, and also that they might
be furnished with a set of saw-mill irons. This address being forwarded
to the committee at Philadelphia, together with an account of their
situation, it was concluded to furnish them with a set of saw-mill
irons, whenever they should be ready to make use of them.
Early in the spring of 1799, more of a spirit of industry seemed to
exhibit itself among some of the Indians, and several who were settled
near Friends began to work at splitting rails, and fencing in lots of
land, as they saw Friends fence in theirs. Some who inclined to work,
that had no families, were employed at the business of the farm, and
seemed capable of doing as much in a day as the generality of white
people.
The use of whiskey and other strong drink had considerably decreased
among the Indians, in the course of the last year, and many of their
chiefs seemed desirous of preventing its introduction into their
village. Notwithstanding which, as many of them went down the river
in the spring to Pittsburgh and other places, to dispose of their
skins, furs, &c. which they had taken during the late winter, they
brought in return for their peltry, kegs full of this destructive
article--although Friends had cautioned them against it, previous
to their going away--with this many of them were for a considerable
time intoxicated, so that little could be done in promoting their
improvement while the liquor lasted.
It was believed expedient, from this affecting circumstance, to have
their chiefs and principal men collected in council, and to remonstrate
against such conduct as well as to encourage them to avail themselves
of the present opportunity of gaining instruction in the cultivation of
their land.
At this interview, Friends seriously expostulated with them on
various subjects relative to their moral conduct, and endeavours
were used seriously to impress on their minds the evil consequences
of introducing so much strong liquor into their villages, and that
it greatly obstructed their improvement in agriculture, because for
it they bartered away their money and other articles with which they
ought to purchase horses, and cattle, and implements of husbandry, to
enable them to till their land; and that this operated as a serious
discouragement to Friends in their arduous undertaking to instruct them.
The Indians appeared seriously attentive in this council, being
convicted in their minds of the truth of what had been declared to
them, and in a few days after, they met in council again, and informed
Friends that they had seriously considered the subjects proposed to
them, and that their chiefs had come to a resolution not to permit, for
the future, any of their people to bring liquor into their villages to
sell to one another; that they had appointed two young chiefs to watch
over the rest, and to endeavour to promote good order among them--and
they desired Friends to be easy in their minds respecting them, for
they were determined to take their advice and try to do better; that
they had made inquiry among themselves, and could find no fault in
Friends, or discover any fraud in any of their actions, but on the
contrary, that the fault and bad conduct had all been on their own
side, but now they were determined to quit those bad practices, and to
assist their women in the labours of the field.
A set of smith’s tools was procured, and a smith shop erected at
Friends’ settlement this season, which was found useful in repairing
the Indians’ tools. In the course of this summer, divers of the men
assisted their women in the labours of the field. Their crops of corn
were larger than they had been before; but as yet, none of them had
attempted to use the plough for themselves, though Friends had ploughed
some small lots for them with which they were much pleased, and a hope
was entertained that the next year some of them would take hold of the
plough and commence farming. A school house was built at Cornplanter’s
village, and the Friend stationed there, continued through the summer,
instructing the children, and otherwise affording aid and counsel
to the Indians--and two Friends at Genesinguhta, besides setting
the Indians a proper example in the improvement of their own farm,
afforded them assistance and instruction in many ways, as convenient
opportunities presented, and many of the Indians by this time had built
good log houses, and generally covered them with shingles. Cornplanter
had a saw-mill of his own, worked on the shares by a white man; this
afforded the Indians an opportunity of procuring boards to complete
their houses.
In the Ninth month this year, the settlement was visited by four of the
committee, one of whom had been there when the settlement was first
formed, and was the better qualified to judge of the improvement made
by the Indians.
They had a council with the Indians, and encouraged them to persevere
in the attempt they had already made to become farmers; and expressed
the satisfaction it afforded them, to see the improvement they had
made, and that their stock of cattle was increased, and especially,
with the wise resolution they had formed, to prevent strong drink from
being brought into their villages. The Indians were also informed, that
the young man who resided at Cornplanter’s village, was desirous of
leaving them and returning home to his friends before winter--and it
was hoped another would come forward and supply his place.
Cornplanter, on behalf of the Indians replied, in substance, that when
Friends first settled among them, some of his chiefs were averse to
it; but they had had this summer several councils among themselves,
respecting the young men, and all the chiefs seeing their good conduct,
and readiness to assist Indians, were now well satisfied. He hoped that
several of his young men would do more at farming than heretofore, and
that Friends would not get discouraged, because so little was done;
but exercise patience towards them, as it was hard for them to make
much change from their ancient customs. He regretted the loss of the
Friend who was about to leave them, and said he had been useful to him
in keeping whiskey and other strong liquor out of their town; that they
now drank much less than formerly, but he feared when the Friend went
away, he should not be able to prevent its use so well as he had lately
done.
The deputation from the committee went from this place to Cattaraugus,
the residence of those Indians who had requested a set of saw-mill
irons, and other aid; but the chiefs being generally from home, they
were addressed by a letter, giving them suitable advice on various
subjects, relative to their improvement.
In the latter end of the Tenth month, Cornplanter accompanied the
Friend who had lived at his village, on his way as far as Canandaigua,
where the superintendent of Indian affairs resided. At this place, he
dictated a letter to one of the committee; the superintendent wrote it,
and Cornplanter signed it with his mark. The following is extracted
from it.