Continuation of movements in New Jersey--Extinguishment of the
council-fire at Onondaga--Tryon County--Colonel Harper's mission to
Oghkwaga--The Harper family--Adventure at the Johnstone
settlement--Capture of Good Peter and his party--Thayendanegea crosses
from Canada to Oghkwaga--Interview with the Rev. Mr. Johnstone--Doubtful
course of Brant--Feverish situation of the people--Expedition of General
Herkimer to Unadilla--Remarkable meeting between Herkimer and
Brant--Meditated act of treachery--Wariness of the chief--Meeting
abruptly terminated--Ended in a storm--Brant draws off to Oswego--Grand
council there--The Indians generally join the Royal standard--Approach
of Brant upon Cherry Valley--How defeated--Death of Lieutenant Wormwood.
Having secured his prisoners on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware,
General Washington established himself at Trenton. But he was not long
permitted its undisturbed possession. Collecting his forces, Cornwallis
advanced rapidly upon the capital of New Jersey, where he arrived on the
2d of January. Some skirmishing ensued toward evening, but both armies
encamped for the night without coming to a general engagement--being
separated only by Assumpinck Creek--and apparently both expecting a battle
in the morning. The force of the enemy, however, was too great to render
it safe for the American Commander-in-chief to hazard an action. By an
adroit and masterly movement, therefore, leaving his fires burning.
General Washington succeeded in getting away unperceived, and throwing
himself into the enemy's rear. The battle and victory of Princeton
followed, and the American army moved to Morristown, while Cornwallis
hastened back to New Brunswick and thence to New-York--the different
detachments of British troops, which had been scattered through New
Jersey, being at all points discomfited.
Returning from this digression to the Indian relations of New-York, there
is one event to be noted, the character of which cannot be explained.
Among the manuscripts preserved in the family of the hero of Oriskany,
[FN-1] is a speech from the Oneida chiefs to Colonel Elmore, the officer
who, at the commencement of the present year, was in the command of Fort
Schuyler, announcing the final extinguishment of the great council-fire
of the Six Nations at Onondaga. As the central nation of the confederacy,
their general councils, time immemorial, had been holden at the Onondaga
Castle, at which, in their own figurative language, their council-fire was
ever kept burning. These councils assembled annually to discuss the
exterior relations, and all matters of national concernment. They were
composed of chiefs delegated from each member of the federative republic,
and sometimes numbered as many as eighty sachems in the assembly. [FN-2]
By what means the event had been accomplished--whether the calamity was
the result of pestilence or war--the speech of the Oneidas does not
inform us; although it announces the fall of a large number of the
Onondaga warriors, in connexion with the catastrophe. Still, the
transaction is veiled in darkness so thick as to baffle investigation.
The following is the speech:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] Colonel, afterward General Herkimer.
[FN-2] "The national council took cognizance of war and peace, of the
affairs of the tributary nations, and of their negotiations with the
French and English Colonies. All their proceedings were conducted with
great deliberation, and were distinguished for order, decorum, and
solemnity. In eloquence, in dignity, and in all the characteristics of
profound policy, they surpassed an assembly of feudal barons, and were
perhaps not far inferior to the great Amphyctionic council of
Greece."--_De Wilt Clinton._
"Fort Schuyler, _Jan._ 19th, 1777.
Speech of the Oneida Chiefs to Col. Elmore.
"Brother: We are sent here by the Oneida chiefs, in conjunction with the
Onondagas. They arrived at our village yesterday. They gave us the
melancholy news that the grand council-fire at Onondaga was extinguished.
We have lost out of their town by death ninety, among whom are three
principal sachems. We, the remaining part of the Onondagas, do now inform
our brethren that there is no longer a council-fire at the capital of the
Six Nations. However, we are determined to use our feeble endeavors to
support peace through the confederate nations. But let this be kept in
mind, that the council-fire is extinguished. It is of importance to our
well-being that this be immediately communicated to General Schuyler, and
likewise to our brothers the Mohawks. In order to effect this, we
deposit this belt with Tekeyanedonhotte, Colonel Elmore, commander at
Fort Schuyler, who is sent here by General Schuyler to transact all
matters relative to peace. We therefore request him to forward this
intelligence in the first place to General Herkimer, desiring him to
communicate it to the Mohawk Castle near to him, and then to Major Fonda,
requesting him to immediately communicate it to the Lower Castle of
Mohawks. Let the belt then be forwarded to General Schuyler, that he may
know that our council-fire is extinguished, and can no longer burn." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Transcribed by the author from the original draught, as furnished
to General Herkimer by Colonel Elmore.
This singular document is worthy of preservation, not only as the
authentic, but as the only account of the occurrence recorded. It contains
a mystery, however, which cannot now be solved. Still, as no belligerent
events are known to have been enacted in the Onondaga country during that
winter, the most plausible conjecture would attribute the mortality
indicated by the speech to some pestilential disorder, which might have
swept over them, as with the Schoharie Canton eighteen months before.
In the County of Tryon, which now demands our chief attention, great
uneasiness was again awakened among the inhabitants, toward the close
of the winter, especially in the remoter settlements south of the Mohawk,
by the reported gathering of the Indians at Oghkwaga. The fact that their
numbers were increasing at that point having been satisfactorily
ascertained, Colonel John Harper, of Harpersfield, was despatched thither
by the Provincial Congress of New-York to ascertain their intentions.
Taking every necessary measure of precaution to guard against surprise,
and to be ready for any emergency, by having the officers of his militia
regiment on the _qui vive,_ Colonel Harper departed upon his mission,
accompanied only by a single white man and one Indian. He arrived on the
27th of February, and was well received by the Indians, who manifested
a perfectly friendly disposition toward himself, and also toward the
settlements. So far from exhibiting any belligerent intentions, they
expressed their sorrow for the troubles of the country, and declared their
determination to take no part in the controversy. Satisfied as to the
sincerity of their professions, although subsequent events proved that
they must have been dissembling, Colonel Harper supplied the means of
a festival, and presented them with an ox, which was roasted for the
occasion. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
Colonel John Harper was one of four brothers--William, John, Alexander,
and Joseph Harper, who, with eighteen others, planted themselves down
upon a tract of country, in 1768, which was subsequently named
Harpersfield. After his return from this mission, he was for a time in
command of one of the little forts in Schoharie. On one occasion, in
March or April of this year, he took a circuit alone from Schoharie
through the woods to Harpersfield, and thence, when returning, struck
farther to the westward, toward the head waters of the Susquehanna. While
ascending a hill, he suddenly saw a company of Indians approaching. As
they had discovered him, any attempt to fly would have been vain. They
would have shot him down. Having a great coat over his military dress,
he made no attempt to avoid a meeting, and in passing, the Colonel and
the Indians exchanged salutations. In one of the Indians he recognized
Peter, a Mohawk whom he had formerly seen at Oghkwaga. They did not
recognize him, however; but from his manner of speech supposed him to be
a loyalist, and under that impression communicated to him the fact that
their destination was to cut off "the Johnstone settlement," a small
Scotch Colony on the eastern shore of the Susquehanna, near Unadilla,
or Anaquaqua, as that place was sometimes called. Having obtained this
information, he changed his course, and hurrying back to Harpersfield,
collected fifteen resolute men, with whom he gave chase to the marauders.
In addition to their arms, the Colonel caused each man of his little band
to provide himself with two days' provisions and a rope. In the course of
the following night, in descending the valley of the Charlotte river, they
descried the fire where the Indians were encamped. Halting for a while
to refresh and prepare for the contest, the Colonel and his men now stole
upon the foe with the utmost caution. It was almost day-light, and the
Indians were in a profound slumber--their arms being stacked in the
middle of their little encampment. These were carefully removed by Harper
and his party, as a measure of precaution. The moment for action having
arrived, singling each his man, the cords were made ready, and every
Indian, ere he was well awake, found himself bound and in the grasp of
a foe. The sleeping Gulliver was not more thoroughly secured by the
vexatious net-work of the Lilliputians. But Peter and his companions
were not secured by Lilliputian ties, and they had to deal with a
different race of men. When it became light in the morning, Peter
discovered his captor. "Ugh!" he exclaimed--"Colonel Harper!--Why did
I not know you yesterday?" The gallant Colonel proceeded to Albany with
his prisoners, and surrendered them to the commanding officer of the
station. It was a bold and well-executed achievement--and all the better
that it was bloodless.
Although, as we have seen. Colonel Harper had parted from the Indians
at Oghkwaga upon the most amicable terms, yet indications of a different
temper were soon afterward manifested by this fickle people, of which the
movement of Peter, so opportunely discovered and intercepted, was the
first outbreak. Thayendanegea, likewise, appeared among them in the course
of the Spring, having separated from Guy Johnson, between whom and himself
some difficulty had occurred. Intelligence of the chieftain's departure
from Canada, and march across the country to Oghkwaga with a large body
of warriors, was received by the Tryon County Committee early in May from
Fort Schuyler, and communicated to the Provincial Congress by its
chairman, Isaac Paris. Not a little additional uneasiness was also
occasioned at the same time by the spirit discernible among the Tories.
Many of those loyalists, who had taken their departure the preceding year
with Sir John Johnson, had, nevertheless, left their wives and children
in the remote settlements, with whom they were evidently in communication;
while scouting parties, both of Tories and Indians, were hovering on the
northern outskirts of the county. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. documents in the office of the Secretary of State, Albany.
The presence of the crafty chieftain at Oghkwaga did not improve the
pacific disposition of the natives, as will appear in the sequel; although
Brant himself had not thus far committed any act of hostility within the
province of New-York. The fact of his having borne a part in the battle
of the Cedars seems, moreover, not to have been known in the Mohawk
Valley, since they were yet uncertain whether it was his intention to
raise the hatchet in the contest or not.
But these uncertainties were not of long duration. In the month of June,
1777, the chief of the Mohawks ascended the Susquehanna from Oghkwaga to
Unadilla, [FN] attended by seventy or eighty of his warriors, and requested
an interview with the Rev. Mr. Johnstone and the officers of the militia of
the neighborhood. He stated that the object of his visit was to procure
provisions, of which his people were greatly in want. And such were their
necessities, that if peaceable means would not answer, the Indians must
obtain them by force.
* * * * *
[FN] Tunadilla was the Indian name of this place, nor does the propriety
of the alteration appear.
Advantage was taken of the interview to sound the chief as to his future
intentions--whether he was for peace or for war; and his answers were far
less difficult of solution than the riddle of the Sphynx. He complained
of the ill-treatment which, as he alleged, some of the Mohawks, who had
remained behind on the flight of the majority of the nation, had received
at the hands of the Whigs. The Mohawks, he said, were as free as the air
they breathed, and were determined to remain so; and they could not brook
it that any of their brethren should be seized and imprisoned, as had
been the case at the Castle. [FN] These, he demanded, should be set at
liberty, and suffered to remove from the country. In regard to the
question of peace or war, he said the Mohawks were always warriors--that
their agreement with the King was very strong, and they were not such
villains as to break their covenant.
* * * * *
[FN] Probably on suspicion of maintaining correspondence with the enemy.
The visit continued two days, during which time the Indians were well
supplied with provisions, and on their departure permitted to take away
some live cattle and sheep. The inhabitants, however, scattered and few,
and quite remote from any considerable settlement, no longer feeling
themselves safe in their houses, sought protection in places of greater
security--principally in Cherry Valley, the place of their first location,
whence they had removed, a few years before, into the vale of the
Susquehanna. Some of the scattered settlers in the Unadilla region fled
to the German Flats, and others, probably, to the older towns upon the
Hudson.
The Indian forces of Captain Brant continuing to increase at Oghkwaga,
and the anxiety of the people becoming greater with every report from
that quarter, General Herkimer [FN-1] determined to repair thither, and
obtain an interview. For this purpose the General dispatched a messenger
to that place, and invited the chief to meet him at Unadilla--moving
forward himself at the same time, at the head of about three hundred of
the local militia, from the regiments of Colonels Cox, Klock, and
Isenlord, well armed and provided. The precise object of the General, in
seeking this interview with Brant, remains to this day more a matter of
conjecture than of certainty. The few scattered fragments of Herkimer's
correspondence which have fallen into the hands of the writer, show that
it was no sudden movement; but, on the contrary, that General Schuyler,
Colonel Van Schaick, Colonel Harper, and others, were consulted upon the
subject. On the application of Herkimer, Colonel Van Schaick was detached
to his assistance on the 15th of June, with one hundred and fifty men,
with which force he repaired to Cherry Valley, but could proceed no
farther for want of provisions. General Schuyler was also to repair
thither in person, in the event of his presence being deemed necessary.
[FN-2] Ostensibly, the expedition was one of peace; [FN-3] but the extent
of the preparations, and the physical strength of the expedition, imparted
an equivocal character to the movement; not more so, however, than was
the conduct of Brant during the whole Spring, since his proceedings were
such as to keep the minds of the people in a state of feverish excitement
and ceaseless uncertainty. Thus, on the 10th of June, Colonel Harper wrote
urgently to General Herkimer for a supply of ammunition, in the
expectation of an immediate hostile irruption of Brant into the Valley
of the Schoharie Kill. On the 13th, the Cherry Valley Committee wrote
to the General a still more alarming letter. Brant, according to this
statement, in connexion with some of the loyalists of Unadilla, had
marked a path directly through the forest to AEsopus, by which route the
Tories of Ulster and Orange Counties were to join his forces at Oghkwaga;
at which place the chief had vaunted that shortly he would not fear the
approach of three thousand men. [FN-4] On the other hand. Major Fonda
wrote, on the 19th of June, that an embassy of chiefs and sachems of the
Cayuga and Seneca nations, having repaired to Oghkwaga to remonstrate
with Thayendanegea against farther hostilities, the latter had determined
to listen to their councils, and withdraw into the Cayuga country. In
pursuance of this policy, it was added, on what was esteemed good
authority, that the Mohawk chief had released a prisoner with his own
hands, telling the captors that they had acted wrong. [FN-5]
* * * * *
[FN-1] In the Autumn of 1776, three Brigadier-Generals of the militia
were commissioned by the Provincial Congress of New-York, of whom Colonel
Nicholas Herkimer was one. The Herkimer family was one of the first to
settle at the German Flats, and the name is among those of the original
patentees--not _Herkimer,_ however, which is a corruption--but
_Ergemore,_ which was the true German name.--_Letter of L. Ford to the
author._
[FN-2] MS. letters of Colonels Van Schaick, Tupper, and others, among
Gen. Herkimer's papers.
[FN-3] Letter of L. Ford, Esq. to the author.
[FN-4] MS. letter from Samuel Clyde to General Herkimer.
[FN-5] MS. letter of Major Jelles Fonda, among the Herkimer papers.
Such was the uncertain condition of things when the expedition under
consideration was commenced. Brant and Herkimer had been near neighbors
and personal friends, before the troubles came on, [FN] and it is possible
the General still cherished a belief that he might yet detach the dusky
warrior from the cause he had embraced, but nevertheless might not be
disinclined to relinquish. Perhaps he designed nothing more than to drive
him from his equivocal position. Perhaps, also, should opportunity be
presented, it was his intention to seize his person. But be these
suppositions as they may, it will be seen that there was at least one
moment in which he contemplated a more decisive course.
* * * * *
[FN] The residence of General Herkimer was a short distance below the
Little Falls of the Mohawk, near the river. His mansion, built of brick,
is yet standing. Brant's farm, on which he was residing when the
Revolutionary storm arose, was near the Upper Indian Castle, about three
miles below the house of Herkimer. The farm lies directly upon the river,
and is now very valuable. I visited the place in the Autumn of 1835. No
other memorials of its last noble possessor remained than the cellar of
his house, and the apple-trees which stood before his door. These were
vigorous, and in full bearing.--_Author._
It was a full week after the arrival of General Herkimer at Unadilla
before Captain Brant made his appearance. He came to the neighborhood of
the General's encampment, accompanied by five hundred warriors. Having
halted, he dispatched a runner to General Herkimer, with a message,
desiring to be informed of the object of his visit. General Herkimer
replied that he had merely come to see and converse with his brother,
Captain Brant. The quick-witted messenger inquired if all those men
wished to talk to his chief too? However, he said to the General that he
would carry his talk back to his chief, but he charged him that he must
not cross the field upon the margin of which they were standing, and
departed. But an arrangement was soon made, through the agency of
messengers, by which a meeting was effected. The scene exhibited at this
interview, as related by those who were present at it, was novel and
imposing. The hostile parties were now encamped within the distance of
two miles from each other. About midway between their encampments, a
temporary shed was erected, sufficiently extensive to allow some two
hundred persons to be seated. By mutual stipulation their arms were to
be left in their respective encampments. [FN] Soon after the adjustment
of the preliminaries and the completion of the fixtures above mentioned,
the chief of the Mohawks himself appeared in the edge of the distant
forest, and approached the place designated, already in the occupation
of Herkimer, somewhat warily, accompanied by Captain Bull, (a Tory,)
William Johnson, (son of Sir William, by Brant's sister Mary,) a
subordinate chief of the Mohawks, an Indian woman, and also by about
forty warriors. After some little parleying, a circle was formed by
General Herkimer, into which Brant and the General entered, together with
the other Indian chief and two of Herkimer's officers. After the
interchange of a few remarks, the chieftain, keeping an eagle-eye upon
his visitor, inquired the reason of his being thus honored. General
Herkimer replied, as he had done to the _avant-courier,_ that he had come
to see him on a friendly visit. "And all these have come on a friendly
visit, too?" replied the chief "All want to see the poor Indians; it is
very kind." he added, with a sarcastic curl of the lip. General Herkimer
expressed a desire to go forward to the village, but the chief told him
he was quite near enough, and that he must not proceed any farther.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. statement of facts collected by L. Ford, Esq.
The General next endeavored to enter into a conversation with the Mohawk
touching the difficulties with England, in order to ascertain his feelings
and intentions. The conference now became earnest and animated, although
the chief at first gave Herkimer evasive and oracular answers. To a
question, however, put to him directly, he finally replied:--"That the
Indians were in concert with the King, as their fathers had been; That
the King's belts were yet lodged with them, and they could not violate
their pledge; That General Herkimer and his followers had joined the
Boston people against their sovereign; That 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, [FN-1] 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." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Adjourned to Albany.
[FN-2] Annals of Tryon County.
Colonel Cox, who was in the suite of General Herkimer, then made a few
remarks, the substance of which was, that if such was the fixed
determination of the Indians, nothing farther need be said. But his
manner, or some of the expressions uttered by the Colonel, which have not
been preserved, gave offence to the chief. He was exceedingly irritated;
[FN-1] and by a signal to the warriors attending him at a short distance,
they ran back to their encampment, and soon afterward appeared again with
their rifles, several of which were discharged, while the shrill war-whoop
rang through the forest. Meantime, however, by explanations or otherwise,
the chief was soothed and his warriors were kept at a proper distance,
although the demand of General Herkimer for the surrender of sundry Tories
was peremptorily refused. The conference ended by an agreement between
the parties to meet again at 9 o'clock the following morning. General
Herkimer and his forces, forbidden to advance any farther, encamped as
before. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Manuscript statement of Joseph Waggoner, in the author's
possession.
[FN-2] Idem.
The next morning General Herkimer called one of his most trusty men aside,
Joseph Waggoner by name, for the purpose of communicating to him, in
confidence, a matter of great importance, respecting which the most
profound secrecy was enjoined. He then informed Waggoner that he had
selected him and three others to perform a high and important duty,
requiring promptness, courage, and decision. His design, the General said,
was to take the lives of Brant and his three attendants, on the renewal
of their visit that morning. For this purpose he should rely upon Waggoner
and his three associates, on the arrival of the chief and his friends
within the circle as on the preceding day, each to select his man, and,
at a concerted signal, shoot them down upon the spot. There is something
so revolting--so rank and foul--in this project of meditated treachery,
that it is difficult to reconcile it with the known character of General
Herkimer. And yet it is given on the written authority of Waggoner
himself, whose character was equally respectable. The patriotic veteran,
in devising such a scheme, had probably reasoned himself into the belief
that the intended victims were only Indians, and that in the emergency
of the country, it would be justifiable to do evil that good might come.
It was, however, a most reprehensible scheme--scarcely less defensible
than the murder, by Catharine de Medicis, of some of the Huguenot chiefs,
who were invited to Paris under the guise of friendship, on the eve of
the Bartholomew massacre, and treacherously taken off by poison; and
equal in its purposed atrocity, though upon a smaller scale, to the
subsequent treachery of Ali Pacha of Egypt, in regard to the Mamelukes,
whom he caused to be decoyed into the strong-hold of Cairo, and
slaughtered. Indian that he was, there is no known act of perfidy
chargeable upon Brant; and he had met Herkimer on his own invitation. A
betrayal of his confidence, under those circumstances, would have brought
a stain upon the character of the Provincials, which all the waters of
the Mohawk could not have washed away.
Fortunately, however, the design was not carried into execution. Whether
the wary chieftain entertained any suspicions of foul play, is not known.
But, certain it is, that his precaution and his bearing, when he arrived
at Herkimer's quarters, were such as to frustrate the purpose. As he
entered the circle, attended as before, he drew himself up with dignity,
and addressed General Herkimer as follows:--"I have five hundred warriors
with me, armed and ready for battle. You are in my power; but as we have
been friends and neighbors, I will not take the advantage of you." [FN-1]
Saying which, at a signal, a host of his armed warriors darted forth from
the contiguous forest, all painted and ready for the onslaught, as the
well-known war-whoop but too clearly proclaimed. The chief continued the
discourse by advising the General to go back to his own home--thanked him
for his civility in coming thus far to see him, and told him that perhaps
he might one day return the compliment. Meantime, he said, he would go
back to his village, and for the present the General might rest assured
that no hostilities should be committed by the Indians. He then requested
that the Rev. Mr. Stuart, the English missionary at Fort Hunter, might
be permitted to retire into Canada, as also the wife of Colonel Butler.
To these requests General Herkimer assented, although the latter was not
complied with. He then presented the Indians with ten or a dozen heads of
cattle, which they fell upon and slaughtered incontinently. [FN-2] Brant
himself turned proudly away, and buried himself in the forest; while
General Herkimer struck his tents, and retraced his steps to the valley
of the Mohawk.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Waggoner's manuscript.
[FN-2] Idem.
Thus terminated this most singular conference. "It was early in July,
and the morning was remarkably clear and beautiful. But the echo of the
war-whoop had scarcely died away, before the heavens became black, and
a violent storm obliged each party to seek the nearest shelter. Men less
superstitious than many of the unlettered yeomen, who, leaning upon their
arms, were witnesses of the events of this day, could not fail in
after-times to look back upon the tempest, if not as an omen, at least
as an emblem of those bloody massacres with which these Indians and
their associates afterward visited the inhabitants of this unfortunate
frontier." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
This was the last conference held with the hostile Mohawks. Their chief
very soon afterward drew off his warriors from the Susquehanna, and united
them to the forces of Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, who were
concentrating the Tories and refugees at Oswego. It was at about the same
period that the officers of the British Indian department had summoned
a general council of the Six Nations, to be held at that place; and it is
probable that Brant arrived at the post with his warriors for that
occasion. According to Ramsay, the invitations to this council were sent
forth by Guy Johnson, the Indians being requested to assemble "to eat the
flesh and drink the blood of a Bostonian." This language was understood
figuratively, however,--the roasting of an ox and a banquet being
intended.
The council having assembled, [FN] the business was opened by the British
Commissioners, who informed the chiefs that their object in calling the
meeting was to engage their assistance in subduing the rebel Colonies,
the people of which had risen up against the good King their master, and
were about to rob him of a great part of his wealth and possessions. As
an inducement to enter the service, they were promised an ample reward.
The chiefs in reply, or rather those of them who were averse to joining
in the war, informed the British officers of the treaty of German Flats
and Albany, in which they had bound themselves to take no part in the
contest, and the parties to that compact repeated their determination to
abide by the treaty, and not take up the hatchet against their white
neighbors.
* * * * *
[FN] The only account of this great Indian council, (farther than the
mere statement that such a council was held,) which the author has been
able to discover, is that given in the life of Mary Jemison, a white
woman, who, being taken captive near Pittsburgh in 1755, when a child,
after her parents were killed, was raised by the Indians, and became in
fact one of them, in every thing but her birth and complexion. She
married an Indian, and lived to a very advanced age, and died among them.
She was present at this council; and from the fact that the truth of
other portions of her interesting narrative is sustained by other
authorities, her statement may be received as substantially correct. The
life of this remarkable woman, who died but a few years since, was
published by James D. Bemis, of Canandaigua. There will be several
occasions of referring to it hereafter.
The discussions were protracted, nor were the entreaties of the
Commissioners of any avail against the resolution of the Indians to
maintain their good faith, until they addressed their avarice, "by
telling them that the people of the Colonies were few in number, and
would be easily subdued; and that on account of their disobedience to the
King, they justly merited all the punishment that it was possible for
white men and Indians to inflict upon them. The King," they said, "was
rich and powerful, both in money and subjects. His rum was as plenty as
the water in Lake Ontario, and his men as numerous as the sands upon its
shore; and the Indians were assured, that if they would assist in the war,
and persevere in their friendship for the King until its close, they
should never want for goods or money," [FN] Overcome by their persevering
importunities, and by more direct and palpable appeals to their senses,
in a rich display of tawdry articles calculated to please their fancies,
the Indians proved recreant to their plighted faith to the Colonies, and
concluded a treaty of alliance with Great Britain--binding themselves to
take up the hatchet against the rebels, and continue in his Majesty's
service until they were subdued.
* * * * *
[FN] Life of Mary Jemison, written in 1823.
At the close of the treaty, each Indian was presented with a suit of
clothes, a brass kettle, [FN] a gun, a tomahawk and scalping-knife, a
quantity of ammunition, a piece of gold, and the promise of a bounty upon
every scalp they should bring in. "Thus richly clad and equipped, the
Indians returned to their respective homes, after an absence of about two
weeks, full of the fire of war, and anxious to encounter their (new-made)
enemies."
* * * * *
[FN] The brass kettles received at Oswego by the Senecas, (to which tribe
Mary belonged,) on the occasion mentioned in the text, were yet in use
in that nation, so late as 1823.
From that day Thayendanegea was the acknowledged chief of the Six Nations,
and he soon became one of the master spirits of the motley forces employed
by Great Britain in her attempts to recover the Mohawk Valley, and to
annoy the other settlements of what then constituted the North-western
frontier. Whether in the conduct of a campaign or of a scouting-party,
in the pitched battle or the foray, this crafty and dauntless chieftain
was sure to be one of the most efficient, as he was one of the bravest,
of those who were engaged. Combining with the native hardihood and
sagacity of his race the advantages of education and of civilized
life,--in acquiring which, he had lost nothing of his activity or his
power of endurance--he became the most formidable border foe with whom
the Provincials had to contend, and his name was a terror to the land.
His movements were at once so secret and so rapid, that he seemed almost
to be clothed with the power of ubiquity.
The first of his hostile demonstrations within the Colony of New-York is
believed to have been made in the month of May preceding the interview
with General Herkimer; although from the semi-pacific intercourse
maintained with him for several weeks longer, the fact was not then
certainly known. The settlement of Cherry Valley was commenced in 1739;
and in consequence of some threatened Indian troubles, a detachment of
troops had been stationed there as early as 1763. But no military works
were erected, and the breaking out of the war of the Revolution found the
place defenceless. While Brant was collecting his warriors at Oghkwaga,
however, the inhabitants bethought themselves of the necessity of
defences. But not having the means to undertake the erection of any
formidable work, the house of Colonel Samuel Campbell was selected as the
largest, strongest, and most eligibly situated for military purposes. A
rude embankment of logs and earth was thrown up around this building, so
extended in its dimensions as likewise to include two large barns. These
buildings were all strengthened, and provided with doors and
window-shutters bullet-proof. Small block-houses were also erected within
the enclosure; and to this place, in moments of peril and alarm, the
inhabitants fled for protection. Martial law was proclaimed, and no
persons were allowed either to enter or leave the settlement without
permission.
Toward the close of May, and soon after these precautionary measures had
been executed, Brant conceived the idea of making a descent upon the
settlement, for the purpose of either killing, or making captive, the
principal inhabitants, especially the vigilant members of the Committee.
It has been stated in a former page, that among the precautionary measures
adopted the preceding year, the exempts from military duty had organized
themselves into a volunteer company. The martial fever of course descended
from sire to son; and as the population had been considerably augmented
by the arrival of distant settlers for safety, a goodly number of boys
were collected, who formed a corps of cadets, with no better armor than
wooden swords and guns. These juvenile soldiers happened to be parading
upon the esplanade in front of Colonel Campbell's house at the very hour,
one bright sunny morning, when Brant and his party of warriors, who had
secretly arrived from Oghkwaga, were reconnoitering the post under shelter
of a tangled thicket skirting the brow of a hill about a mile distant.
His vision being somewhat obstructed by the intercepting shrubbery, the
chief mistook the lads for _bona fide_ soldiers. Observing the semblance
of a fortification before described, Captain Brant moved his party to a
convenient lurking-place near the road leading to the Mohawk river, and
there lay in ambush for the purpose of obtaining such information as
might chance to come in his way. A short distance from where the chief
lay ensconced behind a large rock, "the road wound along near the edge
of a cliff, overhanging a rocky glen of one hundred and fifty feet deep.
This chasm was shaded by evergreens, and the whole scene was shadowy and
almost dark, even at mid-day. The wildness of the place was increased
by the dashing of a mountain-torrent into the gloomy abyss, called, by
the Indians, the falls of Tekaharawa." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
It chanced, that on the morning of that day, Lieutenant Wormwood, a
promising young officer from Palatine, of an opulent family, had been
despatched to Cherry Valley, with information to the authorities that
a detachment from Colonel Klock's regiment of militia was to march to
their defence on the following day. It was toward evening that Lieut.
Wormwood started on his return to the Mohawk, accompanied by the bearer
of some despatches, named Peter Sitz. As he mounted his horse in the
village, he threw down his portmanteau, remarking that he needed not to
take it, as he should return on the next morning with his company. He
was well-mounted, and richly dressed "in a suit of ash-colored velvet,
which attracted much attention during his stay;" and many persons remained
at the door, looking at the noble bearing of the young patriot, until he
disappeared behind the crest of the hill in the direction of the
Tekaharawa. Scarcely, however, had the clattering of hoofs died away upon
their ears, before a discharge of musketry resounded from the glen--the
startling report being speedily followed by the soldier's horse, returning
at full speed, the saddle crimsoned with blood. Suspicions of the most
painful description at once flashed upon the minds of the people, and
a party was immediately despatched to investigate the circumstances. They
returned without success that night, but on the following morning the
body of Wormwood was found behind the rock heretofore described, scalped
and lifeless. It afterward appeared, that as Wormwood and Sitz approached
the rock, they were hailed, but instead of answering, they put spurs to
their horses and endeavored to pass. Being fired upon, Lieutenant Wormwood
fell wounded, as did the horse of Sitz. The Indians rushed forth from
their ambuscade, and Sitz was made prisoner; while the gallant officer
was scalped by Brant's own hand. The chief is said to have lamented the
death of this young man. They were not only acquaintances, but friends;
and he had been fired upon under the supposition that he was an officer
of the Continental army. [FN] The despatches carried by Sitz were double,
and it was fortunate that he had sufficient presence of mind to destroy
the genuine, and deliver the delusive papers to his savage captors.
Deceived thereby as to the real strength at Cherry Valley, Brant retired
without committing any farther act of hostility. Colonel Klock arrived
at Cherry Valley on the following morning, accompanied by the afflicted
father of the slaughtered officer, who was mourned and wept by all who
knew him.
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County,
Another coincident event, forming an appropriate conclusion to the present
chapter, was the tragic death of the great Shawanese chief, _Cornstock,_
with his gallant son, _Ellinipsico_; both of whom will be remembered as
among the brave Indian leaders at the battle of the Kanhawa, the last
action of the Cresap war, in 1774; and both of whom were now as basely
murdered by white men, as were the family of Logan. The circumstances
attending this foul transaction were these:--Cornstock, after the defeat
of his warriors at Point Pleasant, and his subsequent treaty of peace
with Lord Dunmore, had become sincerely and truly the friend of the
Colonies; and while the Indians of the Northwest, generally, were
preparing to take up arms with the English, he exerted himself to the
utmost to prevent his own nation from any participation in the contest.
But the influence of the British agents, and the example of the
surrounding Indian nations, were so powerful upon the minds of the
Shawanese, that Cornstock perceived his pacific efforts were likely to
prove futile. Thus circumstanced, he repaired to the fort which had been
erected at Point Pleasant after the battle of the Kanhawa, to lay the
matter before the officer in command--Captain Arbuckle--and take his
advice. He was accompanied on this mission by a young Delaware chief named
_Redhawk,_ who had also fought by his side in the Cresap war. Having made
a full developement of the state of Indian affairs in the North-west, and
frankly admitted that, from the causes already indicated, he should be
unable to prevent the Shawanese from taking up the hatchet in the cause
of the Crown, the commander of the fort deemed it expedient to detain the
old chief, with his Delaware companion, as hostages for the good conduct
of their people. Nor did they remain unwillingly--little anticipating the
fate that awaited them--and giving all the information respecting the
Indians and their country, that could be desired by the Americans.
Uneasy at the protracted absence of his father, Ellinipsico, his son,
went in pursuit, and traced him to the fort, where they had an affectionate
meeting. Unfortunately, the day after the arrival of the young warrior at
Point Pleasant, two white men having crossed the Kanhawa on a hunting
expedition, were fired upon by some straggling Indians, and one of them,
whose name was Gilmore, was killed. The other escaped. No sooner was the
event of Gilmore's death known, than the cry of revenge was raised, and
a party of ruffians assembled, under the command of a Captain Hall--not
to pursue and punish the perpetrators of the murder--but to fall upon the
friendly and peaceable Indians in the fort. Arming themselves, and cocking
their rifles, they proceeded directly to the little garrison, menacing
death to any or all who should oppose their nefarious designs. Some friend
of the hostage-chiefs attempted to apprise them in advance of the
approaching danger; but the savage mob were probably too close upon the
heels of the messenger to allow of their escape. At the sound of the
clamor without, Ellinipsico is said to have been somewhat agitated. Not
so the veteran Cornstock. He had too often grappled with death on the
war-path to fear his approaches now. Perceiving the emotion of his son,
he calmly observed:--"_My son, the Great Spirit has seen fit that we
should die together, and has sent you to that end. It is his will, and let
us submit,_" The infuriated mob had now gained the apartment of the
victims; Cornstock fell, perforated with seven bullets, and died without
a struggle. The son, after the exhortation of his father, met his fate
with composure, and was shot on the seat upon which he was sitting.
Red-hawk, the young Delaware, died with less fortitude. He hid himself
away, but was discovered and slain. Another friendly Indian, in the fort
at the time, was likewise killed, and his body mangled by the barbarians
in a manner that would have disgraced savages of any other complexion.
"Thus," says an Indian Chronicler, [FN] "perished the mighty Cornstock,
sachem of the Shawanese, and king of the Northern confederacy, in 1774--a
chief remarkable for many great and good qualities. He was disposed to be
at all times the friend of white men, as he was ever the advocate of
honorable peace. But when his country's wrongs summoned him to the battle,
he became the thunderbolt of war, and made his enemies feel the weight of
his arm. His noble bearing, his generous and disinterested attachment to
the Colonies, his anxiety to preserve the frontier of Virginia from
desolation and death, all conspired to win for him the esteem and respect
of others; while the untimely and perfidious manner of his death caused
a deep and lasting feeling of regret to pervade the bosoms, even of those
who were enemies to his nation, and excited the just indignation of all
toward his inhuman murderers."
* * * * *
[FN] Withers's Indian Chronicles, as quoted by Drake,
It argues a sad deficiency of military discipline, that such a foul
transaction could have occurred at any regularly established post. The
command of Arbuckle, however, must have been small, inasmuch as he was not
only opposed to the commission of the outrage, but sallied forth, in
company with another captain, named Stuart, for the purpose of
intercepting the ruffians, and preventing the execution of their purpose.
But all remonstrance was vain. The enraged assailants, pale, and quivering
with fury, presented their rifles to the breasts of those officers,
threatening them with instant death if they stood in their way. It has
been said that Cornstock felt a presentiment of his death on the morning
of its occurrence. A council had been summoned for the consideration of
some business of importance, connected, probably, with Indian affairs,
since the old chief bore a part in the deliberations. In the course of
one of his speeches delivered on that occasion, he said, with emphasis,
to the council:--"_When I was young, every time I went to war, I thought
it likely that I might return no more; but I still lived; I am now in
your hands; you may kill me if you choose. I can die but once, and it is
alike to me whether I die now or at another time._" [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Doddridge's Indian Wars, pp. 238--240.
The Indian biography of our country supplies but few additional facts
concerning the life of this brave and just man. He had a son, known among
the whites as _The Wolf,_ whose name was somewhat conspicuously associated
with the earlier events of the Revolution. The Wolf, with three others,
was a hostage at Williamsburgh, Virginia, at the time of Lord Dunmore's
embarkation on board of the British fleet. After the escape of his
Lordship, he solicited and obtained an interview with The Wolf and his
associates on board of his ship; during which he explained to them the
causes of his flight, and urged them to flee also, as the only means of
escaping the fury of the revolutionists. Adopting this counsel, they took
to the woods on returning to the shore. The night following came on
excessively dark. One of The Wolf's companions separated from his fellows,
and was lost. The others soon afterward returned to Williamsburgh, where
they were well received by the inhabitants. What farther befell The Wolf,
or the house of Cornstock, is not known.