SARCASM AND SAGACITY—RED JACKET, OR SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA.
An interesting interview is related in Mr. Stone’s Life of Red Jacket,
as having taken place between Rev. Dr. Breckenbridge and the great
Indian orator, and I transfer it, as given by this author, in the words
of him who wrote it:
“The first opportunity I ever enjoyed of seeing that deservedly
celebrated Indian Chief, Red Jacket, was in the year 1821, at the
residence of General Porter, Black Rock, New York. Being on a visit to
the General and his family, it seemed a peculiarly fit occasion to
become acquainted with the great Seneca orator, whose tribe resided
within a few miles of Black Rock. General Porter embraced the Indian
warriors who fought with us on that line during the late war with Great
Britain in his command. From this cause—from his high character—his
intimate acquaintance with the Chiefs, and his known attachment to
those interesting people, he had great influence over them; and his
lamented lady, who, it is not indelicate for me to say, was my sister,
had by her kindness won the rugged hearts of all their leading men. So
that their united influence, and my near relationship to them, secured
to me at once access to the Chiefs and their entire confidence.
“I had not only a great desire to see Red Jacket, but also to use this
important opportunity to correct some of his false impressions in
regard to Christianity and the missionaries established in his tribe.
To this end it was agreed to invite Red Jacket and the other Chiefs of
the Senecas to visit Co-na-shus-tah, and meet his brother at his house.
The invitation was accordingly given, and very promptly and
respectfully accepted.
“On the appointed day they made their appearance in due form, headed by
Red Jacket, to the number of eight or ten besides himself. He wore a
blue dress, the upper garment cut after the fashion of a hunting-shirt,
with blue leggins, a red jacket, and a girdle of red about his waist. I
have seldom seen a more dignified or noble looking body of men than the
entire group. It seems—though no such impression was designed to be
conveyed by the terms of the invitation—that some indefinite
expectation had been excited in their minds of meeting an official
agent on important business. And they have been so unworthily tampered
with, and so badly treated by us, as a people, and many of their most
important treaties have been so much the result of private and
corrupting appeals, that they very naturally looked for some evil
design in every approach to them, however open and simple it may be. So
it was on this occasion. As soon as the ceremonies of introduction were
over, with the civilities growing out of it, the old orator seated
himself in the midst of the circle of Chiefs, and after a word with
them, followed by a general assent, he proceeded in a very serious and
commanding manner—always speaking in his own nervous tongue, through an
interpreter—to address me, in substance, as follows:
“‘We had a call from our good friends (pointing to the General and his
lady), to come down to Black Rock to meet their brothers. We are glad
to break bread and drink the cup of friendship with them. They are
great friends to our people, and we love them very much. Co-na-shus-tah
is a great man, and his woman has none like her. We often come to their
house. We thank them for telling us to come to-day. But as all the
Chiefs were asked, we expected some important talk. Now here we are,
what is your business?’
“This, as may readily be supposed, was an embarrassing position to a
young man just out of college. I paused. Every countenance was fixed
upon me, while Red Jacket in particular seemed to search me with his
arrowy eye, and to feel that the private and informal nature of the
meeting, and the extreme youth of the man, were hardly in keeping with
the character and number of the guests invited; and his whole manner
implied, ‘that but for the sake of the General and his good friends, I
should have waited for you to come to me.’ With these impressions of
his feelings, I proceeded to say, in reply:
“‘That I should have thought it very presumptuous in me to send for him
alone—and still more, for all the Chiefs of his tribe—to come so far to
see me; that my intention had been to visit him and the other Chiefs at
his town; but the General and his lady could not go with me to
introduce me; nor were we at all certain that we should find him and
the other Chiefs at home; at any rate, the General’s house was most
convenient. That as to myself, I was a young man, and had no business
with them, except that I had heard a great deal of Red Jacket, and
wished to see him and hear him talk; and that I would return his visit,
and show him that it was not out of disrespect, but out of regard for
him, and great desire to see him, that we had sent for him—this being
the way the white men honor one another.’
“Mrs. Porter immediately confirmed what I had said, and gave special
point to the hospitality of the house, and the great desire I had to
see Red Jacket. Her appeal, added to the reply, relaxed the rigor of
his manner and that of the other Chiefs, while it relieved our
interview of all painful feelings.
“After this general letting down of the scene, Red Jacket turned to me
familiarly and asked: ‘What are you? You say you are not a government
agent; are you a gambler (meaning a land speculator), or a
black-coat—or what are you?’
“I answered, ‘I am yet too young a man to engage in any profession; but
I hope some of these days to be a black-coat.’
“He lifted up his hands, accompanied by his eyes, in a most expressive
way; and though not a word was uttered, every one fully understood that
he very distinctly expressed the sentiment, ‘What a fool!’ But I had
been too often called to bear from those reported ‘great and wise’
among white men, the shame of the cross, to be surprised by his manner;
and I was too anxious to conciliate his good feelings to attempt any
retort. So that I commanded my countenance, and seeming not to have
observed him, I proceeded to tell him something of our Colleges and
other institutions.
“A good deal of general conversation ensued, addressed to one and
another of the Chiefs, and we were just arriving at the hour of dinner,
when our conference was suddenly broken up by the arrival of a
breathless messenger, saying that an old Chief, whose name I forget,
had just died, and the other Chiefs were immediately needed to attend
his burial. One of the Chiefs shed tears at the news; all seemed
serious, but the others suppressed their feelings, and spent a few
moments in a very earnest conversation, the result of which Red Jacket
announced to us. They had determined to return at once to their
village, but consented to leave Red Jacket and his interpreter. In vain
were they urged to wait till after dinner, or to refresh themselves
with something to eat by the way. With hurried farewell and quick steps
they left the house, and by the nearest foot-path returned home.
“This occurrence relieved me of one difficulty: it enabled me to see
Red Jacket at leisure alone. It seemed, also, to soften his feelings,
and make him more affable and kind.
“Soon after the departure of the Chiefs, we were ushered to dinner. Red
Jacket behaved with great propriety in all respects; while his
interpreter, though half a white man, after a few awkward attempts at
the knife and fork, found himself falling behind; and repeating the
adage, which is often quoted to cover the same style among our white
urchins, of picking a chicken bone, ‘that fingers were made before
forks,’ he proceeded with real gusto and much good humor to make up his
lost time upon all parts of his dinner. It being over, I invited Red
Jacket into the General’s office, where we had four hours’ most
interesting conversation on a variety of topics, but chiefly connected
with Christianity, the government of the United States, the
missionaries, and his loved lands.”
It was during this interview that the objects of speculators were so
explained to him, that he understood their evil designs; and the true
nature of the missionary enterprise was made clear to his
comprehension, so that his enmity was never afterward so bitter.
When assured that by the course he was pursuing, he was doing more than
any one else to break up and drive away his people, and that the effect
of the teachings of the missionaries was to preserve them, he grasped
the hand of the speaker and said: “If this is so, it is new to me, and
I will lay it up in my mind (pointing to his noble forehead), and talk
of it to the Chiefs and the people.”
Dr. B. continues: “Red Jacket was about sixty years old at this time,
and had a weather-beaten look, which age, and more than all,
intemperance had produced; but his general appearance was striking, and
his face noble. His lofty and capacious forehead, his piercing black
eye, his gently curved lips, fine cheek and slightly aquiline nose—all
marked a great man; and as sustained and expressed by his dignified
air, made a deep impression on all who saw him. All these features
became doubly expressive, when his mind and body were set in motion by
the effort of speaking—if effort that may be called which flowed like a
stream from his lips. I saw him in the wane of life, and heard him only
in private, and through a stupid and careless interpreter. Yet,
notwithstanding these disadvantages, he was one of the greatest and
most eloquent orators I ever knew. His cadence was measured, and yet
very musical; and when excited, he would spring to his feet, elevate
his head, expand his arms, and utter with indescribable effect of
manner and tone, some of his noblest thoughts.”
General Porter speaks of him as a man endowed with great intellectual
powers, and who, as an orator, was not only unsurpassed, but unequalled
by any of his contemporaries. Although those who were ignorant of his
language could not fully appreciate the force and beauty of his
speeches, when received through the medium of an interpreter,—generally
coarse and clumsy,—yet such was the peculiar gracefulness of his
person, attitudes and action, and the mellow tones of his Seneca
dialect, and such the astonishing effects produced on that part of the
auditory who did fully understand him, and whose souls appeared to be
engrossed and borne away by the orator, that he was listened to by all
with perfect delight. His figures were frequently so sublime, so
apposite and so beautiful, that the interpreter often said the English
language was not rich enough to allow of doing him justice.
Another gentleman says: “It is evident that the best translations of
Indian speeches must fail to express the beauty and sublimity of the
originals—especially of such an original as Red Jacket. It has been my
good fortune to hear him a few times, but only in late years, when his
powers were enfeebled by age and intemperance; but I shall never forget
the impression made on me the first time I saw him in council. The
English language has no figures to convey the true meaning of the
original, but though coming through the medium of an illiterate
interpreter, I saw the dismembered parts of a splendid oration.”
On one occasion he used the following figurative language in speaking
of the encroachments of the white people:
“We first knew you a feeble plant, which wanted a little earth whereon
to grow. We gave it you; and afterward, when we could have trod you
under our feet, we watered and protected you; and now you have grown to
be a mighty tree, whose top reaches the clouds, and whose branches
overspread the whole land, whilst we, who were the tall pine of the
forest, have become a feeble plant, and need your protection.
“When you first came here, you clung around our knee and called us
father; we took you by the hand and called you brothers. You have grown
greater than we, so that we can no longer reach up to your hand; but we
wish to cling around your knee, and be called your children.”
Of the domestic character and habits of the great Indian orator, we of
course know very little. It has not been the custom of civilized or
Christian people to relate this portion of the life of any who became
eminent among them, and we have no means of learning much concerning
the home life of Indians.
We know that Red Jacket separated from his first wife after she had
become the mother of several children, and that her infidelity was the
alleged cause. The repugnance which he ever afterwards manifested
towards her, is in accordance with his known moral purity of character.
That he had a father’s love for his children, we may see in the
following beautiful language which he used in answer to a lady, who
inquired if he had any living, as she knew that several had been taken
away.
Fixing his eyes upon her with a mournful expression of countenance, he
replied:
“Red Jacket was once a great man, and in favor with the Great Spirit.
He was a lofty pine among the smaller trees of the forest. But after
years of glory, he degraded himself by drinking the fire-water of the
white man. The Great Spirit has looked upon him in anger, and his
lightning has stripped the pine of its branches.”
Had he hated the white men sufficiently to resist their temptations, he
might have been the glory and the saviour of his people. The word which
in Seneca is used to express strong drink, very truly and emphatically
describes it as the mind destroyer. This was its office, and if the
noble mind of Red Jacket had not been destroyed by its agency, he would
have seen clearly through the dark plots of his enemies, and been able
to counter-plot to their destruction, and thus rescued his people from
the grasp of their pursuers. His fall is often quoted as a proof of the
weak and vicious propensities of the race, which it is useless to
attempt to place on a level with the Anglo-Saxon.
It may be necessary to concede that the Saxon is superior to all
others, inasmuch as all the others fall back and waste away before it.
But this superiority will not entitle them to claim for themselves more
virtues than many others can boast. I know it is customary for us to
pride ourselves upon our success as conquerors and destroyers, but yet
it is lamentable that our national traits are far from being Christian
ones. It is by making use of cruel and revolting means, that we
obliterate the traces of whole nations and blot out kingdoms, as water
obliterates blood. A nation of Christians, of whatever name, could not
thus conquer and destroy. If only the warrior had been cut off, and the
tomahawk and scalping-knife buried, the pages of Indian history would
not be so dark. But they are stained with something worse than blood.
They are reeking with the slime of falsehood, avarice, treachery,
drunkenness, and every species of debauchery. When Indians adopt
civilization, there is no greater proportion of the whole number who
become the slaves of vice, than takes place among white people.
Red Jacket became intemperate,—but how many of the members of every
Senate and House of Representatives, since the formation of our
government, have become the same? How many of the brightest names on
our historic scroll would be blotted out, if only the virtuous were
allowed to remain?
I cannot learn that he was addicted to any other debasing vice.
As one of the proofs that the Indian had an intuitive perception of
propriety, may be related an incident which occurred whilst a gentleman
was travelling with a party of Indian Chiefs and their interpreter. Red
Jacket was one of the party, but he was uniformly grave. The others
were much inclined to merriment, and during an evening when they were
gathered around the fire in a log cabin, the mirth was so great and the
conversation so jocular, that Red Jacket was afraid the stranger, who
could not understand their language, would think himself treated with
impoliteness, and infer that their sport was at his expense. He
evidently enjoyed their happiness, though he took no part; but after
awhile he spoke to Mr. Parish, the interpreter, and requested him to
repeat a few words to Mr. Hospres, which were as follows:
“We have been made uncomfortable by the storm; we are now warm and
comfortable; it has caused us to feel cheerful and merry; but I hope
our friend who is travelling with us, will not be hurt at this
merriment, or suppose that we are taking advantage of his ignorance of
our language, to make him in any manner the subject of mirth.”
On being assured that no such suspicion could be entertained of the
honorable men who were present, they resumed their mirth and Red Jacket
his gravity.
When Lafayette was an officer in the Revolutionary army, he met Red
Jacket at the treaty of peace at Fort Stanwix, in 1787, where the
Indian orator eloquently opposed “burying the tomahawk.” When he again
visited this country, in 1825, they met at Buffalo, and General
Lafayette remarked, that time had wrought great changes upon both since
their first meeting. “But,” rejoined Red Jacket, “he has not been so
severe with you as with me. He has left you a fresh countenance, and
hair to cover your head; while to me——behold!” and taking the covering
from his head, he disclosed that he was nearly bald. But Lafayette did
not leave him to think thus harshly of time, but proved to him that the
ravages had been nearly the same upon both, by removing a wig and
exposing a head almost as bald as the Chief’s; upon which he remarked
with much pleasantry, that a scalp from some bystander would renew his
youth in the same manner!
A young French nobleman visited Buffalo a few years before this, and
having heard much of the fame of Red Jacket, sent him word that he
wished to see him, inviting him to come the next day. Red Jacket
received the message, and affected great contempt, saying, “Tell the
young man if he wishes to visit the old Chief, he will find him with
his nation, where other strangers pay their respects to him, and Red
Jacket will be glad to see him.” The Count sent back word that he had
taken a long journey and was fatigued; that he had come all the way
from France to see the great orator of the Seneca nation, and hoped he
would not refuse to meet him at Buffalo.
“Tell him,” said the sarcastic Chief, “that having come so far to see
me, it is strange he should stop within seven miles of my lodge.”
So the young Frenchman was obliged to seek him in his wigwam; after
which he consented to dine with the Count, at Buffalo, and was
pronounced by him a greater wonder than Niagara itself.
On one occasion he was visited by a gentleman who talked incessantly,
and to little purpose, and who would go very near the person he was
addressing, and chatter about as intelligibly as a magpie. Red Jacket,
receiving the message that a stranger wished to see him, dressed
himself with great care, and came forth in all his dignity. One glance
was sufficient to his keen eye to understand the character of his
guest; and listening a few moments with contempt in all his features,
he went close to him and exclaimed, “Cha! cha! cha!” as fast as he
could speak, and turned on his heel towards his own cabin “as straight
as an Indian,” nor deigned to look behind him while in sight of the
house tenanted by the gentleman, who stood for once speechless!
His vanity was very conspicuous. He was fully aware of his importance,
and disposed to make others aware of it on every possible occasion.
Colonel Pickering was often employed by the government to negotiate
treaties, and would take down the speeches on the occasion in writing.
At one time, when Red Jacket was the orator, he thought he would note
the words of the interpreter whilst the Chief was himself speaking. He
immediately paused, and on being requested to proceed said, “No, not
whilst you hold down your head.”
“Why can you not speak whilst I write?”
“Because, if you look me in the eye, you will know whether I tell you
the truth.”
At another time, he turned his head to speak to a third person, when
Red Jacket very haughtily rebuked him, saying, “When a Seneca speaks,
he ought to be listened to with attention, from one end of this great
island to the other.”
When he returned from Philadelphia, he was in the habit of using his
oratorical powers to embellish the manner of his reception, and would
collect around him the Chiefs and people of his nation, and, dressed in
his uniform, with the cocked hat under his arm, would personify the
President, and bow to all present as if they were the company in the
great saloon, imitating the manners and gestures of the original with
true grace and dignity, and then entertain his audience with the
compliments and attentions which had been bestowed upon him.
When invited to dine, or be present on any occasion of social festivity
among white people, he conformed with wonderful tact to the customs to
which he was a stranger—never manifesting any surprise or asking any
questions, till he could consult some friend whose ridicule he did not
fear. It was after returning from Philadelphia, where he had dined with
General Washington, that he asked the following explanation.
He said a man stood behind his chair, and would, every now and then,
run off with his plate and knife and fork, and immediately return with
others. “Now,” said Red Jacket, “what was this for?” He was told that
there was a variety of dishes on the President’s table, and each was
cooked in a different way, and for every new dish the guests were
helped to a new plate. “Oh,” said he, musing a moment, “is that it? You
must then suppose that the plates and knives and forks retain the taste
of the cookery?” On hearing the affirmative, he said, “But I should
suppose the taste would remain on the palate longer than on the plate.”
That, he was told, they were in the habit of washing away with wine.
“Oh,” said he, “I now understand it. I thought, for so general a
custom, you must have some good reason, and now regret that I did not
know it when I was in Philadelphia; for the moment the man ran off with
my plate, I would have drank wine till he returned with the other—for
though I am fond of eating, I am more fond of drinking.”
We are accustomed to think the blanket of the Indian a sign of
barbarity, and anything but dignified and graceful. Yet the toga of the
Roman orator was never folded about his noble figure with more grace or
dignity, than the homely mantle of the Seneca Chief, when he arose to
address an Indian audience. The adjustment of his dress was always the
signal by which it was known that he was about to rise. A gentleman who
knew him intimately for half a century, says he was the most graceful
public speaker he ever heard. His stature was above the middle size;
his eyes fine, and expressive of the intellect which gave them fire; he
was fluent, without being too rapid; and dignified and stately, without
rigidity. When he arose, he would turn towards the Indians, and ask
their attention to what he was about to say in behalf of the
commissioner of the United States. He would then turn towards the
commissioner, and with a slight but dignified inclination of the head,
proceed. Decorum was at all times the characteristic of an Indian
council. If the orator omitted what was considered by any one present
important to be dwelt upon, he would place himself very near the
speaker, and in a quiet and most delicate manner whisper his
suggestion. As they had no written documents, their memories were the
tablets on which were engraven all important events, and these were
often more faithful than the scrolls of the learned.
In a council which was held with the Senecas by General Tompkins, of
New York, a discussion arose concerning some point in a treaty made
several years before. The agent stated one thing, and the Indian Chief
another, insisting that he was correct. He was answered that it was
written on paper, and must be so.
“The paper then tells a lie,” said the orator, “for I have it written
here (placing his hand upon his brow). You Yankees are born with a
feather between your fingers, but your paper does not speak the truth.
The Indian keeps his knowledge here; this is the book the Great Spirit
has given him, and it does not lie.”
On consulting the documents more particularly, it was found that the
Indian record was, indeed, the most correct!
Although fond of good things, Red Jacket had a great contempt for the
sensualist. When speaking of an Indian, whose name was Hot bread, and
who was known to be indolent and gluttonous, he exclaimed, “Waugh! big
man here (laying his hand upon his abdomen), but very small man here,”
bringing the palm of his hand with significant emphasis across his
forehead.
That he shrank from spectacles of human suffering, may have been the
reason of his aversion to the war-path. He did not like to look on
blood.
At one time, when three young men were to suffer death by hanging, and
multitudes were rushing towards the spot, he was met hurrying in an
opposite direction. When asked why he did not go to witness the
execution, he answered, “Fools enough there already; the battle-field
is the place to see men die.” One would certainly think, to witness the
throngs which crowd around the gallows, that neither Christian nor
human feeling filled the breasts of civilized beings.
The efforts were for a long time fruitless to induce Red Jacket to sit
for his portrait. “When Red Jacket dies,” he would say, “all that
belongs to him shall die too.” But at length, an appeal to his vanity
availed, and on being assured that his picture was wanted to hang with
those of Washington and Jefferson, and other great men in the National
Galleries, he consented; and having once broken his resolution, no
longer resisted, and was painted by several artists. The one by Weir is
considered best, and was taken during a visit of the Chief to New York,
in 1828, at the request of Dr. Francis. He dressed himself with great
care in the costume he thought the most becoming and appropriate,
decorated with his brilliant war-dress, his tomahawk, and Washington
medal. He then seated himself in a large arm-chair while around him
groups of Indians were reclining upon the floor. He was more than
seventy years of age at the time, but tall, erect and firm, though with
many of the traces of time and dissipation upon his form and
countenance. He manifested great pleasure as the outlines of the
picture were filled up, and especially when his favorite medal came out
in full relief; and when the picture was finished, started to his feet
and clasped the hand of the artist, exclaiming, “Good! good!”
One who knew him remarks, “That his characteristics are preserved to
admiration, and his majestic front exhibits an altitude surpassing
every other I have ever seen of the human skull.”
His early youth was spent in the beautiful valley of the Genesee; there
were his favorite hunting-grounds, and there his memory loved to
linger. During the strife of wars, and the more bitter strife of
treaties, he had indulged very little in his favorite pastime; and when
a day of comparative quiet came, he, in company with a friend, took his
gun and went forth, in hopes to find a deer for the sport of his rifle.
They had gone but a little distance, when a clearing opened before
them. With a contemptuous sneer, the old man turned aside and wandered
in another direction. In a little while he came to another, and looking
over a fence, he saw a white man holding a plough, which was turning up
the earth in dark furrows over a large field. Again he turned sadly
away, and plunged deeper in the forest, but soon another open field
presented itself; and though he had been all his life oppressed with
the woes of his people, he now for the first time sat down and wept.
There was no longer any hope,—they had wasted away.
Red Jacket was decidedly aristocratic, and disposed to stand upon his
dignity. No person who knew him would venture upon familiarity with
him, and he did not like to have his children mingle freely with all
whom they might meet in the streets. But he never considered the
manners and habits of living among white people as worthy of imitation;
and after chairs and tables were introduced by his wife into his own
dwelling, he scorned to use them, and took his meals, as in the olden
time, sitting on the floor, or a rude bench, cushioned with deer-skin.
Yet he would not eat alone. Though he talked very little, he liked to
be surrounded by his family. His second wife was his favorite, and he
treated her with the most affectionate kindness, except in leaving free
her religion; and then he scarcely reproached her—only saying that in
embracing it, she was countenancing the wrongs committed upon her
people, which he could not, and if she persisted he should leave her;
and knowing her affection for him, he probably thought she would not
hesitate between her husband and Christianity. When he found she would
not renounce her new faith, he departed and lived several months at
Tonnewanda. His enmity was evidently entirely political. He understood
nothing of the real nature of Christianity, and was not willing to
learn any thing concerning it from those who had been guilty of the
grievous wrongs the red man had suffered, whenever those calling
themselves Christians had come among them.
But he was not happy separated from those he loved, and those he left
were not happy without him. He missed the caresses of the children, and
especially the youngest daughter, of whom he was very fond. She used to
sit upon his knee, with her little arms around his neck and her soft
cheek resting upon his, and play with his silver locks. When he was
gone she mourned for him, and gave her mother no rest till she promised
to take her to where her father lived.
They went together; but the mother, with true womanly delicacy, entered
not his dwelling, and refused to see him. She was willing to gratify
her children, and cultivated their affection and respect for him who
had deserted her, but she would not seek him.
The little girl, who is now a Christian woman, and herself told me the
story, threw her arms around her father’s neck, and kissed him; and he
pressed her to his bosom, weeping tears of joy, and perhaps of true
sorrow and repentance, and told her he was coming home; that he was
sorry he had left her mother, and did not think her religion had done
her any harm. He said he had bought her some broadcloth and beads, and
would bring them when he came. When she left him he went with her to
the door of the house where her mother lodged, but did not enter, and
with many sobs and tears she bade him good-bye, and returned home.
In a little while he followed. He came into the house and humbly
addressed his wife, saying he had come back again to live with her, if
she would receive him; that he had done wrong, and was very sorry, and
had been very unhappy. The injured wife did not answer a word, but
threw her shawl around her, and went to the missionary to ask him if it
would be right to receive him now, and what she should do. The
missionary told her it was best to welcome him kindly, and encourage
him to stay, if he made no opposition to her new mode of worship.
On hastening back, she, in a dignified manner, expressed her joy at
seeing him, and her unchanged regard; but said she could not consent to
his remaining, unless he would permit her to go to the Mission Church
on Sunday, and in no way interfere with her religious duties. To this
he assented, saying he knew she was a better woman than before she
became a Christian, and he would never again molest her.
The children were rejoiced at the reconciliation, and all were again
happy. He never violated his promise; and though he could not join the
family in their mode of worship, not a word of disapprobation, or a
look of contempt, reminded them that he liked it not.
And often on Sabbath morning, the old Chief would rise early and awake
the daughters, saying, “Come, it is Sunday, you know; get up and have
the work all done, so as to go to meeting with your mother; always go
with your mother.” Before he left her, his wife was obliged to steal
away when he did not know it. She would have her house in order, and
her blanket ready somewhere outside the dwelling, and when the bell
rang, would go quietly out, take her blanket, and run. But now, when
the bell rang for Sabbath, or evening meeting, he said, “Go;” and
though he disliked to be left alone, he murmured not, and made himself
as comfortable as he could till she returned. He had a great respect
for her, and knew she was worthy of his confidence.
Though so eloquent in the council-chamber, Red Jacket seldom opened his
lips in the wigwam. Among his own people he was not social, and never
entered into familiar conversation upon ordinary topics. He was always
ready to discuss the affairs of the nation with Chiefs or distinguished
strangers, but was not given to story-telling, and seldom entered the
houses of his neighbors. All the latter years of his life, he was sad
on account of the woes the Indian had experienced, and the woes he
predicted were still in store for them. He would lie upon his couch for
hours, with his hands crossed upon his breast, and seem in deep
distraction, and wish no interruption.
When he had been drinking, he was sometimes merry and talked very
silly; but gravity was his prevailing mood,—though this is not the
prevailing mood of Indians generally, as some people imagine.
When he meditated a speech, he would often repeat it to himself, and
sometimes rehearse it to the interpreter, in order to be sure it would
sound well. But his incapacity for business, and his degeneracy in
consequence of his intoxication, procured for him the general dislike
of his people. Many were beginning to see that the missionaries were
their real friends, and to understand the distinction between reality
and pretension, and wished Christianity to be encouraged. Red Jacket
was constantly disturbing the councils by his bitter opposition and
sarcasms, and was so unrelenting, that there seemed no hope of changing
his opinions; and it finally began to be whispered, and then boldly
proposed, that he should no longer be numbered among the Chiefs of the
nation. A council was called, and formal resolutions drawn up,
declaring the reasons why he was not fit for his office, and signed by
twenty-six Chiefs. When it became known to him, he was greatly grieved,
and resolved not to submit to such an indignity. Arousing his
slumbering energies, he made a journey to Washington, to talk with the
President. He called on Colonel McKenney, who was in charge of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs; and as he had been informed by agents of all
that had transpired among the Senecas, he recapitulated the state of
affairs, and advised the Chief to return, and endeavor better to
understand the nature of the missionary work; and, at least, to allow
those who differed from him in opinion, the same liberty he demanded
for himself—those who preferred to be Pagans, could remain so; and
those who wished to change, should have the privilege.
The old man listened with the deepest attention till the speaker had
finished, and then said, pointing to him and then in the direction of
his people: “Our father has got a long eye.” He endeavored to justify
himself, and poured forth volumes of epithets upon the “black-coats,”
whose professions of disinterestedness he could not understand. But on
returning home, he became more quiet, and seemed convinced of the
policy, if not of the justice, of the advice he had received, and
commenced in earnest to retrieve his position. “It shall not be said of
me,” thought he, as the fire of his youth again kindled his eye—“It
shall not be said that Sa-go-ye-wat-ha lived in insignificance, and
died in dishonor. Am I too feeble to revenge myself of my enemies? Am I
not as I have been?”
Another council was called, on which occasion his sense of wrong and
humiliation inspired him with something of his former pathos and
earnestness, and he said:
“Brothers:—You have been correctly informed of an attempt to make me
sit down, and throw off the authority of a Chief, by twenty-six
misguided Chiefs of my nation. You have heard the statements of my
associates in council, and their explanations of the charges brought
against me. I have taken the legal and proper way to meet those
charges. It is the only way in which I could notice them. They are
charges which I despise, and which nothing could induce me to notice,
but the concern many of the respected Chiefs of my nation feel
concerning their aged comrade. Were it otherwise, I should not appear
before you; I would fold my arms, and sit quietly under these
ridiculous slanders. The Christian party have not even proceeded
legally, according to our usages, to put me down. Ah! it grieves my
heart when I look around and see the situation of my people—in old
times, united and powerful—now, divided and feeble. I feel sorry for my
nation. When I am gone to the other world—when the Great Spirit calls
me away—who among my people can take my place? Many years have I guided
the nation.”
He was restored to his former rank, but the excitement of the occasion
being over, he sank into a state of almost imbecility and stupor, and
was never again the Sa-go-ye-wat-ha of old, nor ever again exhibited
the fire and energy of former days.
He was taken suddenly ill in the Council House, of cholera morbus,
where he had gone that day dressed with more than ordinary care, with
all his gay apparel and ornaments. When he returned he said to his
wife, “I am sick; I could not stay till the council had finished. I
shall never recover.” He then took off all his rich costume and laid it
carefully away; reclined himself upon his couch, and did not rise again
till morning, or speak except to answer some slight question. His wife
prepared him medicine which he patiently took, but said, “It will do no
good. I shall die.” The next day he called her to him, and requested
her and the little girl he loved so much to sit beside him, and listen
to his parting words.
“I am going to die,” he said. “I shall never leave the house again
alive. I wish to thank you for your kindness to me. You have loved me.
You have always prepared my food, and taken care of my clothes, and
been patient with me. I am sorry I ever treated you unkindly. I am
sorry I left you, because of your new religion, and am convinced that
it is a good religion and has made you a better woman, and wish you to
persevere in it. I should like to have lived a little longer for your
sake. I meant to build you a new house and make you more comfortable,
but it is now too late. But I hope my daughter will remember what I
have so often told her—not to go in the streets with strangers, or
associate with improper persons. She must stay with her mother, and
grow up a respectable woman.
“When I am dead, it will be noised abroad through all the world—they
will hear of it across the great waters, and say, ‘Red Jacket, the
great orator, is dead.’ And white men will come and ask you for my
body. They will wish to bury me. But do not let them take me. Clothe me
in my simplest dress—put on my leggins and my moccasins, and hang the
cross which I have worn so long, around my neck, and let it lie upon my
bosom. Then bury me among my people. Neither do I wish to be buried
with Pagan rites. I wish the ceremonies to be as you like, according to
the customs of your new religion if you choose. Your minister says the
dead will rise. Perhaps they will. If they do, I wish to rise with my
old comrades. I do not wish to rise among pale-faces. I wish to be
surrounded by red men. Do not make a feast according to the customs of
the Indians. Whenever my friends chose, they could come and feast with
me when I was well, and I do not wish those who have never eaten with
me in my cabin, to surfeit at my funeral feast.”
When he had finished, he laid himself again upon the couch and did not
rise again. He lived several days, but was most of the time in a stupor
or else delirious. He often asked for Mr. Harris, the missionary, and
afterwards would unconsciously mutter—“I do not hate him—he thinks I
hate him, but I do not. I would not hurt him.” The missionary was sent
for repeatedly, but did not return till he was dead. When the messenger
told him Mr. Harris had not come, he replied, “Very well. The Great
Spirit will order it as he sees best, whether I have an opportunity to
speak with him.” Again he would murmur, “He accused me of being a
snake, and trying to bite somebody. This was very true, and I wish to
repent and make satisfaction.”
Whether it was Mr. Harris that he referred to all the time he was
talking in this way could not be ascertained, as he did not seem to
comprehend if any direct question was put to him, but from his remarks,
and his known enmity to him, this was the natural supposition.
Sometimes he would think he saw some of his old companions around him,
and exclaim, “There is Farmer’s Brother; why does he trouble me—why
does he stand there looking at me?” then he would again sink into a
stupor.
The cross which he wore was a very rich one of stones set in gold, and
very large; it was given to him, but by whom his friends never knew.
This was all the ornament which he requested should be buried with him.
It was a universal custom among the Indians to make funeral feasts. No
family was so poor that they did not endeavor to honor the dead in this
manner. If a cow was all they possessed, it was slaughtered on this
occasion. Red Jacket commanded that there should be nothing of the kind
for him. A pagan funeral for a distinguished person is a very pompous
affair. It continues for ten days, and every night a fire is kindled at
the grave, and around it the mourners gather and utter piteous wails.
It is foolish and heathenish, too, but scarcely more so than the custom
among the ultra refined of spending a little fortune upon a peculiar
dress, to be worn so many days or years—and it is not very long since
Christian people thought it a testimony of their regard for the dead,
or a necessary and solemn warning to the living, to place death’s heads
around the grave yard. It is all a relic of barbarism.
It certainly was a great step in the march of progress, that Red Jacket
should abjure these pagan rites. After a life of sworn enmity to
Christianity, that the example, the quiet unobtrusive example of a
Christian woman in her household, should so influence him concerning
Christianity, that he requested a Christian burial, and voluntarily and
formally expressed to her his approbation of her religion, and his
desire that she and her children should embrace it and live in
accordance with its requirements. If he had come in contact with none
but truly Christian men, he might in early life have been, not only a
nominal, but an experimental Christian, and all his noble gifts
consecrated to the elevation and redemption of his people.
The wife and daughter were the only ones to whom he spoke parting words
or gave a parting blessing; but as his last hour drew nigh, his family
all gathered around him, and mournful it was to think that the children
were not his own—his were all sleeping in the little churchyard where
he was soon to be laid—they were his step-children—the children of his
favorite wife. It has been somewhere stated that his first wife died
before him, but it is a mistake. She was living at the time of his
death. He never went to see her but once after he left her, and that
was about six months after their separation. He always asserted that he
did not condemn her upon suspicion, that he was satisfied of her guilt
before he deserted her. But he went once again to see her, thinking he
might be able to forgive her, and receive her again as his companion
for his children’s sake, but found it impossible. He revolted from the
thought of again calling her wife, and turned away never to see her
more.
So there were none around his dying bed but step-children. These he had
always loved and cherished, and they loved and honored him, for this
their mother had taught them. The wife sat by his pillow and rested her
hand upon his head. At his feet stood the two sons, who are now aged
and Christian men, and by his side the little girl, whose little hand
rested upon his withered and trembling palm. His last words were still,
“Where is the missionary?” and then he clasped the child to his bosom,
while she sobbed in anguish—her ears caught his hurried breathing—his
arms relaxed their hold—she looked up, and he was gone. There was
mourning in the household, and there was mourning among the people. The
orator, the great man of whom they were still proud, while they
lamented his degeneracy, was gone. He had been a true though mistaken
friend, and who would take his place!
He had requested that a vial of cold water might be placed in his hand,
when he was prepared for the burial, but the reason of the request no
one could divine. It was complied with, however, and all his wishes
strictly heeded. The funeral took place in the little mission church,
with appropriate but the most simple ceremonies; and he was buried in
the little mission burying-ground, at the gateway of what was once an
old fort, around him his own people—aged men, sachems, chiefs and
warriors, and little children.
A simple stone was erected to mark his grave, and the spot became a
resort for the traveller from far and near. Soon it began to be
desecrated, and his name disappeared from the marble, defaced by those
who wished to carry away some memento of having visited the chieftain’s
tomb. Some among those who knew and honored him, wished to remove his
remains to the new cemetery at Buffalo; but knowing or understanding
the tenacity of his friends concerning his being buried among white
people, they caused him to be disinterred and placed in a leaden
coffin, preparatory to a burial in a new spot. But ere their desire was
accomplished, his family had heard of what they considered the terrible
sacrilege, and immediately demanded that he should be given up. They
had removed from the Buffalo to the Cattaraugus reservation, and
therefore did not wish to bury him again in the mission church-yard, so
they brought every particle of the precious dust to their own dwelling,
where it still remains unburied. They almost felt as if he would rise
up to curse them, if they allowed him to lie side by side with those he
so cordially hated. He did not wish to rise with pale-faces; and
though, if we should meet him on the resurrection morn, we should
probably be able to discover no marked difference between his
complexion and our own, it is not strange he did not even wish to
mingle his red dust with that of his white foes.
It was one of his most emphatic predictions, that the “craft and
avarice of the white man would prevail;” and in less than nine years
after his death, every foot of “the ancient inheritance of the Senecas
was ceded to the white men, in exchange for a tract west of the
Mississippi.” Through the intervention of the Friends, as I have
elsewhere stated, this calamity was averted, and for the first and only
time, the Indians recovered their land, after it had been fraudulently
obtained.
There seemed for a time every prospect that the prophetic assertion of
the historian would be fulfilled—that “Red Jacket was the last of the
Senecas.” But there have been wise men and orators among them since,
and the present just and liberal policy of the State of New York, will
soon place education and cultivation within the reach of all, and they
are abundantly disposed to improve and enjoy the good gifts which are
bestowed upon them.
Schoolboys and collegians may find some other theme for their
eloquence, than “the last of the Mingoes wending his way towards the
setting sun,” for there is no longer any room to fear this dire
calamity.
The following is the inscription upon the stone at the head of his
grave:
SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA,
HE KEEPS THEM AWAKE.
RED JACKET,
CHIEF OF THE
WOLF TRIBE OF THE SENECAS.
Died, Jan. 20, 1830.
Aged, 78 years.