Summary account of the Five Nations--Their early
history--Government--Conquests--Population--Territory--Intercourse with
European Colonies--Their war with the Adirondacks--Adventures of
Piskaret--Their negotiations with the French, in 1684--Anecdotes of the
Onondaga Chief, Garangula--His speech at the Council, and effects of
it--Remarks on his character--History of the Five Nations continued to
the time of Adario--His exploits--Their object and results--War between
the confederates and the French--Adventures of Black-Kettle.
Having concluded our notices of the most eminent Indians of New-England,
it now becomes proper, following merely the progress of history, to turn
our attention to another section of country, and to a period of time which
has not yet furnished us any considerable share of its abundant material.
We refer to the Middle States, and particularly to a large portion of the
State of New-York, which, with other neighboring territory, was formerly
occupied by that famous confederacy commonly called, by the English, the
Five Nations. Owing to circumstances not necessary here to be detailed,
these tribes--and, as an almost necessary consequence, all the
distinguished individuals they produced--came forward in their intercourse
with the foreign colonies around them, to fill the prominent station
before filled by the Indians of New-England, much as the latter had, in
their turn, succeeded the red men of the South.
The Five Nations were the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Cayugas, the Onondagas
and the Senecas. The Virginian Indians gave them the name of Massawomekes;
the Dutch called them Maquas, or Makakuase; and the French, Iroquois.
Their appellation at home was the Mingoes, and sometimes the Aganuschion,
or United People. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Governor Clinton's Discourse before N. Y. H. Society: 1811.
When the French settled in Canada, in 1603, they found the Iroquois living
where Montreal now stands. They were at war with the Adirondacks,--a
powerful tribe residing three hundred miles above Trois-Rivieres,--in
consequence of the latter having treacherously murdered some of their
young men. Previous to this date, their habits had been more agricultural
than warlike; but they soon perceived the necessity of adopting a
different system. The Adirondacks drove them from their own country, and
they retreated to the borders of the lakes, where they have ever since
lived. This misfortune it was,--ostensibly at least a misfortune,--which
gave the earliest impulse to the subsequent glorious career of these
Romans of the West.
Fortunately for them, their sachems were men of a genius and spirit which
adversity served only to stimulate and renew. They, finding their
country-men discouraged by the discomfiture suffered on the banks of the
St. Lawrence, induced them to turn their arms against a less formidable
nation, called the Satanas, then dwelling with themselves near the lakes.
That people they subdued, and expelled from their territory. Encouraged by
success, and strengthened by discipline, they next ventured to defend
themselves against the inroads of their old conquerers on the north; and
at length the Adirondacks were even driven back, in their turn, as far as
the neighborhood of what is now Quebec.
But a new emergency arose. The French made common cause with the nation
just named against their enemies, and brought to the contest the important
aids of civilized science and art. The Five Nations had now to set wisdom
and wariness, as well as courage and discipline, against an alliance so
powerful. Their captains came forward again, and taught them the policy of
fighting in small parties, and of making amends for inferior force, by
surprisal and stratagem. The result was, that the Adirondacks were nearly
exterminated, while the Iroquois, proudly exalting themselves on their
overthrow, grew rapidly to be the leading tribe of the whole north, and
finally of the whole continent.
The efforts necessary to attain that ascendant, may be fairly estimated
from the character of the first vanquisher and the first victim. The
Adirondacks fought long and desperately. In the end they adopted their
adversaries' plan of sending out small parties, and of relying especially
on their captains. Five of these men, alone, are said, by their
astonishing energy and bravery to have well nigh turned the balance of the
war.
One of the number was Piskaret, in his own day the most celebrated
chieftain of the north. He and his four comrades solemnly devoted
themselves to the purpose of redeeming the sullied glory of the nation, at
a period when the prospect of conquest, and perhaps of defence, had
already become desperate. They set out for Trois Rivieres in one canoe;
each of them being provided with three muskets, which they loaded
severally with two bullets, connected by a small chain ten inches in
length. In Sorel River, they met with five boats of the Iroquois, each
having on board ten men. As the parties rapidly came together, the
Adirondacks pretended to give themselves up for lost, and began howling
the death-song. This was continued till their enemy was just at hand. They
then suddenly ceased singing, and fired simultaneously on the five canoes.
The charge was repeated with the arms which lay ready loaded, and the
slight birches of the Iroquois were torn asunder, and the frightened
occupants tumbled overboard as fast as possible. Piskaret and his
comrades, after knocking as many of them on the head as they pleased,
reserved the remainder to feed their revenge, which was soon afterwards
done by burning them alive in the most cruel tortures.
This exploit, creditable as it might be to the actors in the eyes of their
countrymen, served only to sharpen the fierce eagerness for blood which
still raged in the bosom of Piskaret. His next enterprise was far more
hazardous than the former; and so much more so, indeed, even in prospect,
that not a single warrior would bear him company. He set out alone,
therefore for the country of the Five Nations, (with which he was well
acquainted,) about that period, of the spring when the snow was beginning
to melt. Accustomed, as an Indian must be, to all emergencies of traveling
as well as warfare, he took the precaution of putting the hinder part of
his snow-shoes forward, so that if his footsteps should happen to be
observed by his vigilant enemy, it might be supposed he was gone the
contrary way. For further security he went along the ridges and high
grounds, where the snow was melted, that his track might be lost.
On coming near one of the villages of the Five Nations, he concealed
himself until night, and then entered a cabin, while the inmates were fast
asleep, murdered the whole family, and carried the scalps to his
lurking-place. The next day, the people of the village sought for the
murderer, but in vain. He came out again at midnight, and repeated his
deed of blood. The third night, a watch was kept in every house, and
Piskaret was compelled to exercise more caution. But his purpose was not
abandoned. He bundled up the scalps he had already taken to carry home
with him as a proof of his victory, and then stole warily from house to
house, until he at last discovered an Indian nodding at his post. This man
he despatched at a blow, but that blow alarmed the neighborhood, and he
was forced immediately to fly for his life. Being, however, the fleetest
Indian then alive, he was under no apprehension of danger from the chase.
He suffered his pursuers to approach him from time to time, and then
suddenly darted away from them, hoping in this manner to discourage as
well as escape them. When the evening came on, he hid himself; and his
enemies stopped to rest. Feeling no danger from a single enemy, and he a
fugitive, they even indulged themselves in sleep. Piskaret, who watched
every movement, turned about, knocked every man of them on the head, added
their scalps to his bundle, and leisurely resumed his way home.
To return to the Five Nations. The career of victory, which began with the
fall of the Adirondacks, was destined to be extended beyond all precedent
in the history of the Indian tribes. They exterminated the Eries or
Erigas, once living on the south side of the lake of their own name. They
nearly destroyed the powerful Anderstez, and the Chouanons or Showanons.
They drove back the Hurons and Ottawas among the Sioux of the Upper
Mississippi, where they separated themselves into bands, "proclaiming,
wherever they went the terror of the Iroquois." [FN-1] The Illinois on the
west also were subdued, with the Miamies and the Shawanese. The
Nipeneneans of the St Lawrence fled to Hudson's Bay, to avoid their fury.
"The borders of the Outaouis," says an historian, "which were long thickly
peopled, became almost deserted." [FN-2] The Mohawk was a name of terror
to the farthest tribes of New-England; and though but one of that
formidable people should appear for a moment on the hills of the
Connecticut or Massachusetts, the villages below would be in an uproar of
confusion and fear. Finally they conquered the tribe of Virginia, west of
the Alleghenies; and warred against the Catawbas, Cherokees, and most of
the nations of the South.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Herriot's History of Canada.
[FN-2] Ibid.
The result of this series of conquests, was, that the Five Nations finally
became entitled, or at least laid claim to all the territory not sold to
the English, from the mouth of Sorel River, on the south side of lakes
Erie and Ontario, on both sides of the Ohio, until it falls into the
Mississippi; and on the north side of these lakes, the whole tract between
the Outawas River and lake Huron. [FN] The historian, Douglas, estimates
their territory at about 1200 miles in length, from north to south, and
from 700 to 800 miles in breadth.
* * * * *
[FN] Smith's History of New-York.
The most moderate account of their population we have seen, was published
by an agent of Virginia, who held a conference at Albany with the chiefs,
in 1677. The warriors were then numbered as follows:
Mohawks, 300
Oneidas, 200
Onondagas, 350
Cayugas, 300
Senecas, 1000
____
Total, 2150
This would make the whole population about 7000. Even so late as the
Revolutionary war, the British had in their service, according to the
calculation of their own agents:
Mohawks, 300
Oneidas, 150
Onondagas, 300
Cayugas, 230
Senecas, 400
To which must be added 200 Tuscaroras--a tribe expelled from North
Carolina in 1712, and received by the five Nations, to constitute a sixth
member of the Confederacy. We must also add 220 warriors who adhered to
the United States. The whole number actually engaged in the contest would
then amount to 1800.
The Five Nations entered into a treaty of peace with the Dutch soon after
their settlement in New-York. They treated with the English subsequently
on the same terms; and this memorable engagement remained inviolate for
more than a century, during all the revolutions and machinations of the
French and English governments, on either side. With the former of these
people they were often at war.
About the year 1684, the French availed themselves of a peace with the
Five Nations to build forts at several important places on the northern
waters, and to make many arrangements for extending their dominion and
commerce among the numerous tribes of the north and west. Their only
opposition came from the Confederates. The Senecas who were the most
numerous and the nearest, were particularly troublesome in cutting off
supplies of ammunition, sent by the French among their tribes, who hunted
for them. At length, M. De la Barre, the Governor of Canada, complained of
these injuries to the English, who were known to have great influence over
their Indian allies. Meanwhile he took vigorous measures for frightening
the Five Nations into friendship. He ordered his vessels on the lakes to
be repaired; and collected at Cadaraqui fort all the forces of Canada. But
the nature of the soil at this station, where he was detained six weeks in
the heat of summer, occasioned sickness and embarrassment in his army, and
he found the prospect utterly hopeless of effecting any thing, unless it
might be by treaty. He sent messengers, therefore, to some of the Five
Nations, to induce a negotiation.
These movements the English Commander at Albany, Colonel Dungan, exerted
himself to counteract. The Mohawks and Senecas promised him that they
would not go near the French. But the remaining three tribes would not
even hear the messages he sent them, except in presence of the priests and
other deputies who had already brought an invitation from the French
Governor to meet him in Council, at Kaihohage. [FN-1] "Should we not go to
him after all this entreaty," said they in answer to the English, "when he
is come so far, and so near to us? Certainly. If we do not, we shall
deserve no favour. You say we are subjects to the King of England and the
Duke of York. _We_ say we are brethren, and take care of ourselves."
[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] On Lake Ontario, and called by the French La-Famine.
[FN-2] Colden's History of the Five Nations.
The event justified this independence. The most distinguished of the
confederate chieftains was Garangula, the pride of the Onondaga tribe. He
was now advanced in years, but had lost nothing of his energies. Taking
thirty warriors with him, he went with La Maine, the French Deputy, to
meet the Canadian Governor at Kaihohage. At the end of two days after
reaching that place, a Council was held. The French officers formed a
semi-circle on one side, which the Indians completed on the other; and the
Governor then addressed himself to Garangula.
"The King, my master," he began, "being informed that the Five Nations
have often infringed the peace, has ordered me to come hither with a
guard, and to send Ohguesse (La Maine) to the Onondagas, to bring the
Chief Sachem to my camp." He then went on to require Garangula,--as a
condition precedent to the treaty which might be granted him,--to promise,
in the name of the Five Nations, that entire reparation should be given
the French for the past, and entire security for the future. In case of
refusal, they were threatened with war. Again, they were charged with
violence committed upon the French traders, and upon Indian nations under
French protection; and with having introduced the English to trade in the
neighborhood of the lakes. This also was cause of war. Finally, said the
Governor, with no very scrupulous regard to truth, upon one point at
least, "I shall be extremely grieved if my words do not produce the effect
I anticipate from them; for then I shall be obliged to join with the
Governor of New-York, _who is commanded by his master to assist me,_ and
burn the castles of the Five Nations, and destroy you."
This crafty speech was designed to strike a terror into the Indians; and
Garangula was undoubtedly surprised by a style of expression which
contrasted so strongly with the smooth and soft words of La Maine and the
priests. But fear never entered his bosom; and he had the additional
advantage of good information respecting the true state of the French
Army. He knew that the Governor's insolence proceeded in fact from his
impotence; bravado was his last resort. During the speech, however, he
manifested no emotion of any kind, but kept his eyes composedly fixed on
the end of his own pipe. But the moment the Governor had ceased, he rose
up, walked five or six times about the council-circle, and then returned
to his place, where he spoke standing, while La Barre remained in his
elbow-chair.
"Yonondio!" he began--addressing the Governor by the title always given to
that Canadian officer by the Five Nations--"Yonondio!--I honor you, and
the warriors that are with me all likewise honor you. Your interpreter has
finished your speech; I now begin mine. My words make haste to reach your
ears. Hearken to them.
"Yonondio!--You must have believed when you left Quebec, that the sun had
burnt up all the forests, which render our country inaccessible to the
French, or that the lakes had so far overflown the banks, that they had
surrounded our castles, and that it was impossible for us to get out of
them. Yes, surely you must have dreamed so, and the curiosity of seeing so
great a wonder, has bought you so far. _Now_ you are undeceived. I and the
warriors here present, are come to assure you, that the Senecas, Cayugas,
Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks are yet alive. I thank you in their name,
for bringing back into their country the calumet, which your predecessor
received from their hands. It was happy for you, that you left under
ground that murdering hatchet, so often dyed in the blood of the French.
"Hear, Yonondio!--I do not sleep. I have my eyes open. The sun, which
enlightens me, discovers to me a great captain at the head of a company of
soldiers, who speaks as if he were dreaming. He says, that he only came to
the lake to smoke on the great calumet with the Onondagas. But _Garangula_
says, that he sees the contrary; that it was to knock them on the head, if
sickness had not weakened the arms of the French. I see Yonondio raving in
a camp of sick men, whose lives the Great Spirit has saved by inflicting
this sickness on them.
"Hear Yonondio!--Our women had taken their clubs, our children and old men
had carried their bows and arrows into the heart of your camp, if our
warriors had not disarmed them, and kept them back, when your messenger
came to our castles. It is done and I have said it.
"Hear, Yonondio!--We plundered none of the French, but those that carried
guns, powder and balls to the Twightwies and Chictaghicks, because those
arms might have cost us our lives. Herein we follow the example of the
Jesuits, who break all the kegs of rum brought to our castles, lest the
drunken Indians should knock them on the head. Our warriors have not
beaver enough to pay for all the arms they have taken, and our old men are
not afraid of the war. This belt preserves my words.
"We carried the English into our lakes, to trade there with the Utawawas
and Quatoghies, as the Adirondacks brought the French to our castles, to
carry on a trade, which the English say is theirs. We are born free. We
neither depend on Yonondio nor Corlear. [FN] We may go where we please,
and carry with us whom we please, and buy and sell what we please. If your
allies be your slaves, use them as such, command them to receive no other
but your people. This belt preserves my words."
* * * * *
[FN] The name they gave the Governor of New-York.
"We knock the Twightwies and Chictaghicks on the head, because they had
cut down the trees of peace, which were the limits of our country. They
have hunted beaver on our lands. They have acted contrary to the customs
of all Indians, for they left none of the beavers alive,--they killed both
male and female. They brought the Satanas into their country, to take part
with them, after they had concerted ill designs against us. We have done
less than either the English or French, that have usurped the lands of so
many Indian nations, and chased them from their own country. This belt
preserves my words.
"Hear, Yonondio!--What I say is the voice of all the Five Nations. Hear
what they answer. Open your ears to what they speak. The Senecas, Cayugas,
Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks say, that when they buried the hatchet at
Cadarackui, in the presence of your predecessor, in the middle of the
fort, they planted the tree of peace in the same place, to be there
carefully preserved. That in the place of a retreat for soldiers, that
fort might be a rendezvous for merchants; that in place of arms and
ammunition of war, beavers and merchandize should only enter there.
"Hear, Yonondio!--Take care for the future that so great a number of
soldiers as appear there, do not choke the tree of peace planted in so
small a fort. It will be a great loss, if, after it had so easily taken
root, you should stop its growth, and prevent its covering your country
and ours with its branches. I assure you, in the name of the Five Nations,
that our warriors shall dance to the calumet of peace under its leaves.
They shall remain quiet on their mats, and shall never dig up the hatchet,
till their brother Yonondio, or Corlear, shall either jointly or
separately endeavor to attack the country, which the Great Spirit has
given to our ancestors. This belt preserves my words, and this other the
authority which the Five Nations have given me."
Here the orator paused for a moment, and then addressed himself to
Monsieur Le Maine, who stood near him, acting as interpreter. "Take
courage, Ohguesse!" said he, "You have spirit--Speak! Explain my words.
Forget nothing. Tell all that your brethren and friends say to Yonondio,
your Governor, by the mouth of Garangula, who loves you, and desires you
to accept of this present of beaver, and take part with me in my feast, to
which I invite you. This present of beaver is sent to Yonondio, on the
part of the Five Nations."
When this harangue was explained to the Governor, he quietly left the
council, and withdrew to his tent, disappointed and much incensed.
Garangula, on the other hand, feasted the French officers, and then went
home. Nothing more was heard of the treaty; and the French troops, who had
been ordered out, soon after made the best of their way to their own
habitations.
The genuineness of the speech we have given above, seems to be past
dispute. It was recorded on the spot by that enlightened historian, Baron
La Hontan, from whom Colden and other subsequent writers have borrowed it.
Considering the circumstances under which it was delivered, and especially
the surprise practiced by the Governor, it may certainly be regarded as an
evidence of astonishing sagacity, spirit, and self-possession. Its proud
courtesy, so different from the Frenchman's boisterous parade of idle
threats, only adds to the sting of its sarcasm, as the imagery gives
weight to the argument. An illustrious statesman and scholar has placed it
in the same rank with the celebrated speech of Logan. [FN] But the fame of
Garangula must, at all events, rest upon this effort, for history makes no
mention of him subsequent to the council of Kaihohage.
* * * * *
[FN] Discourse of Gov. Clinton.
About three years after that transaction, another personage distinguished
himself as much as the Onondaga Chief, though in a very different manner.
This was Adario, Chief Sachem of the Dinondadies, a tribe generally found
among those in the French interest, and opposed both to the Five Nations
and the English. The former Government had consequently treated them with
favor. But, notwithstanding these circumstances, they had latterly shown a
strong disposition to trade with the English--and especially upon one
occasion, when the latter, guided by the Five Nations, had opened a
commerce on the frontiers of Canada. That affair, as Adario now observed,
made them obnoxious to their ancient ally, the French; and he therefore
resolved, by some notable exploit, to redeem the character of his nation.
Full of this purpose, he marched from Michilimackinac, at the head of a
hundred men; and to act with the greater security, he took Cadaraqui fort
in his way, for intelligence. The Commandant there informed him, that the
Governor was now in expectation of concluding a peace with the Five
Nations, and of receiving a visit from their ambassadors in eight or ten
days, at Montreal. He desired him to return home, without attempting any
thing which might obstruct so good a design.
But Adario had another project in view. The Commandant's information
convinced him of the danger there was that his own nation, in the new
arrangement, might be sacrificed to the French interest. Deliberating on
the means proper to prevent such a result, he took leave of the officer,
but not to return home. Knowing the route by which the Iroquois must
necessarily come, he lay wait for them, with his company, at one of the
falls of Cadaraqui river. Here he had patiently waited four or five days,
when the Deputies made their appearance, guarded by forty young soldiers.
These were suddenly set upon by the ambuscade, and all who were not killed
were taken prisoners. When the latter were secured, Adario artfully told
them, that, _having been informed of their approach by the Governor of
Canada,_ he had secured this pass with the almost certain prospect of
intercepting them.
The Deputies were of course very much surprised at the Governor's conduct;
and they finally expressed themselves with such freedom, as to declare the
whole object of their journey. Adario was, in his turn, apparently amazed
and enraged. He swore revenge upon the Governor, for having, as he said,
made a tool of _him,_ to commit his abominable treachery. Then, looking
steadfastly on the prisoners, he said to them, "Go, my brothers!--I untie
your hands. I send you home again, though our nations be at war. The
French Governor has made me commit so black an action, that I shall never
be easy after it, till the Five Nations shall have had full revenge." The
Deputies, furnished with ammunition and arms for their journey, and
completely satisfied of the truth of Adario's declarations, returned to
their own country, after having assured him that he and his nation might
make _their_ peace when they pleased.
This master-stroke of policy was seconded by an incident which occurred
soon afterwards, and which the same cunning and vigilant spirit profited
by to promote his design. In the surprisal of the Deputies, Adario had
lost one man, and had filled his place with a Satana prisoner, who had
been before adopted into the Five Nations. This man he soon afterwards
delivered to the French at Michilimackinac, probably at their request; and
they, for the purpose of keeping up the enmity between the Dinondadies and
Five Nations, ordered him to be shot. Adario called one of the latter
people, who had long been a prisoner, to be an eye-witness of his
countryman's death. He then bade him make his escape to his own country,
and there to give an account of the ferocious barbarity from which _he_
had been unable to save a captive belonging to himself.
The Five Nations had already been upon the brink of war, in consequence of
the representations of the Deputies. Their rage was now beyond all bounds.
The Governor, having obtained some information of the state of things,
sent messengers to disavow and expose the conduct of Adario; but they
would listen to no messages; their souls thirsted for revenge. The war was
undertaken immediately, and never was one more disastrous to Canada.
Twelve hundred of the Iroquois invaded the province, while the French were
still uncertain whether hostilities would commence. In July, 1688, they
landed at La Chine, on the south side of the island of Montreal; and,
keeping the Governor himself, with his troops, confined within the walls
of the town, they sacked all the plantations, and indiscriminately
massacred men, women, and children. More than one thousand of the French
were killed, and many were carried off captive, who afterwards shared the
same fate. The Indian army lost but three men during the whole expedition.
The most distinguished of the Iroquois warriors about this time, was one
whom the English called Black-Kettle. Colden speaks of him as a famous
hero; but few of his exploits have come down to these, times. It is only
known that he commanded large parties of his countrymen, who were
exceedingly troublesome to the French. In 1691, he made an irruption into
the country round Montreal, at the head of several hundred men. He overran
Canada, (say the French annalists,) as a torrent does the low lands, when
it overflows its banks, and there is no withstanding it. The troops at the
stations received orders to stand upon the defensive; and it was not until
the enemy were returning home victorious, after having desolated all
Canada, that a force of four hundred soldiers was mustered to pursue them.
Black-Kettle is said to have had but half that number with him at this
juncture, but he gave battle, and fought desperately. After losing twenty
men slain, with some prisoners, he broke through the French ranks and
marched off, leaving a considerable number of the enemy wounded and killed.