Part of George Grant's Journal.
Sept. 20, 1779.—I return to the 20th to follow Col. Butler, who left us at Kanadasago, and proceeded along the outlet of Seneca Lake for 8 miles and halted at Schoyerre, formerly destroyed by Col. Harper.
Sept. 21.—Early this morning a party of 200 men under the command of Maj. Scott was despatched to destroy corn, &c., the remainder with Col. Butler, proceeded on forward. Seven miles of the road was very bad, the land poor and barren, and no water. They then entered on an excellent swamp which produces fine timber, the soil exceeding rich and fertile. This extends for 4 miles, when they reached Caiuga Lake. This they crossed at a place wading it to their breasts in water, where they halted waiting for Maj. Scott and his party. As soon as they had joined, they proceeded along the side of the lake side, the land excellent, the timber large and the country level and well watered. Came to a habitation within one mile of Caiuga town and encamped 18 miles from Scoyerre.
Sept. 22.—Marched to Caiuga[150] one mile distant. This town is large and commodius, consisting of 50 houses mostly well built. The party went immediately to destroying corn, &c., with which this place abounds, but the water very bad and scarce. Here was found some salt of the Indians making from the Salt Springs[151] which are in this country. Found several muskets here, branded with the brand of the United States; also a few Regimental coats, blue, faced with white.
Sept. 23.—The most part of the day taken up in destroying scattering towns, corn, &c., within 2 or 3 miles all around this town. About 4 o'clock marched for another town[152] distant 4 miles but could not learn any name for it, and here halted for the night.
Sept. 24.—This morning went to destroying corn, beans, and orchards. Destroyed about 1500 Peach Trees, besides apple trees and other fruit trees. This town consisted of 13 houses. Then marched for 18 miles, the first 12 the land exceeding good, the other six not extraordinary.
Sept. 25.—Marched for 10-½ miles the road mostly bad, having to ascend and descend extreme steep and difficult mountains, then through thick and difficult swamps. Passed the end of Caiuga Lake and halted at De-ho-riss-kana-dia[153] which they found burnt and the corn partly destroyed. Here was found the Rev. Dr. Kirkland's horse, supposed to be left here by the party who destroyed the corn, &c.
Sept. 26.—Marched for 8-½ miles through the Great Swamp.
Sept. 27.—Marched for 17 miles, 15 of which was through the above swamp. Most part of the way, they had to steer by the sun, there not being the least semblance of a road or path. A man of this party died suddenly.
Sept. 28.—Marched for one mile and crossed the outlet (inlet) of Caiuga Lake, and came upon ground occupied by the army on the night of the 31st of August, from there to Kanawaholee,[154] where they joined the main body of Sullivan's army.
FOOTNOTES:
[140] Scawyace or Long Falls, an important Indian town of eighteen houses, located on the north bank of Seneca river at present site of Waterloo, in Seneca County. It was partially destroyed on August 8, during the advance of the army by a party of volunteers under Colonel Harper. George Grant mentions the fact of "several fish ponds abounding opposite the town." These were circular enclosures of stone from thirty to forty feet in diameter, built up on the rocky bed of the stream, where the water was neither very deep or rapid, so constructed as to permit the water to pass through, but to retain the fish.
[141] Gewauga, a small hamlet on the present site of Union Springs in the town of Springport, on the east side of Cayuga lake.
[142] Choharo.—This was the Tichero or St. Stephen of the Jesuit Relations, said to signify the place of rushes, located at the foot of Cayuga lake on the east side, at the exact point where the bridge of the Middle Turnpike left the east shore. The trail across the marsh followed the north bank of an ancient channel of the Seneca river, which at an early day took that course. The turnpike afterward followed substantially the line of the trail and crossed the present line of the Cayuga and Seneca canal three times between Mud Lock and the old Demont tavern on the opposite side of the marsh. The salt springs mentioned by Father Raffeix in 1672, were on the west side of the marsh about half a mile north of the N.Y.C. Rail Road bridge, and on the bank of the ancient river channel.
[143] Cayuga Castle, an Indian town containing fifteen very large houses of squared logs, located on the south line of the town of Springport in Cayuga County, on the north bank of Great Gully brook, and from one to two miles from the lake.
[144] Upper Cayuga, an Indian town of fourteen very large houses located near the north line of the town of Ledyard in Cayuga County, on the south bank of Great Gully brook, and as appears on the map, between one and two miles from the lake.
[145] East Cayuga, or Old Town, contained thirteen houses located in the south-east corner of the town of Springport, as indicated on the map, from three to four miles from the lake. A site in the south-west corner of Fleming was a site of this town at about this date.
[146] Chonodote, so named on Capt. Lodge's map, an Indian town of fourteen houses, on the site of present Aurora in Cayuga County; according to George Grant's journal it contained fifteen hundred peach trees.
[147] On the hill north of Ludlowville.
[148] The first of these falls was probably on Mill Creek, two and a half miles south-west of Northville; the second near Lake Ridge in the town of Lansing.
[149] Coreorgonel was burned by the detachment under Colonel Dearborn. See his account September 24, and note 161.
[150] Goi-o-gouen, of the Jesuit Relations, and site of the Mission of St. Joseph, called also Cayuga Castle, and the same described as three towns by Thomas Grant under the names of Cayuga Castle, fifteen houses; upper Cayuga, containing fourteen houses; and Cayuga, containing thirteen houses. The houses were very much scattered, and on both sides of Great Gully brook on the south line of the town of Springport in Cayuga County. Greenhalgh, an English trader, passed through the Cayuga country in 1677, and found them there occupying "three towns about a mile distant from each other; they are not stockaded. They do consist in all of about one hundred houses and intend next Spring to build all their houses together and stockade them. They have abundance of corn, and lie within two or three miles of lake Tichero."
[151] These salt springs were located on the opposite side of the river from Choharo, see note 142. Luke Swetland, a prisoner in 1778, made salt at these springs, which he says was of excellent quality.
[152] Chonodote. See note 146.
[153] Coreorgonel, two miles south of Ithaca, destroyed by the detachment under Col. Dearborn on the 24th. See note 161.
[154] Kanawlohalla, on the site of present Elmira. See note 77.
MARCH OF COLONEL DEARBORN ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF CAYUGA LAKE.[ToC]
On the return march, after crossing the outlet of Seneca Lake east of Kanadaseaga, the army encamped on the high ground at Rose Hill, near the east shore of the lake. Here Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dearborn commanding the Third New Hampshire regiment, was detached with two hundred men and ordered to march along the west shore of Cayuga lake to co-operate with Colonel Butler in devastating the country of the Cayugas.
Colonel Dearborn was born in Hampton, N.H., in March, 1751. He was a captain at Bunker Hill, and accompanied Arnold in the march through the woods against Quebec, in which expedition he was captured. He was exchanged in 1777, and soon after was appointed Major of Scammel's regiment. At Saratoga he commanded a separate battalion under General Gates, and was afterwards at Monmouth, where he distinguished himself and the regiment by a gallant charge. In 1779 Colonel Scammel was acting as Adjutant General of the army, leaving Lieut. Colonel Dearborn in command of the regiment during Sullivan's campaign. He was at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, and afterward on garrison duty at Saratoga and West Point until 1784. He served two terms in Congress, was for eight years secretary of war under Jefferson, and in the war of 1812 was senior Major General of the army. In 1822 he was minister to Portugal, from whence he returned after two years' service, and died in Roxbury, Mass., June 6, 1829. After his death, his son, Henry Alexander Scammel Dearborn, collected and arranged the valuable papers of his father, transcribed the journals, which extended through the entire period of the revolution, and added important historical sketches, the whole making forty-five large volumes handsomely bound in morocco, the exterior approximating in elegance to the inestimable value of the material within. On the death of the son, all of these, excepting seven volumes, were taken apart, and the contents, made up of valuable autograph letters of the revolutionary period, scattered to the four winds by a sale at public auction. The original manuscript Journal of Sullivan's campaign fell into the hands of Dr. John H.S. Fogg, of Boston. The manuscript Orderly Book of Valley Forge, was purchased by John H. Osborne, Esq., of Auburn. The seven volumes, containing no autographs, were reserved at the sale and remain intact In one of these is the Journal kept during Sullivan's campaign, as transcribed by the son, of which the following is an extract: