THE SIX NATIONS.
On the breaking out of the War of Independence, the Six Nations were in alliance with the British government, and under the influence of Sir John and Colonel Guy Johnson. As before intimated, they were led to take part in the hostilities against the colonies. The Indians were now living on the extended tract of country up the Mohawk valley, and reaching beyond the small lakes in the western part of the State of New York. The Mohawks had their principal seat in the vicinity of Johnstown; that of the Oneidas was near Lake Oneida, and called Oneida Castle; the Onondagas dwelt in the country around the lake which bears their name. Onondaga Castle, as it was called, was the centre of the confederacy, and here was the grand council-house where the council-fire was kept perpetually burning. The Cayugas were still further west, near Lake Cayuga, and the Senecas beyond them.
These nations had villages of well constructed huts, fine orchards, and fruitful fields. Through the influence of the English, they had considerably advanced in civilization, and had gathered round them many comforts. The colonists felt a deep interest as to the part which these nations were to take in the opening contest; and negotiations were early entered into with them, to secure, if not their alliance and friendship, at least their neutrality. This was, undoubtedly, the wisest position for the Six Nations to take, and the Oneidas, influenced by the persuasions of their good missionary, Kirkland, agreed to adopt it. The other nations, no doubt, might have been induced to do the same, had it not been for the great weight of Sir John Johnson’s influence with them, enforced by the presents received from the British governor of Canada, while the colonists were poor, and unable to win them, by the same means, to their cause. The early successes of the Americans, however, kept them quiet for a time, as they were afraid to venture on open hostilities. The Mohawks met in council, in 1775, at Guy Park, the seat of Colonel Guy Johnson, near the Mohawk. Their principal speaker there was Little Abraham, the brother of Hendrick. Delegates, also, from Albany and Tryon counties attended. These expressed their desire to maintain friendship with the inhabitants; but still the influence of Colonel Johnson operated unfavorably for the interest of the colonies.
The Oneidas and Tuscaroras, likewise, met at German Flats, with a committee from the two counties, and the pledge of neutrality was there given. Colonel Johnson convened another council soon after, composed chiefly of the Cayugas and Senecas, the most numerous of the Six Nations. At this meeting, the minds of the Indians were seriously alienated from the Americans; still, they continued to receive the various commissioners sent them by Congress, and professed a determination to preserve a neutrality in the opening war. The Mohawk leader, at this period, was Thayandaneca, or Joseph Brant,[9] so famous in the history of the time. His first active participation in the contest was in 1776, on the St. Lawrence, at the battle of the Cedars, ten miles above Montreal. He appeared there, it is said, at the head of 600 Indians, principally the Caughnawagas, and other tribes not including the Six Nations. The fact was scarcely known at that time by the Americans, who yet hoped to be able to preserve themselves from the open attacks of so formidable a foe.
The division of opinion and feeling among the tribes, on the subject of the part to be taken in the war, was the cause of the dissolution, in 1777, of the confederacy of the Six Nations, which had so long existed, and which had contributed so much to their strength and civilization. The announcement of the rupture was made in a characteristic manner. Addressing Colonel Elmore, the officer in command at Fort Stanwix, the Oneida chiefs said, “Brother, we are sent here by the Oneida chiefs in conjunction with the Onondagas. They arrived at our village yesterday. They have brought us the melancholy news that the grand council-fire at Onondaga is extinguished. We have lost out of their town 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.” They then requested that this intelligence should be forwarded to various American officers, and also to the Mohawks.
We cannot but feel a melancholy regret at thus witnessing the dissolution of this ancient confederation, which had so long bound them together like brethren, and under the influence of which they had made a more rapid advance in improvement than any of the contemporaneous nations of their race. Henceforth they appear as separate tribes, and often in arms against each other. From this point may be dated their degeneracy, which has at last left them but the recollection of their former greatness, while they are scattered far from their ancient seats of power and the graves of their sires.
Our history, hereafter, is more especially concerned with the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. A great council was held at Oswego, in which these Indians, with Brant, as their now acknowledged leader, took part with other tribes from the west. Engagements to aid the British cause were entered into, and, consequently, Colonel St. Leger, about the time that General Burgoyne began his invading expedition by way of Lake Champlain, also set out with his force of British and Canadian troops and Indian allies from Oswego, to coöperate with Burgoyne, by passing down the Mohawk valley, and meeting him near Albany. As Fort Schuyler lay in his way, it was besieged on the 3d of August, 1777. The Indians, concealing themselves behind clumps of trees, greatly annoyed the garrison with their fire, while throwing up parapets for their defence. To relieve Fort Schuyler, thus assailed, General Herkimer was sent forward from below. He apprised Colonel Gansevoort, the commander, of his approach, and urged his coöperation. Measures for this purpose were concerted, but delay prevented the union being effected before the enemy made their appearance at Oriskany. Here a severe battle was fought, and greatly to the disadvantage of the Americans in the outset, though they were finally victorious. The Indians bore a prominent part in this dreadful contest. It is said the Senecas were first intoxicated, and in this condition lured into the battle, under the idea that they were only to smoke their pipes, and see the British whip the rebels. Their loss was great, many of them being killed and wounded. It is supposed, that, on this occasion, a large force was led on by Brant, consisting principally of Cayugas, Senecas, and Mohawks.
On the 3d of December in the same year, Congress made another effort to divert the Six Nations from the British service, but without effect. The Indians now wholly threw off the mask, and sent out various parties to attack the settlements. Severe skirmishes took place, among which may be mentioned the battle of Cobelskill between a party of regular troops and Schoharie militia, fifty-two in all, and a body of Indians 450 strong. The latter were victorious, and the Americans retreated, with the loss of fourteen killed, eight wounded, and two missing. The Indians then burned several houses, destroyed all the horses and cattle which they could not drive away, and took considerable other plunder. Strolling bands were continually prowling about the valley of Schoharie and other exposed situations, and many persons were killed or carried off as captives.
Among the expeditions of this period, in which Brant and the Six Nations, as they were still called, though embracing only four of the tribes, were engaged, in alliance with the British, we may particularly notice those which resulted in the destruction of the German Flats, and the massacre at Cherry Valley. Yet the dreadful scenes at this latter place, as they are recorded in history, are too shocking for detail. Neither beauty, nor youth, nor innocence, nor age, nor piety, formed the slightest protection against the ferocity of the savages and their worse than savage instigators. Every dwelling and barn in the village was set on fire, and thirty or forty prisoners, of all classes and both sexes, were marched off, half-naked and shivering, through the woods, to the distant post of Fort Niagara. On their return to the Seneca country, the savages celebrated their exploits by a dance of thanksgiving, sacrificing, as usual, a dog, and going through the various ceremonies of the scalp-yell, while brandishing their knives, and recounting their achievements in song.
In the autumn of 1778, occurred the celebrated massacre in the beautiful vale of Wyoming. This lovely spot was peopled with Germans and emigrants from New England, who lived in a state of enviable peace, comfort, and content. On the first of July, a force of 1,200 British and tories, with 400 Indians, appeared on the Susquehannah, and began their hostile operations. A brave resistance was made by the settlers, but they were at last overcome, and the whole valley became a scene of the most fearful desolation. These terrific events have acquired immortality from the pen of Campbell, who has made them his theme in the pathetic poem of “Wyoming.”[10]
The year 1779, which was distinguished by the war of the Western Indians, and the Shawanese and Delawares in the remote parts of Virginia, was also marked by the project of Brant for a combined attack on the friendly Oneidas. This led to an expedition to Onondaga, by the Americans, against that hostile tribe. The Indians abandoned their villages on the approach of the enemy, yet thirty-three of them were taken prisoners, and a few slain. Three villages, consisting of nearly fifty houses, were burned to the ground; a large amount of provisions was destroyed; a hundred muskets and rifles, with a considerable quantity of ammunition, constituted part of the booty.
The Onondagas now breathed vengeance, and 300 of their warriors poured down on the valley of the Schoharie, where they plundered and burnt Cobelskill, which had been settled by some twenty families, since its destruction a year or two previous. The Mohawks also burst suddenly on the town of Minisink, and laid waste the settlement, burning, killing, and plundering on every hand. A battle was fought between them and a force sent from Goshen and its vicinity. It lasted from 11 o’clock, A. M. till nightfall. The Americans, though superior in numbers, were defeated, and forced to retreat, owing to a successful ambuscade formed by the Indians, and the failure of ammunition.
A vigorous effort was now made by the Americans against the Senecas, the most numerous and ferocious of the Six Nations. General Sullivan, at the head of a large force, penetrated into their country, and destroyed forty towns and villages, some of them having fifty or a hundred houses, and one as many as a hundred and twenty-eight. He also destroyed 160,000 bushels of corn, and many extensive fields and beautiful orchards of fruit, some of them containing 1,500 trees. The lovely valley of the Genesee was thus transformed into a scene of desolation, and the nation was left houseless and destitute to encounter the severe winter of 1780. Previous to his reaching the Seneca country, however, a severe battle took place at Chemung, in which the Indians fought with determined bravery, though they were defeated, and lost many of their warriors. In another engagement at Newtown the whole force of the Senecas and the other Indians, variously computed at from 800 to 1,500, was routed with great slaughter. A tragic scene occurred at this period in the cruel death of Lieutenant Boyd, belonging to General Sullivan’s army, who, with a small party of men, was sent out on a scouting expedition. They were cut off by some Indians, and, being captured, the lieutenant was put to death with tortures too horrible to relate.
The destruction of the Seneca towns was not, however, suffered to pass without retaliation. The hostile Indians, aided by the British, in 1780, invaded the villages of the Oneidas, and entirely destroyed their castle, church, and dwellings; the Oneidas were thus driven, in their state of desolation, upon the white settlements for protection and aid. The American government gave them support, fixing them, till the close of the war, at Schenectady and its vicinity.
Numerous incursions were made, in the same year, by the Indians, led on by Brant, who burned Canajoharie, and took fifty-two prisoners, besides killing seventeen persons. One hundred and forty houses and barns were burned; twenty-four people killed, and seventy-three made prisoners.
The towns of Johnstown and Caughnawaga had recently been visited with the vengeance of the Indians, in connection with Sir John Johnson’s invasion of the seat of his ancient residence. The Senecas, however, were still unsated with revenge. Under Cornplanter, a famous chief of that nation, joined by Brant and some British troops, they again made their appearance in the valley of the Schoharie, with the intention of completing the work of destruction there. Some severe skirmishes ensued, but their purpose was in a great degree effected, and the whole region was left desolate. The Mohawk valley became the scene of a similar incursion. Here, however, the enemy was overtaken and defeated, in the battle of Klock’s Farm, and compelled to seek safety in flight.
In 1781, the Indians assisted at the battle of Durlagh, where, after a spirited attack and resistance, they were routed, leaving nearly forty dead on the field. In October, they were also present at the battle of Johnstown, and fought from noon till sunset, when they were finally forced to retreat; in the pursuit, Butler, the notorious leader in the Cherry Valley massacre, was killed. This was the last expedition in which they were engaged previous to the close of the American war.
In the articles of peace between the mother country and her former colonies, no provision had been made for the Indian allies of the English. The Mohawks, who had left their own country, were invited by the Senecas to take a tract of their territory; but they declined it, choosing, as they said, to sink or swim with the English. The latter then assigned them a domain on the north side of Lake Ontario, upon the Bay of Quinte. Not satisfied, however, with this, another, by their request, six miles on each side of the Grand River, from the mouth to its source, about forty miles above the Falls of Niagara, was bestowed on them.
In the mean time, the sachems and warriors of the Six Nations held a conference, in 1784, with the agents of the United States. There were present representatives from the Mohawks, Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras, and Seneca Abeal, or the Senecas of Cornplanter’s clan, on the Alleghany. In the treaty that was concluded, the Six Nations relinquished a portion of their territory, and were to be secured in possession of that which they then occupied. The treaty, however, did not satisfy the Indians, and both Red Jacket,[11] the noted Seneca orator, and Brant, the Mohawk chief, were highly displeased with its terms. A plan was laid by the latter for obtaining assistance from the English, in the event of a general Indian war with the United States, which he evidently had in contemplation.
Red Jacket.
Questions of boundary originated further difficulties between the new republic and the Indians. In December, 1786, a grand council was held at Huron village, attended by the Six Nations, the Hurons, Ottawas, Miamis, Shawanese, Chippewas, Cherokees, Delawares, Potawatomies, and Wabash confederates. An address to the United States was agreed upon, pacific in its character, but it closed by suggesting, that, in case their views were not concurred in, they should take the field to assert their claim by arms. Another council was held in 1788, at which Brant succeeded in making further advances toward hostilities; but the purpose of the Mohawk chief was, for the present, defeated by the treaties of General St. Clair with the Western Indians, at Fort Huron, in 1789.
In 1791, the Six Nations, after the defeat of General Harmar by the Western Indians, joined with them in sending a deputation to the British governor at Quebec, to inquire if British aid could be hoped for in the further prosecution of the war. They received, however, but little encouragement from him, and Cornplanter used his efforts to prevent the warriors of the Six Nations from taking part in the contest, and to persuade the Miamis to peace. These, and other efforts, were but partially successful; for, in the battle which soon after took place, resulting in the defeat of General St. Clair, it is said one hundred and fifty Mohawks, with their leader, were engaged.
Negotiations were carried on, however, during the early part of the year 1792; and in the autumn, Cornplanter, with forty-eight chiefs of the Six Nations, thirty chiefs and warriors of the Mohawks and Canada Indians, with others from tribes beyond the Canadian territory, visited the Miamis and held a council with a view to dissuade them from war. They succeeded only so far as to make them agree to suspend hostilities till spring, and then meet the United States in council for further deliberation.
The account of the transactions in Ohio, connected with these events, will be found in the history given of the Western Indians. The Six Nations desired, if possible, to bring about peace, and a number of councils were held, at which they were present; but their efforts were vain. In consequence of a claim being set up by Pennsylvania on Presque Isle, the Six Nations were induced to assume a hostile attitude toward the United States in 1794, and, probably, but for the interposition of Washington, withholding Pennsylvania from prosecuting her design, a collision would have been inevitable. The defeat of the Western Indians by General Wayne effectually quieted the Six Nations, and Jay’s treaty with Great Britain was soon followed by a general peace.
The Six Nations continued to reside in their respective territories. Missionaries were received among them, the Bible was translated into their language, and numbers were converted to Christianity. The pacific feelings of this period are indicated by the fact, that the Mohawks and Senecas met by mutual challenge for athletic exercises, especially for matches of ball and cricket, which they had learned from the whites, and in which they had become remarkably expert.
When the war between the United States and England broke out, in 1812, the Mohawks, led by John Brant, youngest son of the great chief, took part with the latter, and were present at a number of battles fought on the frontiers. The Senecas, and other tribes residing in the State of New York, were on the side of the Americans. More recently, numbers of them have removed to the West. But a feeble remnant of the once mighty confederacy is now to be found. They have, also, by repeated transfers, become so intermingled with other tribes, that it is difficult to trace them. By a recent report of the Indian Department, it appears, that, west of the Mississippi, there are about 251 Senecas from Sandusky, and 211 Senecas and Shawanese; the whole number of the New York Indians is estimated at 3,293. These probably include the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas, with such relics of other tribes as may be found within the limits of the State of New York. By repeated cessions and sales of former reservations, they are dispossessing themselves of their ancient abodes; and the time is not far distant when scarcely a solitary Indian will be found where they once spread terror by their numbers and valor, and excited admiration for their heroism and sagacity.
