In the Twelfth month, after a considerable snow had fallen, most of the Indians retired to the woods to their hunting grounds, many of them taking their families with them. Game was now plentiful. Some of their best hunters killed near one hundred deer, and some even more than that number; taking off the skins and leaving much of the meat scattered about in the woods. What was collected to their camps, was through much hardship and fatigue to their poor women, whose task it was to carry it on their backs through deep snows, and often over hills and mountains.
About the middle of the First month, they generally came home to their villages from their hunting excursions, when they made a feast, and performed their religious ceremonies and sacrifices.
In the course of this winter, a chief of the Cattaraugus village, another branch of the Seneca nation about forty-five miles distant, called on Friends at Alleghany. They had a favourable opportunity of impressing his mind with the advantages that would result to his people by cultivating their land, as they possessed a country so favourable for agriculture, and raising cattle and other useful animals. He informed Friends, they were very anxious to have a saw-mill built on their land, and wished to have somebody to instruct them how to go on with their business; that when they saw and heard what improvements were making at Alleghany, it made them anxious to go to work.
Soon after his return home, Friends received a written speech from the council at Cattaraugus, signed by six chiefs, in which they strongly solicited instructors to be sent among them, and also that they might be furnished with a set of saw-mill irons. This address being forwarded to the committee at Philadelphia, together with an account of their situation, it was concluded to furnish them with a set of saw-mill irons, whenever they should be ready to make use of them.
Early in the spring of 1799, more of a spirit of industry seemed to exhibit itself among some of the Indians, and several who were settled near Friends began to work at splitting rails, and fencing in lots of land, as they saw Friends fence in theirs. Some who inclined to work, that had no families, were employed at the business of the farm, and seemed capable of doing as much in a day as the generality of white people.
The use of whiskey and other strong drink had considerably decreased among the Indians, in the course of the last year, and many of their chiefs seemed desirous of preventing its introduction into their village. Notwithstanding which, as many of them went down the river in the spring to Pittsburgh and other places, to dispose of their skins, furs, &c. which they had taken during the late winter, they brought in return for their peltry, kegs full of this destructive article—although Friends had cautioned them against it, previous to their going away—with this many of them were for a considerable time intoxicated, so that little could be done in promoting their improvement while the liquor lasted.
It was believed expedient, from this affecting circumstance, to have their chiefs and principal men collected in council, and to remonstrate against such conduct as well as to encourage them to avail themselves of the present opportunity of gaining instruction in the cultivation of their land.
At this interview, Friends seriously expostulated with them on various subjects relative to their moral conduct, and endeavours were used seriously to impress on their minds the evil consequences of introducing so much strong liquor into their villages, and that it greatly obstructed their improvement in agriculture, because for it they bartered away their money and other articles with which they ought to purchase horses, and cattle, and implements of husbandry, to enable them to till their land; and that this operated as a serious discouragement to Friends in their arduous undertaking to instruct them.
The Indians appeared seriously attentive in this council, being convicted in their minds of the truth of what had been declared to them, and in a few days after, they met in council again, and informed Friends that they had seriously considered the subjects proposed to them, and that their chiefs had come to a resolution not to permit, for the future, any of their people to bring liquor into their villages to sell to one another; that they had appointed two young chiefs to watch over the rest, and to endeavour to promote good order among them—and they desired Friends to be easy in their minds respecting them, for they were determined to take their advice and try to do better; that they had made inquiry among themselves, and could find no fault in Friends, or discover any fraud in any of their actions, but on the contrary, that the fault and bad conduct had all been on their own side, but now they were determined to quit those bad practices, and to assist their women in the labours of the field.
A set of smith’s tools was procured, and a smith shop erected at Friends’ settlement this season, which was found useful in repairing the Indians’ tools. In the course of this summer, divers of the men assisted their women in the labours of the field. Their crops of corn were larger than they had been before; but as yet, none of them had attempted to use the plough for themselves, though Friends had ploughed some small lots for them with which they were much pleased, and a hope was entertained that the next year some of them would take hold of the plough and commence farming. A school house was built at Cornplanter’s village, and the Friend stationed there, continued through the summer, instructing the children, and otherwise affording aid and counsel to the Indians—and two Friends at Genesinguhta, besides setting the Indians a proper example in the improvement of their own farm, afforded them assistance and instruction in many ways, as convenient opportunities presented, and many of the Indians by this time had built good log houses, and generally covered them with shingles. Cornplanter had a saw-mill of his own, worked on the shares by a white man; this afforded the Indians an opportunity of procuring boards to complete their houses.