This tax collector's raid would afford a fine subject for a painter: the romantic scenery of the Allegheny river, the old warrior's wigwam, the rifles arranged around it, the Indians in the bush, the last war-whoop of the old Chief as he called his men to the rescue—worthy of perpetuation as the expiring flash of the warlike fire of the last War Chief of his tribe.
Thomas Struthers, Esq., of Warren, was well acquainted with Cornplanter; at my request, he has furnished the following statement of an interview he had with the Chief in 1831: "In 1831, I accompanied some gentlemen, residents of Pittsburg and Butler, who desired to pay their respects to him. It was a pleasant day in May, when we called on him. He talked no English. I introduced the gentlemen through an interpreter, whom I had engaged, and informed him that they had called to pay their respects to him. He seemed much pleased that his white friends were inclined to pay him such attention. The introduction took place in front of his log cabin, on the bank of the Allegheny river. He gave orders to some young Indians, the import of which we soon ascertained, by the fact that they immediately collected some boards, and placed them for seats around a log sled, in the form of a hollow square. This done, the old Chief pointed out to each of the party his seat, and all sat facing inward. He then took his seat in the centre, and announced that he was prepared to hear any communications we had to make. I told him we had not come to buy lands or timber, nor to trade for furs and skins, but had called on him in the spirit of friendship, to pay our respects to the great Indian Chief, whom we had learned to admire as a warrior, and especially as the friend of the United States, who had inculcated the principles of peace and Christianity among his people. I referred briefly to the schools established among his people by the Friends of Philadelphia.
"The old Chief replied in a speech, which would compare well with many of our best State papers. His manner was dignified and eloquent, and his eye lit up, as if by inspiration; so that it was very interesting to listen to what he said, although we could not understand it, until the interpreter rendered it to us. He spoke of the relations between the white men and the red men—the war and bloodshed caused by the former, to displace the latter from their hunting grounds—the peace effected with the Six Nations—dwelt particularly on the virtues of General Washington, the great and good White Father. He brought forth from a well covered valise, in which they were carefully wrapped in linen cloth, two or three "talks," as he termed them, on parchment, to which was appended the autograph of Washington. He said he had met Washington a number of times, and treated with him. His single eye sparkled with animation, when his name was mentioned. And in conclusion, he thanked the Great Spirit that there were now no wars or blood-shedding going on, but that peace and good will existed amongst all men and all nations, so far as he could hear. He spoke as a statesman and philanthropist, whose mind was occupied with the weighty interests of mankind, rather than with merely the affairs and concerns of a family or tribe. He thanked us for our call upon him, and invited us to dine with him, which we accepted. The bill of fare was jerked venison and corn mush; the latter was prepared in the Indian manner; each guest having a tin pan about half-full of hot water, in which the Indian meal was mixed at the pleasure of the guest."
The personal appearance of Cornplanter, towards the close of his long and eventful life, is well described by Judge Thompson, now of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in an article written in 1836, and re-produced in Day's Historical Collections of Pennsylvania, p. 657. I had a professional interview with the aged Chief, in the summer of 1835, to which I have already briefly referred. His personal appearance was therefore known to me. I agree with Judge Thompson, in his description of him, and as the article contains other interesting remarks, I insert it here, as follows:
"I once saw the aged and venerable Chief, and had an interesting interview with him about a year and a half before his death. I thought of many things, when seated near him beneath the wide spreading shade of an old sycamore, on the banks of the Allegheny; many things to ask him; the scenes of the revolution; the generals that fought its battles and conquered the Indians; his tribe; the Six Nations, and himself. He was constitutionally sedate; was never observed to smile, much less to indulge in the luxury of a laugh. When I saw him he estimated his age to be over one hundred years. I think one hundred and three was about his reckoning of it. This would make him near one hundred and five years old at the time of his decease. His person was much stooped, and his stature was far short of what it once had been—not being over five feet six inches at the time I speak of Mr. John Struthers, of Ohio, told me, some years since, that he had seen him near fifty years ago, and at that period he was about his height, viz: six feet, one inch. Time and hardship had made dreadful impressions upon that ancient form. The chest was sunken and his shoulders were drawn forward, making the upper part of his body resemble a trough. His limbs had lost their symmetry, and become crooked. His feet, too, (for he had taken off his moccasins,) were deformed and haggard by injury. I would say that most of his fingers on one hand were useless; the sinews had been severed by a blow of the tomahawk or scalping-knife. How I longed to ask him what scene of blood and strife had thus stamped the enduring evidence of its existence upon his person. But to have done so, would, in all probability, have put an end to all further conversation on any subject. The information desired, would certainly not have been received, and I had to forego my curiosity. He had but one eye, and even the socket of the lost organ was hid by the overhanging brow resting upon the high cheek bone. His remaining eye was of the brightest and blackest hue. Never have I seen one, in young or old, that equalled it in brilliancy. Perhaps it had borrowed lustre from the eternal darkness that rested on its neighboring orbit. His ears had been dressed in the Indian mode, all but the outside had been cut away; on the one ear the ring had been torn asunder near the top, and hung down his neck like a useless rag. He had a full head of hair, white as the driven snow, which covered a head of ample dimensions and admirable shape. His face was not swarthy, but this may be accounted for from the fact, that he was but half Indian. He told me that he had been at Franklin, more than eighty years before the period of our conversation, on his passage down the Ohio and Mississippi, with the warriors of his tribe, on some expedition against the Creeks or Osages. He had long been a man of peace, and I believe his great characteristics were humanity and truth.
"It is said that Brant and The Cornplanter were never friends after the massacre of Cherry valley. Some have alleged, because the Wyoming massacre was, in part, perpetrated by the Senecas, that The Cornplanter, was there. Of the justice of this suspicion, there are many reasons for doubt. It is certain that he was not the Chief of the Senecas at that time.
"As he stood before me—the ancient Chief in ruins—how forcibly was I struck with the truth of the beautiful figure of the old aboriginal Chieftain, who, in describing himself, said 'he was like an aged hemlock, dead at the top, and whose branches alone were green.' After more than one hundred years of most varied life—of strife—of danger—of peace—he at last slumbers in deep repose on the banks of his own beloved Allegheny."
Pennsylvania has acted with liberality and kindness to this venerated Chief. She granted to him three valuable tracts of land; on one of which he had fixed his residence. It is the place where he now rests in the quietude of the grave.
The first report on the subject of these grants to Cornplanter, is dated March 24, 1789. It is contained in a communication from General Mifflin, then President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, to Richard Peters, Speaker of the General Assembly, in which he encloses General Richard Butler's letter, recommending the grant of fifteen hundred acres of land to The Cornplanter, a Seneca Chief.[AA] General Butler's letter is dated March 23, 1789. In it he says: "I beg leave to mention, that Captain ABeel, alias The Cornplanter, one of the principal Chiefs of the Seneca tribe of the Six Nations, has been very useful in all the treaties since 1784, inclusive, and particularly to the State of Pennsylvania; this he has demonstrated very fully, and his attachment, at present, to the State, appears very great. This has induced me to suggest to your Excellency and Council, whether it may not be good policy to fix this attachment by making it his interest to continue it. This, from the ideas he possesses of civilization, induces me to think if the State would be pleased to grant him a small tract of land within the late purchase, it would be very grateful to him, and have that effect. This may be done in a manner that would render him service without lessening his influence with his own people. The quantity need not be large; perhaps one thousand or fifteen hundred acres. My wishes for the quiet and interest of the State, as well as the merits of the man, induced me to mention this matter."[AB]