[FN] Journals of Cong. vol. iv. page 63.
The directions were, that the council should be holden between the 15th and 20th of February; but so slow or reluctant were the Indians in assembling, that the proceedings were not commenced until the 9th of March. Whether General Schuyler attended, is not known. The Marquis de Lafayette, who was then temporarily in command of the Northern Department, accompanied Mr. Duane to Johnstown, and was present at the council. More than seven hundred Indians were collected at the treaty, consisting of Oneidas, Tuscaroras, Onondagas, a few Mohawks, and three or four Cayugas; but not a single Seneca, which was by far the most powerful nation. On the contrary, they had the boldness to send a message, affecting great surprise, "that while our tomahawks were sticking in their heads, their wounds bleeding, and their eyes streaming with tears for the loss of their friends at German Flats, [FN] the commissioners should think of inviting them to a treaty!"
[FN] Oriskany, meaning. The quotation is from a manuscript letter of James Duane.
The proceedings were opened by an address from Congress, framed in accordance with the spirit of the resolutions already cited, asserting the power of the United States, and their magnanimous conduct toward the Six Nations—and charging them distinctly with the ingratitude, cruelty, and treachery, with which their pacific advances had been requited, and for which reparation was demanded. From this charge of treachery, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras were not only honorably excepted, but, on the contrary, were applauded for their firmness and integrity, and assured of friendship and protection.
An Onondaga chief spoke in behalf of the guilty tribes. He exculpated himself and his brother sachems, casting the blame on the young and head-strong warriors, who, he said, would not listen to prudent councils—illustrating their own internal difficulties by those occasionally existing among the people of the States, which it was at times found impossible to repress. He also spoke of the difficulty they were obliged to encounter, in withstanding the influence of Butler and others in the service of the Crown, acquired by bribery and other kindred artifices.
An Oneida chief answered for his own nation and the Tuscaroras, with a spirit and dignity which would not have disgraced a Roman senator. He pathetically lamented the degeneracy of the unfriendly tribes; predicted their final destruction; and declared the fixed and unalterable resolution of the tribes which he represented, at every hazard, to hold fast the covenant chain with the United States, and be buried with them in the same grave, or with them to enjoy the fruits of victory and peace. He fully evinced the sincerity of these professions, by desiring that the United States would erect a fortress in their country, and station a small garrison within it for their defence. A promise to this effect having been given, the Oneida concluded with a solemn assurance, that the two nations for whom he spoke would at all times be ready to cooperate with the United States against all their enemies.
In a private interview afterward, the Oneidas warned the Commissioners against trusting to the Onondagas, whom they considered as enemies to the United States, notwithstanding their seeming contrition for the past. The Oneidas declared that they had not the least doubt that the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas would renew their hostilities early in the Spring; that Colonel Butler would again be in possession of Oswego, which he would more strongly fortify; and for these events they entreated the Commissioners to be prepared.
In their reply to the Indians, the Commissioners again applauded the Oneidas and Tuscaroras for their fidelity and courage. The other nations, they said, were not sufficiently represented to warrant the holding of a treaty with them. But they, nevertheless, directed that another council for those tribes should be held in Onondaga, at some subsequent day, at which the demand of the United States of satisfaction for past wrongs should be publicly made, and an explicit answer exacted. They were admonished that the cause of the United States was just; that the hand of the United States could reach the remotest corner of the country of the Senecas; and that they trusted that the Good Spirit whom they served, would enable them to punish all their enemies, and put it out of their power to do them farther injury. [FN]