James Ross Snowden

The last War Chief of the Senecas, and of the Iroquois, or Six Nations.

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH BY

JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN.

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A solitary traveler, after the close of the Revolutionary war, in 1783, wandering near the shores of Chatanque lake,[A] found himself benighted; and ignorant of the path which should lead him to his place of destination, he feared he would be compelled to pass the night in the forest and without shelter. But when the darkness of the night gathered around him, he saw the light of a distant fire in the woods, to which he immediately bent his steps. There he found an Indian wigwam, the habitation of a Chief with his family. He was kindly received and hospitably entertained. After a supper of corn and venison, the traveler returned thanks to God, whose kind Providence had directed his way, and preserved him in the wilderness. He slept comfortably on the ample bear skins provided by his host.

[A] Cha-da-gweh, by the Senecas; meaning a place where one was lost.

In the morning the Indian invited the traveler to sit beside him on a large log in front of his cabin. They were seated side by side; presently the Indian told the traveler to move a little; which he did; and, keeping by his side, again requested him to move. This was repeated several times. At length, when near the end of the log, the Chief gave an energetic push, and requested his companion to move further. The traveler remonstrated, and said, "I can go no further; if I do I shall fall off the log." "That is the way," said the Indian, in reply, "that you white people treat us. When the United People, the Six Nations, owned the whole land, from the lakes to the great water, they gave to Corlaer[B] a seat on the Hudson, and to Onas[C] a town and land on the Delaware. We have been driven from our lands on the Mohawk, the Gennessee, the Chemung and the Unadilla. And from our western door we have been pushed, from the Susquehanna, then over the great mountains, then beyond the Ohio, the Allegheny and the Conewango; and now we are here on the borders of the great lakes, and a further push will throw me and my people off the log. If I ask, where is our land? a bird whispers in my ear, the Great King over the water has made peace with Washington and the thirteen fires, and divided the land between them by a line through the great lakes. Our Chiefs were not at the council, we were not warmed by its fire, nor protected by its heat. Our ally, in his hurry to make peace, forgot his red brethren; and did not even invite them to smoke the calamut which he had prepared for the thirteen fires which had rebelled against him." The Chief, in conclusion, with a sad and anxious countenance, asked the question, "Where are we to go?" The only response that was made was the sighing of the wind through the leaves of the forest. The traveler was silent.[D]

[B] The Indian name of the Governors of New York.

[C] The Indian name of William Penn; and subsequently applied to the Governors of Pennsylvania.

[D] Rev. Samuel Kirtland, missionary among the Indians, was the traveler referred to. He stated the substance of this anecdote to my father, Rev. Nathaniel R. Snowden.

I have seen a large medal of Washington, on one side of which is his bust in armor facing to the right. On the reverse or opposite side, is a full length figure of an Indian chief looking to the left, with an arrow in his right hand, and leaning on a bow; it contains the inscription "The land was ours." It also inscribes to Washington these words: "Innumerable millions yet unborn will venerate the memory of the man who obtained their country's freedom." Both these inscriptions command our assent. It thus appears that what was partial evil to the red man may be regarded as universal good to the human race. The former gives way to the advancing column of civilization, and will disappear from the land unless he abandons the life of a wanderer, and acquires a fixed home, where he can cultivate the soil and pursue the arts of civilized industry.

It would be inappropriate to this occasion, to enter upon a discussion of the causes of the gradual disappearance of the Indian race, when coming in contact with white men, nor of the tendency of the intercourse between these races of men to deteriorate the former and reduce their numbers. Neither can I enter upon the ethics involved in such a discussion. I leave these topics to the moral philosopher and the historian.

The distinguished Chief whose memory we this day commemorate, met these questions as practical facts. Cornplanter had learned from observation as well as experience, the influence and power of the whites, and as an able statesmen and friend of his race, he yielded to the superior force, and endeavored to preserve the existence of his family and nation, by securing for his people, land and other property where they would not be disturbed by the encroachment of the whites. It is a noticeable fact, and highly illustrative of his far-seeing policy, that in the treaties in which he took part as a Chief or representative of his tribe, he declined to stipulate for, or receive money or goods, but asked for well defined boundaries to their territories, or for land by title in fee simple to himself and to his people. He had the sagacity to perceive that if his nation and people depended upon a mere hunter's right to roam over a section of country, they would be driven, like other Indian tribes, from place to place, and at length be either exterminated or removed to distant lands, where they would be regarded as new comers, and be oppressed or destroyed by the Indians who had a prior claim to the territory.

Before making further remarks upon the life, character and public services of Cornplanter, I deem it proper to present some general observations respecting the Indian League or Confederacy,[E] known originally as the Five Nations, called by the French, Iroquois, and afterwards as the Six Nations, of which the tribe of Cornplanter, the Senecas,[F] was the most numerous and powerful. The Confederacy was originally composed of the Senecas, Oneidas, Mohawks, Onondagos and Cayugas. To these were added in the year 1712, the Tuscaroras, who had previously resided, and had their hunting ground in North Carolina, but in that year were driven north by the southern Indians, and were added to the League, thence afterwards called the Six Nations. In many authorities and manuscripts, however, they continued to be denominated the Five Nations.

[E] Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or the United People.

[F] The original name of this tribe was Nun-da-wa-o-no, which means Great Hill People. The modern name is a corruption of a Dutch word for vermillion, Sinnekar; and has reference to the fact, that this tribe, being the most warlike of the Six Nations, used the war paint more than the others.

The power and influence of this Confederacy of nations, or Iroquois, at the time when the emigrants from Europe set their feet upon the extensive country, now embraced in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, and the extensive region beyond the Ohio, even to the Mississippi, were greats and overshadowed, if they did not actually control and govern, all other tribes of Indians within what is at the present time a large portion of the United States.

Their power even extended to the New England colonies and to Virginia. In 1684 the Governors of New York, Massachusetts and Virginia, met in council with the representative Chiefs of the Five Nations at Albany, "to strengthen and burnish," so says the treaty, "the covenant chain, and plant the tree of peace, of which the top should reach the sun, and the branches shelter the wide land." This treaty related not only to the territory in the actual possession of the Iroquois—called by them "The Long House," but embraced the extensive country from the St. Croix to the Albemarle. It may be interesting here, in order to illustrate the extent of their claims and authority, to quote a few words from the journal of Messrs. Mason and Dixon, when running their famous line. One of the original manuscript copies of which is in possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. It is understood that there were three copies, in manuscript, prepared by these celebrated surveyors. I quote the following entries from the manuscript journal: "July 16, 1767. This day we were joined by fourteen Indians, deputed by the Chief of the Six Nations, to go with us on the line. With them came Mr. Hugh Crawford, interpreter," "October 9, 1767.—Crossed a war path near Dunkard creek. This day the Chief of the Indians, which joined us on the 16th July, informed us that the above mentioned war path was the extent of his commission from the Chief of the Six Nations, that he should go with us with the line; and that he would not proceed one step farther."

Their principal seats, however, were in Western New York and North-western Pennsylvania. They were thus situated between the advancing column of emigration and settlements of the English from the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Potomac on the one hand, and the French from Canada, the St. Lawrence, and the great lakes on the other. A territorial position, alike perilous to their aboriginal habits, customs and means of subsistence, as to their existence as a free and independent nation. And yet, notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, they stood for nearly two centuries, with an unshaken front, against the devastations of war, the blighting influence of foreign intercourse, and the still more fatal encroachments of a restless and advancing border population. United under their federal system, they maintained their independence and their power of self-protection long after the New England and Virginia races had surrendered their jurisdiction and fallen into the condition of conquered and dependent nations. And they now stand forth upon the canvas of Indian history prominent alike for the wisdom of their civil institutions, their sagacity in the administration of the affairs of the League and their courage in its defence. (Morgan's League of the Iroquois.)

Their system of government was remarkable for its simplicity and strength. The separate tribes, though united in one council fire, which was usually kindled and kept burning at Onondago, were, to some extent, sovereign and independent. In fact, their government was somewhat similar in structure to that which is established in the United States. Several republics were embraced in one. There were Chiefs for each tribe. Hereditary to a qualified extent, but dependent upon a ceremony of confirmation or investiture. Sometimes merit and public confidence would induce this investiture, without regard to hereditary right.

Sir William Johnston states, "that the Sachems of each tribe of the Six Nations were annually chosen in a public assembly of the Chiefs and Warriors, whenever a vacancy happened by death or otherwise. They were selected from among the oldest Warriors, for their sense and bravery, and approved of by all the tribe, after which they were selected as Sachems. Military services were the chief recommendations to this rank; but in some instances, a kind of inheritance in the office was recognized." I think there was a distinction between the Sachems and the Chiefs. The former had the direction of civil affairs and government, and the latter led the tribes in war. The rank of Sachem was in general hereditary, whilst that of Chief was conferred on account of ability, and especially bravery in war. A certain number of Chiefs were assigned to the different tribes. These Chiefs formed the council of the League, and in them was lodged the executive, legislative and judicial authority, for the general purposes of the united nations. As illustrative of the character of their government, I here insert the address of the Six Nations, to the colonies of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, delivered at the treaty made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1744. "We heartily recommend union and agreement between you, our brethren. Never disagree, but preserve a strict friendship for one another, and thereby you, as well as we, will become the stronger. Our wise forefathers established amity and friendship among the Five Nations. This has made us formidable, and has given us weight and authority with the neighboring nations. We are a powerful Confederacy, and by your observing the same means which our wise forefathers pursued, you will acquire fresh strength and power. Therefore whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another."

These are memorable words, and indicate the complacency of the members of the Confederacy with their own condition and power. Feeling secure in their castles beyond the mountains, and contented with their homes, amidst their beautiful lakes, and rivers and forests, where they possessed towns and villages, cultivated fields and orchards of various fruits, and being kindly disposed to their white brethren of the English colonies, they ventured the friendly task of giving them such wise and excellent counsel and advice, as is worthy of being re-produced on this occasion, although one hundred and twenty-two years have passed away since its delivery on the banks of the Conestoga.

Governor De Witt Clinton, in his address before the Historical Society of New York, December 6, 1811, quotes the foregoing address, and says: "This ancient and cementing principle of union and fraternity, which has connected them in friendship, and which was the basis of their power, and the pillar of their greatness, has been entirely driven from them. Party, in all its forms and violence, rages among them with uncontrolled sway. The nations are split up into fragments; the son is arrayed against the father; brother against brother; families against families; tribes against tribes. They are divided into factions—religious, political and personal; Christian and Pagan; American and British—the followers of Cornplanter and Red Jacket, of Skonadoi and Captain Peter. The minister of destruction is hovering over them; and before the passing away of the present generation, not a single Iroquois will be seen in this State."

This sad picture, although true to some extent, was somewhat overdrawn in consequence of the agitation and disputes which preceded the war with England in 1812; the Indian tribes being divided upon that question, some of them taking up the hatchet for England, and others, among whom were the Six Nations, for the United States. But Gov. De Witt Clinton's prophecy has utterly failed. The influence and example of Cornplanter, assisted by other good men, white as well as red, leading their people to agriculture, and to habits of industry and temperance, has saved from destruction a remnant of the brave and once powerful nations, who lived on these rivers and lakes, and possessed the land, both far and near.

Here, at the grave of the venerated Cornplanter, we can see the results of his principles, his measures and example. Here he rests from his labors, but his works do follow him. I see this in the evidences of civilization, industry and competency around me. I see it in the countenances of these intelligent and respectable people of the Indian race, who are endeavoring to imitate his example, and who come here this day to do honor to his immortal memory.

The Indian name of the venerable Chief, to whose memory this monument is erected, is written in different manners, in publication documents and papers, which have come under my notice. At the treaty of Fort Harmer, his name was given thus: "Gy-ant-wa-chi-a;" and this orthography I prefer. It means The Planter. But it is, also, elsewhere written, "Gy-ant-wa-hia," and in this form it appears on this monument; also "Ki-on-twog-ky," "Gy-ant-wa-ka," "Ki-end-twoh-ke," and "Cy-ent-wo-kee." In Mr. Day's historical collection of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Stone's Life of Red Jacket, and in some other modern works, he is named, "Ga-nio-di-euh," or "Handsome Lake;" but this is an error. That was the name of a half-brother of our Chief, who was also designated as the prophet, to whom I shall hereafter have occasion to refer. Our Chief was frequently designated as Captain O'Bail, or ABeel, (Captain being the highest military distinction known to the Indians;) but he was generally named and best known as Cornplanter or The Cornplanter.

He was born at Ganowaugus, otherwise written Connewaugus, an important town of the Seneca Indians, situated on the Genessee river, and on the trail or main road through the country of the Six Nations, to Niagara.

We have no precise knowledge of the date of his birth. He has been heard to say, that he and General Washington were about the same age. This would place his birth in the year 1732. In 1831, Thomas Struthers, Esq., of Warren, visited Cornplanter at his house, in this town, on which occasion the Chief, in answer to the question, "How old are you?" replied, "One hundred years." I saw him in the summer of 1834. At my interview with him, Mr. George Powers, of Franklin, Venango county, acted as interpreter. On that occasion he said he was more than one hundred years of age. A learned writer,[G] speaking of a younger brother of Cornplanter, named "Ganeodiyo, or Handsome Lake," says "he was born at the Indian village of Ga-no-wau-ges, near Avon, about the year 1735." He was a half-brother of our hero, having the same mother. Mr. Thatcher, in his Indian biography, and some other writers, have fallen into the gross error of making their relationship through a common father. I refer, in this connection, to the statement of the time of the birth of "Handsome Lake," in conjunction with the other facts mentioned, as corroborative of the probability, that the subject of these remarks was born about the year 1732.

[G] Mr. Morgan.

At that period, the trade with the Six Nations was chiefly in the hands of the English. One of their principal traders was John ABeel,[H] generally named O'Bail or O'Beel; his name is mentioned in the annals of that period on several occasions. At one time it is stated, that he made presents of considerable value to the Indians. It was one of the hospitable customs of these people, to give their friends a wife. John ABeel had his Indian squaw, and Cornplanter was the fruit of that temporary union. Although we have no certain information on the subject, I think it probable that the mother was the daughter of an Indian Sachem. I infer this from the fact, that the best and most respectable traders of that period, were regarded with great favor by the Indians, and also from the important circumstance, that three of her sons were recognized as Chiefs of the Seneca tribe, namely: her celebrated son, Cornplanter, and her younger sons, Ga-ne-o-di-yo, or Handsome Lake, and Ta-wan-ne-ars, or Blacksnake.

[H] I have recently been informed that John ABeel, the father of Cornplanter, was a Hollander or Dutchman. The inaccurate way of writing the name O'Bail, has given rise to the statement, generally believed, that he was of a different nation. I learn that Cornplanter visited a nephew of John ABeel, who resided in the city of New York, and their relationship was recognized. I have this information from a great-grandson of the nephew referred to. The original manner of writing the name was ABeel. The family now write it Abeel. I regret that the name is inaccurately engraved on the monument erected at Jennesadaga.

We may also reasonably infer that she faithfully and carefully discharged her duty to her offspring, in accordance with the light and knowledge which she possessed. It was the Indian woman who planted the fields of corn, and kept the wigwam, when the hunter was in the forest, or the warrior was upon the war path. Their attachment to localities was greater than that of the Indian men. It sometimes happened that Indian women interposed to prevent grant of lands by the chiefs and warriors. They desired to preserve their wigwams, their fields and their orchards. The father of Cornplanter being absent, chiefly residing at Albany, or on the Mohawk river, the mother's influence was uncontrolled. I think it highly probable that the remarkable attachment to the land, exhibited by Cornplanter on all occasions, was the result, in some good degree, of the teachings of his mother. When he speaks at the treaties, or sends a "talk" or a message to the Chief of the thirteen tires, or to "Corlaer," (New York,) or to "Onas," (Pennsylvania,) he says: "We do not want money or goods; we want homes; we want land; the trader's goods soon wear out, the land lasts forever."

Cornplanter refers to his birth and childhood in his interesting address to the Governor of Pennsylvania, in 1822, when the question of taxing his property, hereinafter mentioned, was raised.

"I feel it my duty to send a speech to the Governor of Pennsylvania at this time, and inform him the place where I was from; which was Connewaugus, on the Genessee river.

"When I was a child, I played with the butterfly, the grasshopper and the frogs. As I grew up, I began to pay some attention and play with the Indian boys in the neighborhood, and they took notice of my skin being of a different color from theirs, and spoke about it. I inquired of my mother the cause, and she told me that my father was a resident of Albany. I still ate my victuals out of a bark dish—I grew up to be a young man, and married me a wife—but I had no kettle or gun. I then knew where my father lived and went to see him, and found he was a white man and spoke the English language."[I]

The period when Cornplanter and his family removed from Connewaugus and the Genessee country is unknown. Probably not until his native town was destroyed by General Sullivan, in his expedition against the Six Nations, in 1779. Of that expedition, Cornplanter speaks in his address to General Washington in 1790. From the strong and eloquent language used by him, and which I shall have occasion hereafter to cite, it is probable he was an eye witness of the desolation produced by Sullivan's army.

Of the early career of Cornplanter, we have but little information. It is generally understood that his first appearance as a warrior, was at the battle of the Monongahela, in 1755, where Braddock was defeated, and that he fought on the side of the French in that bloody field.

A word here explanatory of the position of the Senecas, and their relations with the Indians of the League, and other neighboring nations, may be useful. The Seneca tribe was more exposed to the French and their Indian allies on the lower Ohio and the lakes, than the other members of the League. They had the important and dangerous duties of keeping "the western door of the long house," as they termed their possessions. Their watch and ward extended from the Susquehanna to the Ohio and great lakes. The duplicity, and in fact treachery of the English crown, during the reign of the Stuarts, in not only abandoning the Six Nations in their war with the French which they had undertaken in the interest of the English, but when the League had defeated the French and well-nigh conquered them, the English government compelled them to make peace with France, and submit to the terms which the French dictated. These terms, however could not concede to the French a region of country from which they had been expelled, and which was in fact occupied by the Six Nations; and thus the whole country, south of the chain of the great lakes, was rescued from Canada. Referring to this period, Mr. Bancroft says: "In the course of events, New York owes its present northern boundary to the valor of the Five Nations. But for them, Canada would have embraced the basin of the St. Lawrence."[J] Although the Six Nations were afterwards informed that the treachery and duplicity herein referred to, was not approved by the successors of the Stuarts, nor by the English people, but was the result of the bad conduct of English kings who were under French influence, yet it left an impression on their minds which had an injurious effect in after years.

By the regulations of the League, in cases where the United Council did not act authoritatively for the whole Confederacy, it appears that the separate tribes were not precluded from engaging in war; nor individual warriors prevented from taking up the hatchet, as inclination might lead them. Acting under these principles, some of the Six Nations fought on the side of the French, during the war of 1755 and 1762, including that part of the Senecas who had their seat north of the Ohio, and below Fort Duquesne; and some on the upper Ohio, now called Allegheny, united with them. From these considerations it is not at all improbable that Cornplanter, then a warrior of twenty-three years of age, was on the war path at Braddock's defeat. It was probably his first battle, as it was also the first in which our Washington was engaged. The Indians of the Ohio and the lakes were, at this period, more apprehensive of the encroachments of the Virginians and the English generally, than of the French. The former were accompanied by the land surveyor and the woodman's axe;[K] the latter had in their train only the engineer to build forts, and a commissariat which supplied the wants of the Indians, as well as their own. Hence, a portion of the Senecas, of the upper Ohio, were induced to take the side of the French. Cornplanter, with a portion of his tribe, probably formed a part of that martial array which we are told set forth from Fort Venango, at the mouth of Venango river, now called French creek, (Franklin, Pennsylvania,) for the forks of the Ohio, embarked in three hundred canoes and batteaux, and having eighteen pieces of cannon.

The French war closed in the year 1763, by the treaty of Utrecht. The Indian tribes were at peace with each other and with their white neighbors. It was about this time that Cornplanter married a wife, an Indian woman of his own tribe. When that important event took place, he, himself, informs us, that he was not well provided for housekeeping. He "had no gun, and his wife no kettle." Under the impression that his father would provide these useful articles for him, he made a journey to Albany, to see him. But he was disappointed. In Cornplanter's own account of the interview, he says: "When I started home my father gave me no provision to eat on the way. He gave me neither kettle nor gun. Neither did he tell me that the United States were about to rebel against the government of England." This conduct was alike unnatural and unjust. For, if the result of the French war had impoverished the Indian trader, of which we have no knowledge, he, at least, might have given his son some information of the dark clouds which were beginning to gather between England and the colonies, and which soon afterwards brought on the Revolutionary war. Cornplanter, in the address just referred to, intimates that it was a want of knowledge of the questions in dispute, in conjunction with other causes which he mentions in his address to Washington, in 1790, led the Confederacy to take part, in favor of the King of England, in the war which ensued.

He says, in the address referred to, he was opposed to joining in the conflict, inasmuch as the Indians had nothing to do with the difficulties that existed between the two parties. If he had more clearly understood the points in dispute his opposition might have been more effective. When Brant, early in the year 1777, with his Mohawks, had organized a hostile expedition, in connection with some loyalists of that region, to attack Unadilla, in New York, on the Upper Susquehanna, an embassy of Sachems and war Chiefs of the Senecas and Cayugas repaired to Oghwago, to which place Brant had advanced, to remonstrate with him against further hostilities to the Americans. Brant yielded to their councils and protestations, and withdrew, with his Indians and refugees, into the Cayuga country. Brant's exertions and interference had much to do in inducing the Six Nations to take part against the united colonies. Not long after the above occurrence, in an interview with General Herkimer, of the Revolutionary army, he said: "The Indians were in concert with their King, as their fathers had been. The King's belts, of Wampum, are yet lodged with them, and they cannot violate their pledges. General Herkimer and his followers have joined the Boston people against their sovereign. And, although the Boston people were resolute, yet the King would humble them. That General Schuyler was very smart on the Indians, at the treaty of German Flats, but, at the same time, was not able to afford the smallest article of clothing; and finally, that the Indians had formerly made war on the white people, when they were all united, and as they were now divided the Indians were not frightened."[L]

But when the representative Chiefs of the Confederacy at Oswego, at a general council held in the summer of 1777, decided to take up the hatchet for the King of England, Cornplanter and his tribe considered themselves bound by the decision. His nation was at war, and he had to be at war. As the boys say at school, "when you are in Rome, you must do as Rome does." In his address to Washington, at Philadelphia, in 1790, he justifies, or at least palliates the conduct of his nation in taking the side of the King, in the following eloquent and impressive words: "Father, when you kindled your thirteen fires separately, the wise men assembled at them told us you were all brothers—the children of one great Father, who regarded the red people as his children. They called us brothers, and invited us to their protection. They told us that he resided beyond the great water, where the sun first rises, and that he was a King, whose power no people could resist, and that his goodness was as bright as the sun. What they said went to our hearts. We accepted the invitation and promised to obey him. What the Seneca nation promise, they faithfully perform. When you refused obedience to that King, he commanded us to assist his beloved men in making you sober. In obeying him, we did no more than yourselves had led us to promise. We were deceived; but your people teaching us to confide in that King, had helped to deceive us, and we now appeal to your heart. Is all the blame ours?"

In addition to these considerations, thus cautiously presented by Cornplanter, it is well known that the hostilities commenced on the north-western frontier of Virginia, by the cruel and unprovoked war waged against the Indians by the land-jobbers, under the direction of the notorious Captain Michael Cresap, had a decided effect upon the Six Nations, in determining on which side they would take in the conflict which soon followed. The atrocious murder of the family of Logan, by Cresap, is well known, and need not be repeated on this occasion. Logan was the son of Shikellimus, a distinguished Cayuga Sachem. James Logan, an eminent member of the Colonial Council of Pennsylvania, was the friend of Shikellimus; the Sachem had named his son for Mr. Logan. Conrad Weiser, the well known Indian agent and interpreter, writing from Tulpehocken, in Berks county, under date of July 6, 1747, to Secretary Peters, says: "Shikellimus gives his respects to his; old friend, Mr. Logan. He intends to see him in Philadelphia before next fall."[M] Shikellimus had been sent by the Six Nations to preside over and govern the Delawares, Shawanees, Conoys, Nantikokes, Monseys and Mohicans. This interesting fact shows the superior power and authority of the Six Nations, and that these tribes were subordinate to them. Shikellimus resided at Shamokin, a large Indian village near the junction of the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna river, the site of the present borough of Sunbury, in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. This memorable Sachem, governed these tribes with ability and integrity, for a great many years.

Logan had a temporary residence on, Kishicokelas creek, a beautiful limestone spring, a mile or two above the wild gorge where the creek passes Jack's mountain, (now in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania). Here he lived several years. This was before the year 1768, when, by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, the Indians relinquished to the proprietary government all that region of country. He then moved with his family to the country beyond the Ohio, and fixed his cabin below Wheeling, where, a few years later, his whole family were barbarously murdered. On the Sciota, in 1774, he delivered his well known speech to Lord Dunmore, first published in Mr. Jefferson's notes on Virginia. A careful historian, Mr. Day, says: "That it is now well authenticated that Logan, himself, composed the speech, and that the common supposition, that Mr. Jefferson was the author of it, is an error."

It is well known that Logan, born at Shamokin, where the Moravians had a missionary station, received some rudimental education from them, and was baptized; his father, Shikellimus, giving him the name Logan, after his friend James Logan, the Secretary of the Province. Logan's speech, on the occasion referred to, though often published, I insert here. It was as follows: "I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites that my countrymen pointed, as they passed, and said, 'Logan is the friend of white men.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man, Colonel Cresap, the last spring in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one."

The cruel murder of the family of Logan, (himself a distinguished Chief, and the friend of the whites and of peace,) made a deep impression upon the Six Nations, and was probably one of the causes which induced them to take up the hatchet for the King of England. The final decision, as already stated, was made at Oswego, where the representative Chiefs and warriors were assembled, being, drawn thither by the united exertions of Sir John Johnston and Colonel John Butler, aided by Brant, the indefatigable and bitter enemy of the united colonies. The British commissioners promised the Indians an ample reward if they would assist the English to subdue the rebel colonies. The Chiefs, in reply, stated that they were bound, by the treaties at German Flats and Albany, to be neutral to the war. Their objections, however, were overcome, by the commissioners telling them, "that the people of the colonies were few in number, and would be easily subdued; and that, on account of their disobedience to the King, they justly merited all the punishment that it was possible for white men and Indians to inflict upon them." "The King," they said, "was rich and powerful, both in money and subjects. His rum was as plenty as the water in Lake Ontario, and his men as numerous as the sands upon its shore. And the Indians were assured that if they would assist in the war, and persevere in their friendship for the King, until its close, they should never want for goods or money." Overcome by these importunities, and by a recital of the injuries they had received from some of the people of the colonies, aided by a display of a large quantity of trinkets, blankets, clothes, guns, and other articles and implements, the Indians concluded a treaty of alliance with Great Britain, and took up the hatchet against the united colonies. At the close of the treaty, each Indian was presented with a suit of clothes, a brass kettle, a gun, a tomahawk and scalping-knife, a quantity of ammunition and a piece of gold. Mary Jemison, from whom we quote this statement, says, "as late as 1823, the brass kettles received at Oswego, were in use by the Senecas." Here Cornplanter, no doubt, secured the "gun and kettle" which he had, in vain, expected from his father. And the contrast between these munificent gifts, and the fact stated by Brant, that General Schuyler, at the treaty of German Flats, was not able to afford to the Indians the smallest article of clothing, no doubt assisted to turn the scale in favor of the King.

During the military operations which followed this important transaction, Cornplanter fought against the United States. It is said that he was in the bloody battle of Wyoming, which occurred on the 3d of July, 1778. It is considered to be a doubtful point, whether the celebrated Brant was in that battle. There is high poetical authority[N] in favor of it, and some corroborative evidence of the fact. But there is no evidence that has come under my notice, that Cornplanter was present.

Cornplanter was with his tribe, in endeavoring to resist the advance of General Sullivan into the country of the Six Nations, in the year 1779. He was present and took part in the battle of New Town, the present site of Elmira, New York, where the Indians and British troops, the latter under the command of Colonel John Butler, were signally defeated. Cornplanter and Red Jacket were with the Senecas. We do not know which of these Chiefs had the immediate command of the warriors of that tribe. It is known, however, that Brant, who had by general consent a superior authority, charged Red Jacket with being the principal cause of the disaster of that day, and said that although he was a great orator, he was no warrior; on the contrary, he was a coward. In a council held some years afterwards, Cornplanter made a similar charge against Red Jacket, to which the latter replied, "I am an orator—I was born an orator."

This decisive action on the Chemung, was followed by the devastation of the Indian towns and settlements throughout the country of the Senecas and Cayugas. They had several towns and many large villages laid out with a considerable degree of regularity. They had framed houses, some of them well finished, and painted and having chimneys. They had broad and productive fields, and in addition to abundance of apples, they had orchards of peaches, pears and plums. But after the battle of New Town, terror led the van of the invader, whose approach was heralded by watchmen stationed upon every height, and desolation followed weeping in his train. The Indians every where fled, as Sullivan advanced, and the whole country was swept as with the besom of destruction. Towns were burned, fields laid waste, cattle destroyed and the orchards cut down.[O] Cornplanter was a sad witness to the destruction of his own home and village, and that of his people. He refers to these scenes most eloquently, in his address to Washington, in 1792. "When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you the "town destroyer;" and to this day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them, and turn pale, and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers. Our councillors and warriors are men, and cannot be afraid, but their hearts are grieved with the fears of women and children."

This expedition of General Sullivan's, was followed by numerous retaliations by the Indians. The most prominent of which was the invasion of Schoharie and its destruction, together with the towns and settlements in the valley of the Mohawk. Whilst Sir John Johnston and Brant had the principal command, Cornplanter led his tribe in this invasion, and was in the battle of Klock's Field, on the Mohawk river; the result of which was a decided check upon the Indians and their allies, and compelled them to fall back to Oswego.

The residence of John ABeel, the father of Cornplanter, was in the vicinity of the recent battle ground. Before retiring with his warriors, Cornplanter made a detour in the direction of his father's residence, and took him prisoner. After taking him a few miles into the forest, he made to him the following address: "My name is John ABeel, commonly called Cornplanter. I am your son. You are my father. You are my prisoner, and subject to the customs of Indian warfare. But you shall not be harmed. You need not fear. I am a warrior. Many are the scalps I have taken. I am your son. I was anxious to see you, and greet you in friendship. I went to your cabin and took you by force; but your life shall be spared. Indians love their friends and their kindred, and treat them with kindness. If you choose to follow the fortunes of your red son, and live with our people, I will cherish your old age with plenty of venison, and you shall live easy. But if it is your choice to return to your friends, and live with your white children. I will send a party of my trusty young men to conduct you back in safety. I respect you, my father. You have been friendly to Indians. They are your friends." This address shews the magnanimity of Cornplanter, and that he could forget his father's neglect to supply him with a "gun and kettle," on the occasion hereinbefore mentioned. The elder ABeel declined the offer. His son fulfilled his word, and gave his father a suitable escort. He returned to his dwelling in safety. The proud Seneca and his warriors moved off to their own wilds.[P] These events transpired in 1780. Of the subsequent military career of Cornplanter, little is known. He probably participated in the skirmishes and expeditions during the subsequent years of the Revolutionary war and until its close. He never spoke in after life of his career as a Chief or warrior; and history gives us no details of these expeditions and skirmishes, except as to the second invasion of the Mohawk valley, and the battle of Durlagh, in 1781, in which there is no mention of Cornplanter being present.

The United States successfully maintained by the sword the principles announced on the 4th of July, 1776, at Philadelphia; and England, at the close of the war in 1783, acknowledged their independence. From that period Cornplanter became the friend of the United States, and the uniform and consistent advocate for peace. He put forth, on all occasions, his best efforts to secure the friendship of the United States, and to preserve his nation from the destruction which seemed so eminently impending. England, in her treaty of peace, made no provision for her allies of the Six Nations. Many of the Chiefs of the latter were disposed to make common cause with the other Indians of the continent, and continue the war. But the sagacious mind of Cornplanter led him to the just conclusion, that a continuance of the war would be the destruction of his nation and tribe. He was the chief instrument in effecting the treaty of peace at Fort Stanwix, in 1784.

There had been a former treaty at Fort Stanwix, namely: on the 5th of November, 1768, between the Proprietors of Pennsylvania and the Chief of the Six Nations. The territory granted to Pennsylvania, is particularly described in the second volume of Smith's Laws of Pennsylvania, page 122-3. At the second treaty of Fort Stanwix, held in October, 1784, the Pennsylvania commissioners inquired what creek was meant by Tiadaghton, also the Indian name of Burnett's hills, which was left blank in the deed of 1768. The Indians then said that Tiadaghton, is the same creek which the whites called Pine creek, (now in Lycoming county). As to Burnett's hills, they called them the "Long mountains," and knew them by no other name. The boundaries established by the treaty of October 23, 1784, made the said Pine creek the line, and down the same to its mouth, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna; thence up the south side thereof to the fork of the same river, which lies nearer to a place on the Ohio river, (Allegheny,) called Kittanning, and from the fork by a straight line to Kittanning, and thence down the said river Ohio, to where the western bounds of Pennsylvania crosses the same river.

Cornplanter "very well knew," says Mr. Stone, in his life of Red Jacket, that by assenting to the large cessions of territory exacted by the treaty, he was jeopardizing his popularity with his people. But if others had not, he had the sagacity to perceive, that although he and his people had served the crown of Great Britain with all fidelity, they had nevertheless been abandoned to their fate by their more powerful ally, and the alternative was presented to them of giving up as much of their territory as the United States demanded, or of yielding the whole of it. His course, and it was also the course of wisdom, was prescribed by the necessity of the case, and by the energy and ability with which he conducted the negotiation, he yet retained for his people an ample and beautiful territory. He was the most prominent Indian Chief in the treaty of Fort Harmer, in 1789.

By this treaty other grants of land were made. The cession of the Presque Isle lands, is dated January 9, 1789, in which the signing Chiefs acknowledge the right of soil and jurisdiction over that tract of country, ceded by New York and Massachusetts, on the margin of Lake Erie, including Presque Isle, and the bays and harbors above the margin of Lake Erie. This territory was afterwards, namely, on the 13th of April, 1791, purchased from the United States, by the State of Pennsylvania, for the consideration of $151,640 25, paid in Continental certificates of various descriptions.

Cornplanter was present as a prominent Chief, at the treaty held with the Indians, in Marietta, Ohio, in the year 1789. On this occasion, an elegant entertainment was provided The utmost satisfaction appeared to prevail among all the parties to the treaty. Good wine was served after the dinner, and Cornplanter being called on for a toast, took up a glass and said: "I thank the Great Spirit for this opportunity of smoking the pipe of friendship and love. May we plant our own vines, be the fathers of our own children, and maintain them."

The services of Cornplanter on this, and other occasions, were highly appreciated by the Ohio Land Company. This company was formed in 1786, by officers of the army of the Revolution. At the close of the war of 1783, the officers and soldiers were paid in Loan Office certificates, worth, in specie, about 2s. 6d. in the £. On the 16th June, 1783, a large number of them, with the approval of Washington, memorialized Congress for lands to settle on north-west of the Ohio river. The action of the Government in this matter does not very clearly appear, although it seems that the officers of their Treasury recognized the validity of an arrangement to receive loan certificates in payment for the land. In 1786, the Ohio company was organized, and by their agents contracted with the Government for 1,500,000 acres of land, in the North-Western territory, for $1,000,000, in Loan Office certificates, reduced to specie value.

At a meeting of the directors and agents of the company, held at Campus Martius, (Marietta,) Ohio, February 9, 1789, the following proceedings were had:

"Whereas, Gyantwachia, or The Cornplanter, Chief of the Seneca nation, has since the treaty of peace, made in the year 1784, between the United States and the Indian nations, in many instances, been of great service to the United States; and the friendship he has manifested to the proprietors of hind purchased by the Ohio company, has been of particular service to them; therefore,

Resolved, That one mile square of the donation lands be granted to Gyantwachia, and his heirs forever, in such place as the committee appointed to examine proper places of settlement shall assign; and that the duties, conditions and limitations required of other settlers on such land, shall in this grant be dispensed with. And the said committee of five are directed to give him a deed accordingly."—[Ohio Company Records, p, 54.]

The above interesting transaction was communicated to me by W. S. Ward, Esq., of Marietta, Ohio. He says, however, that there is no evidence, so far as he can learn, that the committee or agents ever selected this "mile square," donated to Cornplanter; consequently he received no deed for the land. Probably there may be some documents on this subject among the papers of Cornplanter. The Chief always carefully preserved his important papers, and they are now in the hands of his descendants at Jennesadaga.

The grants of lands made at these treaties, gave offence to many of the Senecas and others of the Six Nations, led on by the opposition of Red Jacket and Brant. He was not only vilified and misrepresented, but his life was even threatened. He resolved to present to his friend, and the friend of the human race, Washington, the condition of his nation and his own peril.

Cornplanter came to Philadelphia, by the way of Fort Franklin and Fort Pitt, traveling with his party down the Allegheny river in canoes. At Fort Franklin, ensign Jeffers, of the 1st Pennsylvania regiment, was in command. He furnished our Chief with a letter of recommendation, in which he says: "The bearer hereof, Cyentwokee, the head Chief of the Seneca nation, is an undoubted friend of the United States. When the Indians have stolen horses and other things from our people, I have known him, with the greatest dignity, to give orders for them to be returned. I never knew his orders to be disobeyed. When the people of Cussewago (now Meadville) were about to fly on account of unfavorable reports about some of the Southern (Western) Indians, he sent a speech to me, in which he said, 'he wished the people to keep their minds easy, and take care of the corn fields, that the Six Nations were friends; that should the Western Indians invade the settlements, he would gather his warriors and help to drive them to the setting of the sun.' In consequence of this, the people rested easy. On his arrival here, he told me that should I be invaded, so that I could not get provisions, that he and his warriors would clear the way; he said that at the Council at the Muskingum the great men asked him which side he would die on? He told them on the side of the Americans. He says he is of the same mind yet. Sundry other things might be said, but as he is now on his way to attend the Assembly at Philadelphia, I will only recommend him to the particular attention of the good people of Pennsylvania, between here and that place. They may depend upon it, that they not only entertain a friend, but a friend of great consequence, for the Seneca nation is so much governed by him, that if he says war, it is war; and if he says peace, it is peace. He is, therefore, a man worthy of the greatest attention. The other Chiefs with him, second him in every thing, and are men worthy of great attention."

This interesting letter was addressed "To the good people between here (Fort Franklin) and Philadelphia." It was of great service to Cornplanter on his journey; and when he arrived in Philadelphia, he placed it in the hands of Governor Mifflin. The paper is among the archives of Pennsylvania, and is endorsed "1790, recommendary letter from I. Jeffers, ensign of the 1st Pennsylvania regiment, commanding Fort Franklin, on French creek, in favor of Cyentwokee, or Cornplanter."[Q]

It appears that from Pittsburg to Philadelphia, Cornplanter and his party were accompanied by Mr. Joseph Nicholson, the interpreter. Dr. John Wilkins, Sr., writes from Shippensburg, to Gov. Mifflin, under date October 14, 1790, as follows: "I have just met at this place, Cornplanter, and the other Indian Chiefs, invited by Council. The reasons they assign for being detained, are such as I hope will induce Council to exert themselves in doing every thing in their power to give them satisfaction. Cornplanter says when he was preparing to come down, agreeably to the invitation from Council, his nation was excited to great tumult, by the killing the two Chiefs, on Pine creek, and he was obliged to stay to pacify them. The Shawanese Indians, who are the most troublesome, sent a message to the Seneca nation, telling them, that unless they declared war against the white people, they should be cut off. This message had to be taken into consideration by a general Council of the Nation, and this required time. The subject of this visit of the Chiefs of the Seneca nation is of great consequence to the people of the western country. The conductor and interpreter, Mr. Joseph Nicholson, has brought them thus far at his own expense, but his money being exhausted, I have advanced him a sum sufficient to pay his expenses to the city. I need not give you a character of the Cornplanter; his friendship for the people of Pennsylvania, his pacific temper and integrity are sufficiently known."[R]

He traveled to Philadelphia, then the seat of government of the United States, accompanied by his steadfast friends and Chiefs of his nation, Half Town and Big Tree. On the arrival of the Chiefs at Philadelphia, they had an official audience with the President, on which occasion Cornplanter made an eloquent and dignified address, and which called forth an appropriate reply from Washington. To Washington he said, referring to General Sullivan's destruction of the Seneca towns: "We called you the 'town destroyer,' but when you gave us peace, we called you father, because you promised to secure us in the possession of our lands. Do this, and so long as the lands shall remain, that beloved name shall live in the heart of every Seneca." He then gives a terse and clear statement of the means taken to induce the Six Nations to make such extensive grants of their lands—grants, he adds, "made at a time when you told us that we were in your hand, and that by closing it, you could crush us to nothing; and you demanded from us a great country as the price of that peace which you had offered us; as if our want of strength had destroyed our rights." Referring to his own conduct and its effect upon his tribe, he uses the following eloquent and patriotic words: "Father, we will not conceal from you, that the Great God, and not man, has preserved The Cornplanter from the hands of his nation. For they continually ask, where is the land which our children, and their children after them, are to lie down upon? You told us, say they, that the line drawn from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario, would mark it forever on the east, and the line running from Buffalo creek to Pennsylvania, would mark it on the west, and we see that it is not so. You, first one and then another, comes and takes it away by order of that people, which you tell us promised to secure it to us. He is silent—for he has nothing to answer. When the sun goes down, he opens his heart before God; and earlier than the sun appears upon the hills, he gives thanks for his protection during the night; for he feels, that among men become desperate by their danger—it is God only that can preserve him. He loves peace and all that he has had in store, he has given to those who have been robbed by your people, lest they should plunder the innocent to re-pay themselves. The whole season which others have employed in providing for their families, he has spent in his endeavors to preserve peace. At this moment his wife and children are lying upon the ground, and in want of food. His heart is in pain for them, but he perceives that the Great Spirit will try his firmness in doing what is right."

Washington made an appropriate reply to this address, which he caused to be engrossed, and was signed by himself and by Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State, and presented to Cornplanter. The Chief valued this document among his highest treasures. A lithographic copy of it has been prepared for this occasion, and I will annex to this address, a copy of it and of the speeches of Cornplanter made on that occasion. A single remark made by Washington, I here introduce. "The merits of Cornplanter, and his friendship for the United States, are well known to me, and shall not be forgotten."

When Cornplanter arrived in Philadelphia, Washington was absent at his seat in Virginia. In his absence, the Chief was cordially received by the President and members of the Executive Council of the State of Pennsylvania. In the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, the following minutes appear:

"Philadelphia, Saturday, October 23, 1790.

"Presents—His Excellency Thomas Mifflin, Esq., President. Samuel Miles, Richard Willing, Zebulon Potts, Amos Gregg and Lord Butler, Esquires. Cornplanter and five other Indian Chiefs were introduced to Council. The President informed them, that the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania was happy to see them, and ready to hear what they had to say. The Chief then made a short address, and asked for further time to conclude what to say, which was granted."

Subsequently the Chief made a more extended speech, to which Governor Mifflin made an appropriate reply. Vol. XVI, p. 496.

Washington continued to be the friend of Cornplanter to the end of his public career, and this confidence and friendship afforded a source of consolation to the Chief, for the dissatisfaction of a portion of his tribe, led on by the crafty Red Jacket, who opposed some of the treaties, and favored a continuance of the war, by the Indians, on their own account.

In these and subsequent transactions, which the limits of this address prevent me from presenting in detail, Cornplanter exerted his power and influence in favor of peace. As early as 1791, he advocated the cultivation of the soil, and the adoption of the arts of civilized life, including the education of the Indian children. In a letter of that year to Friends in Philadelphia, he says: "Brothers, the Seneca nation see that the Great Spirit intends they should not continue to live by hunting, and they look around on every side and inquire, who it is that shall teach them what is best for them to do? Your fathers dealt honorably by our fathers, and they have engaged us to remember it. We wish our children to be taught the same principles by which your fathers were guided. Brothers! We have too little wisdom among us, and we cannot teach our children what we see their situation requires them to know. We wish them to be taught to read, and write, and such other things as you teach your children, especially the love of peace." I may here remark, that the Friends did respond to this call, and through a long series of years, put forth the most disinterested and philanthropic efforts in behalf of the Seneca nation.

In 1791, Cornplanter was employed by Washington, on behalf of the government of the United States, to proceed into the country of the North-Western Indians, then at war with the United States, on an embassy of peace and reconciliation. This arrangement was made during Cornplanter's visit to Philadelphia in that year. Before proceeding on his mission, he returned to his home on the Allegheny, and soon afterwards called a Council of the Six Nations. The result of which was the appointment of representative Chiefs of the Six Nations, to attend a Council with the Western Indians. This Council was held at Au Glaize, (Fort Defiance, Ohio,) in October, 1792. Cornplanter, accompanied by a large number of the Chiefs of the League, was in attendance. The hostile Indians were determined to insist upon the river Ohio as their boundary; and besides the encroachments of the whites upon their territory, they had other grievances of which they complained. The Shawanese, especially, were opposed to peace, except upon such terms as they well knew would not be accepted by the United States. Their principal orator said: "The President well knows why the blood is so deep in our paths." Cornplanter's efforts to effect a reconciliation between the Western tribes and the United States failed.[S]

[S] Western Annals, p. 606.