Summary account of the Five Nations—Their early history—Government—Conquests—Population—Territory—Intercourse with European Colonies—Their war with the Adirondacks—Adventures of Piskaret—Their negotiations with the French, in 1684—Anecdotes of the Onondaga Chief, Garangula—His speech at the Council, and effects of it—Remarks on his character—History of the Five Nations continued to the time of Adario—His exploits—Their object and results—War between the confederates and the French—Adventures of Black-Kettle.

Having concluded our notices of the most eminent Indians of New-England, it now becomes proper, following merely the progress of history, to turn our attention to another section of country, and to a period of time which has not yet furnished us any considerable share of its abundant material. We refer to the Middle States, and particularly to a large portion of the State of New-York, which, with other neighboring territory, was formerly occupied by that famous confederacy commonly called, by the English, the Five Nations. Owing to circumstances not necessary here to be detailed, these tribes—and, as an almost necessary consequence, all the distinguished individuals they produced—came forward in their intercourse with the foreign colonies around them, to fill the prominent station before filled by the Indians of New-England, much as the latter had, in their turn, succeeded the red men of the South.

The Five Nations were the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Cayugas, the Onondagas and the Senecas. The Virginian Indians gave them the name of Massawomekes; the Dutch called them Maquas, or Makakuase; and the French, Iroquois. Their appellation at home was the Mingoes, and sometimes the Aganuschion, or United People. [FN]

[FN] Governor Clinton's Discourse before N. Y. H. Society: 1811.

When the French settled in Canada, in 1603, they found the Iroquois living where Montreal now stands. They were at war with the Adirondacks,—a powerful tribe residing three hundred miles above Trois-Rivieres,—in consequence of the latter having treacherously murdered some of their young men. Previous to this date, their habits had been more agricultural than warlike; but they soon perceived the necessity of adopting a different system. The Adirondacks drove them from their own country, and they retreated to the borders of the lakes, where they have ever since lived. This misfortune it was,—ostensibly at least a misfortune,—which gave the earliest impulse to the subsequent glorious career of these Romans of the West.

Fortunately for them, their sachems were men of a genius and spirit which adversity served only to stimulate and renew. They, finding their country-men discouraged by the discomfiture suffered on the banks of the St. Lawrence, induced them to turn their arms against a less formidable nation, called the Satanas, then dwelling with themselves near the lakes. That people they subdued, and expelled from their territory. Encouraged by success, and strengthened by discipline, they next ventured to defend themselves against the inroads of their old conquerers on the north; and at length the Adirondacks were even driven back, in their turn, as far as the neighborhood of what is now Quebec.

But a new emergency arose. The French made common cause with the nation just named against their enemies, and brought to the contest the important aids of civilized science and art. The Five Nations had now to set wisdom and wariness, as well as courage and discipline, against an alliance so powerful. Their captains came forward again, and taught them the policy of fighting in small parties, and of making amends for inferior force, by surprisal and stratagem. The result was, that the Adirondacks were nearly exterminated, while the Iroquois, proudly exalting themselves on their overthrow, grew rapidly to be the leading tribe of the whole north, and finally of the whole continent.

The efforts necessary to attain that ascendant, may be fairly estimated from the character of the first vanquisher and the first victim. The Adirondacks fought long and desperately. In the end they adopted their adversaries' plan of sending out small parties, and of relying especially on their captains. Five of these men, alone, are said, by their astonishing energy and bravery to have well nigh turned the balance of the war.

One of the number was Piskaret, in his own day the most celebrated chieftain of the north. He and his four comrades solemnly devoted themselves to the purpose of redeeming the sullied glory of the nation, at a period when the prospect of conquest, and perhaps of defence, had already become desperate. They set out for Trois Rivieres in one canoe; each of them being provided with three muskets, which they loaded severally with two bullets, connected by a small chain ten inches in length. In Sorel River, they met with five boats of the Iroquois, each having on board ten men. As the parties rapidly came together, the Adirondacks pretended to give themselves up for lost, and began howling the death-song. This was continued till their enemy was just at hand. They then suddenly ceased singing, and fired simultaneously on the five canoes. The charge was repeated with the arms which lay ready loaded, and the slight birches of the Iroquois were torn asunder, and the frightened occupants tumbled overboard as fast as possible. Piskaret and his comrades, after knocking as many of them on the head as they pleased, reserved the remainder to feed their revenge, which was soon afterwards done by burning them alive in the most cruel tortures.

This exploit, creditable as it might be to the actors in the eyes of their countrymen, served only to sharpen the fierce eagerness for blood which still raged in the bosom of Piskaret. His next enterprise was far more hazardous than the former; and so much more so, indeed, even in prospect, that not a single warrior would bear him company. He set out alone, therefore for the country of the Five Nations, (with which he was well acquainted,) about that period, of the spring when the snow was beginning to melt. Accustomed, as an Indian must be, to all emergencies of traveling as well as warfare, he took the precaution of putting the hinder part of his snow-shoes forward, so that if his footsteps should happen to be observed by his vigilant enemy, it might be supposed he was gone the contrary way. For further security he went along the ridges and high grounds, where the snow was melted, that his track might be lost.

On coming near one of the villages of the Five Nations, he concealed himself until night, and then entered a cabin, while the inmates were fast asleep, murdered the whole family, and carried the scalps to his lurking-place. The next day, the people of the village sought for the murderer, but in vain. He came out again at midnight, and repeated his deed of blood. The third night, a watch was kept in every house, and Piskaret was compelled to exercise more caution. But his purpose was not abandoned. He bundled up the scalps he had already taken to carry home with him as a proof of his victory, and then stole warily from house to house, until he at last discovered an Indian nodding at his post. This man he despatched at a blow, but that blow alarmed the neighborhood, and he was forced immediately to fly for his life. Being, however, the fleetest Indian then alive, he was under no apprehension of danger from the chase. He suffered his pursuers to approach him from time to time, and then suddenly darted away from them, hoping in this manner to discourage as well as escape them. When the evening came on, he hid himself; and his enemies stopped to rest. Feeling no danger from a single enemy, and he a fugitive, they even indulged themselves in sleep. Piskaret, who watched every movement, turned about, knocked every man of them on the head, added their scalps to his bundle, and leisurely resumed his way home.

To return to the Five Nations. The career of victory, which began with the fall of the Adirondacks, was destined to be extended beyond all precedent in the history of the Indian tribes. They exterminated the Eries or Erigas, once living on the south side of the lake of their own name. They nearly destroyed the powerful Anderstez, and the Chouanons or Showanons. They drove back the Hurons and Ottawas among the Sioux of the Upper Mississippi, where they separated themselves into bands, "proclaiming, wherever they went the terror of the Iroquois." [FN-1] The Illinois on the west also were subdued, with the Miamies and the Shawanese. The Nipeneneans of the St Lawrence fled to Hudson's Bay, to avoid their fury. "The borders of the Outaouis," says an historian, "which were long thickly peopled, became almost deserted." [FN-2] The Mohawk was a name of terror to the farthest tribes of New-England; and though but one of that formidable people should appear for a moment on the hills of the Connecticut or Massachusetts, the villages below would be in an uproar of confusion and fear. Finally they conquered the tribe of Virginia, west of the Alleghenies; and warred against the Catawbas, Cherokees, and most of the nations of the South.

[FN-1] Herriot's History of Canada.

[FN-2] Ibid.

The result of this series of conquests, was, that the Five Nations finally became entitled, or at least laid claim to all the territory not sold to the English, from the mouth of Sorel River, on the south side of lakes Erie and Ontario, on both sides of the Ohio, until it falls into the Mississippi; and on the north side of these lakes, the whole tract between the Outawas River and lake Huron. [FN] The historian, Douglas, estimates their territory at about 1200 miles in length, from north to south, and from 700 to 800 miles in breadth.

[FN] Smith's History of New-York.

The most moderate account of their population we have seen, was published by an agent of Virginia, who held a conference at Albany with the chiefs, in 1677. The warriors were then numbered as follows:

This would make the whole population about 7000. Even so late as the Revolutionary war, the British had in their service, according to the calculation of their own agents:

To which must be added 200 Tuscaroras—a tribe expelled from North Carolina in 1712, and received by the five Nations, to constitute a sixth member of the Confederacy. We must also add 220 warriors who adhered to the United States. The whole number actually engaged in the contest would then amount to 1800.

The Five Nations entered into a treaty of peace with the Dutch soon after their settlement in New-York. They treated with the English subsequently on the same terms; and this memorable engagement remained inviolate for more than a century, during all the revolutions and machinations of the French and English governments, on either side. With the former of these people they were often at war.

About the year 1684, the French availed themselves of a peace with the Five Nations to build forts at several important places on the northern waters, and to make many arrangements for extending their dominion and commerce among the numerous tribes of the north and west. Their only opposition came from the Confederates. The Senecas who were the most numerous and the nearest, were particularly troublesome in cutting off supplies of ammunition, sent by the French among their tribes, who hunted for them. At length, M. De la Barre, the Governor of Canada, complained of these injuries to the English, who were known to have great influence over their Indian allies. Meanwhile he took vigorous measures for frightening the Five Nations into friendship. He ordered his vessels on the lakes to be repaired; and collected at Cadaraqui fort all the forces of Canada. But the nature of the soil at this station, where he was detained six weeks in the heat of summer, occasioned sickness and embarrassment in his army, and he found the prospect utterly hopeless of effecting any thing, unless it might be by treaty. He sent messengers, therefore, to some of the Five Nations, to induce a negotiation.

These movements the English Commander at Albany, Colonel Dungan, exerted himself to counteract. The Mohawks and Senecas promised him that they would not go near the French. But the remaining three tribes would not even hear the messages he sent them, except in presence of the priests and other deputies who had already brought an invitation from the French Governor to meet him in Council, at Kaihohage. [FN-1] "Should we not go to him after all this entreaty," said they in answer to the English, "when he is come so far, and so near to us? Certainly. If we do not, we shall deserve no favour. You say we are subjects to the King of England and the Duke of York. We say we are brethren, and take care of ourselves." [FN-2]

[FN-1] On Lake Ontario, and called by the French La-Famine.

[FN-2] Colden's History of the Five Nations.

The event justified this independence. The most distinguished of the confederate chieftains was Garangula, the pride of the Onondaga tribe. He was now advanced in years, but had lost nothing of his energies. Taking thirty warriors with him, he went with La Maine, the French Deputy, to meet the Canadian Governor at Kaihohage. At the end of two days after reaching that place, a Council was held. The French officers formed a semi-circle on one side, which the Indians completed on the other; and the Governor then addressed himself to Garangula.

"The King, my master," he began, "being informed that the Five Nations have often infringed the peace, has ordered me to come hither with a guard, and to send Ohguesse (La Maine) to the Onondagas, to bring the Chief Sachem to my camp." He then went on to require Garangula,—as a condition precedent to the treaty which might be granted him,—to promise, in the name of the Five Nations, that entire reparation should be given the French for the past, and entire security for the future. In case of refusal, they were threatened with war. Again, they were charged with violence committed upon the French traders, and upon Indian nations under French protection; and with having introduced the English to trade in the neighborhood of the lakes. This also was cause of war. Finally, said the Governor, with no very scrupulous regard to truth, upon one point at least, "I shall be extremely grieved if my words do not produce the effect I anticipate from them; for then I shall be obliged to join with the Governor of New-York, who is commanded by his master to assist me, and burn the castles of the Five Nations, and destroy you."

This crafty speech was designed to strike a terror into the Indians; and Garangula was undoubtedly surprised by a style of expression which contrasted so strongly with the smooth and soft words of La Maine and the priests. But fear never entered his bosom; and he had the additional advantage of good information respecting the true state of the French Army. He knew that the Governor's insolence proceeded in fact from his impotence; bravado was his last resort. During the speech, however, he manifested no emotion of any kind, but kept his eyes composedly fixed on the end of his own pipe. But the moment the Governor had ceased, he rose up, walked five or six times about the council-circle, and then returned to his place, where he spoke standing, while La Barre remained in his elbow-chair.

"Yonondio!" he began—addressing the Governor by the title always given to that Canadian officer by the Five Nations—"Yonondio!—I honor you, and the warriors that are with me all likewise honor you. Your interpreter has finished your speech; I now begin mine. My words make haste to reach your ears. Hearken to them.

"Yonondio!—You must have believed when you left Quebec, that the sun had burnt up all the forests, which render our country inaccessible to the French, or that the lakes had so far overflown the banks, that they had surrounded our castles, and that it was impossible for us to get out of them. Yes, surely you must have dreamed so, and the curiosity of seeing so great a wonder, has bought you so far. Now you are undeceived. I and the warriors here present, are come to assure you, that the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks are yet alive. I thank you in their name, for bringing back into their country the calumet, which your predecessor received from their hands. It was happy for you, that you left under ground that murdering hatchet, so often dyed in the blood of the French.

"Hear, Yonondio!—I do not sleep. I have my eyes open. The sun, which enlightens me, discovers to me a great captain at the head of a company of soldiers, who speaks as if he were dreaming. He says, that he only came to the lake to smoke on the great calumet with the Onondagas. But Garangula says, that he sees the contrary; that it was to knock them on the head, if sickness had not weakened the arms of the French. I see Yonondio raving in a camp of sick men, whose lives the Great Spirit has saved by inflicting this sickness on them.

"Hear Yonondio!—Our women had taken their clubs, our children and old men had carried their bows and arrows into the heart of your camp, if our warriors had not disarmed them, and kept them back, when your messenger came to our castles. It is done and I have said it.

"Hear, Yonondio!—We plundered none of the French, but those that carried guns, powder and balls to the Twightwies and Chictaghicks, because those arms might have cost us our lives. Herein we follow the example of the Jesuits, who break all the kegs of rum brought to our castles, lest the drunken Indians should knock them on the head. Our warriors have not beaver enough to pay for all the arms they have taken, and our old men are not afraid of the war. This belt preserves my words.

"We carried the English into our lakes, to trade there with the Utawawas and Quatoghies, as the Adirondacks brought the French to our castles, to carry on a trade, which the English say is theirs. We are born free. We neither depend on Yonondio nor Corlear. [FN] We may go where we please, and carry with us whom we please, and buy and sell what we please. If your allies be your slaves, use them as such, command them to receive no other but your people. This belt preserves my words."

[FN] The name they gave the Governor of New-York.

"We knock the Twightwies and Chictaghicks on the head, because they had cut down the trees of peace, which were the limits of our country. They have hunted beaver on our lands. They have acted contrary to the customs of all Indians, for they left none of the beavers alive,—they killed both male and female. They brought the Satanas into their country, to take part with them, after they had concerted ill designs against us. We have done less than either the English or French, that have usurped the lands of so many Indian nations, and chased them from their own country. This belt preserves my words.

"Hear, Yonondio!—What I say is the voice of all the Five Nations. Hear what they answer. Open your ears to what they speak. The Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks say, that when they buried the hatchet at Cadarackui, in the presence of your predecessor, in the middle of the fort, they planted the tree of peace in the same place, to be there carefully preserved. That in the place of a retreat for soldiers, that fort might be a rendezvous for merchants; that in place of arms and ammunition of war, beavers and merchandize should only enter there.

"Hear, Yonondio!—Take care for the future that so great a number of soldiers as appear there, do not choke the tree of peace planted in so small a fort. It will be a great loss, if, after it had so easily taken root, you should stop its growth, and prevent its covering your country and ours with its branches. I assure you, in the name of the Five Nations, that our warriors shall dance to the calumet of peace under its leaves. They shall remain quiet on their mats, and shall never dig up the hatchet, till their brother Yonondio, or Corlear, shall either jointly or separately endeavor to attack the country, which the Great Spirit has given to our ancestors. This belt preserves my words, and this other the authority which the Five Nations have given me."

Here the orator paused for a moment, and then addressed himself to Monsieur Le Maine, who stood near him, acting as interpreter. "Take courage, Ohguesse!" said he, "You have spirit—Speak! Explain my words. Forget nothing. Tell all that your brethren and friends say to Yonondio, your Governor, by the mouth of Garangula, who loves you, and desires you to accept of this present of beaver, and take part with me in my feast, to which I invite you. This present of beaver is sent to Yonondio, on the part of the Five Nations."

When this harangue was explained to the Governor, he quietly left the council, and withdrew to his tent, disappointed and much incensed. Garangula, on the other hand, feasted the French officers, and then went home. Nothing more was heard of the treaty; and the French troops, who had been ordered out, soon after made the best of their way to their own habitations.

The genuineness of the speech we have given above, seems to be past dispute. It was recorded on the spot by that enlightened historian, Baron La Hontan, from whom Colden and other subsequent writers have borrowed it. Considering the circumstances under which it was delivered, and especially the surprise practiced by the Governor, it may certainly be regarded as an evidence of astonishing sagacity, spirit, and self-possession. Its proud courtesy, so different from the Frenchman's boisterous parade of idle threats, only adds to the sting of its sarcasm, as the imagery gives weight to the argument. An illustrious statesman and scholar has placed it in the same rank with the celebrated speech of Logan. [FN] But the fame of Garangula must, at all events, rest upon this effort, for history makes no mention of him subsequent to the council of Kaihohage.

[FN] Discourse of Gov. Clinton.

About three years after that transaction, another personage distinguished himself as much as the Onondaga Chief, though in a very different manner. This was Adario, Chief Sachem of the Dinondadies, a tribe generally found among those in the French interest, and opposed both to the Five Nations and the English. The former Government had consequently treated them with favor. But, notwithstanding these circumstances, they had latterly shown a strong disposition to trade with the English—and especially upon one occasion, when the latter, guided by the Five Nations, had opened a commerce on the frontiers of Canada. That affair, as Adario now observed, made them obnoxious to their ancient ally, the French; and he therefore resolved, by some notable exploit, to redeem the character of his nation.

Full of this purpose, he marched from Michilimackinac, at the head of a hundred men; and to act with the greater security, he took Cadaraqui fort in his way, for intelligence. The Commandant there informed him, that the Governor was now in expectation of concluding a peace with the Five Nations, and of receiving a visit from their ambassadors in eight or ten days, at Montreal. He desired him to return home, without attempting any thing which might obstruct so good a design.

But Adario had another project in view. The Commandant's information convinced him of the danger there was that his own nation, in the new arrangement, might be sacrificed to the French interest. Deliberating on the means proper to prevent such a result, he took leave of the officer, but not to return home. Knowing the route by which the Iroquois must necessarily come, he lay wait for them, with his company, at one of the falls of Cadaraqui river. Here he had patiently waited four or five days, when the Deputies made their appearance, guarded by forty young soldiers. These were suddenly set upon by the ambuscade, and all who were not killed were taken prisoners. When the latter were secured, Adario artfully told them, that, having been informed of their approach by the Governor of Canada, he had secured this pass with the almost certain prospect of intercepting them.

The Deputies were of course very much surprised at the Governor's conduct; and they finally expressed themselves with such freedom, as to declare the whole object of their journey. Adario was, in his turn, apparently amazed and enraged. He swore revenge upon the Governor, for having, as he said, made a tool of him, to commit his abominable treachery. Then, looking steadfastly on the prisoners, he said to them, "Go, my brothers!—I untie your hands. I send you home again, though our nations be at war. The French Governor has made me commit so black an action, that I shall never be easy after it, till the Five Nations shall have had full revenge." The Deputies, furnished with ammunition and arms for their journey, and completely satisfied of the truth of Adario's declarations, returned to their own country, after having assured him that he and his nation might make their peace when they pleased.

This master-stroke of policy was seconded by an incident which occurred soon afterwards, and which the same cunning and vigilant spirit profited by to promote his design. In the surprisal of the Deputies, Adario had lost one man, and had filled his place with a Satana prisoner, who had been before adopted into the Five Nations. This man he soon afterwards delivered to the French at Michilimackinac, probably at their request; and they, for the purpose of keeping up the enmity between the Dinondadies and Five Nations, ordered him to be shot. Adario called one of the latter people, who had long been a prisoner, to be an eye-witness of his countryman's death. He then bade him make his escape to his own country, and there to give an account of the ferocious barbarity from which he had been unable to save a captive belonging to himself.

The Five Nations had already been upon the brink of war, in consequence of the representations of the Deputies. Their rage was now beyond all bounds. The Governor, having obtained some information of the state of things, sent messengers to disavow and expose the conduct of Adario; but they would listen to no messages; their souls thirsted for revenge. The war was undertaken immediately, and never was one more disastrous to Canada. Twelve hundred of the Iroquois invaded the province, while the French were still uncertain whether hostilities would commence. In July, 1688, they landed at La Chine, on the south side of the island of Montreal; and, keeping the Governor himself, with his troops, confined within the walls of the town, they sacked all the plantations, and indiscriminately massacred men, women, and children. More than one thousand of the French were killed, and many were carried off captive, who afterwards shared the same fate. The Indian army lost but three men during the whole expedition.

The most distinguished of the Iroquois warriors about this time, was one whom the English called Black-Kettle. Colden speaks of him as a famous hero; but few of his exploits have come down to these, times. It is only known that he commanded large parties of his countrymen, who were exceedingly troublesome to the French. In 1691, he made an irruption into the country round Montreal, at the head of several hundred men. He overran Canada, (say the French annalists,) as a torrent does the low lands, when it overflows its banks, and there is no withstanding it. The troops at the stations received orders to stand upon the defensive; and it was not until the enemy were returning home victorious, after having desolated all Canada, that a force of four hundred soldiers was mustered to pursue them. Black-Kettle is said to have had but half that number with him at this juncture, but he gave battle, and fought desperately. After losing twenty men slain, with some prisoners, he broke through the French ranks and marched off, leaving a considerable number of the enemy wounded and killed.